God made it grow

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Cor. 3:6-9

In June and July our previous volunteers said their goodbyes to this place after investing much time, effort and energy into trying to cultivate a more just and peaceful Luleå. When they first arrived here last fall they started with the harvest. And they were able to see the abundance of the garden even though they had no part in planting or tending it. But as the project progressed they also sowed seeds and planted, tended and watered. This work obviously was done not just literally in the garden but also in the life of the community here and in the lives of many individuals with whom they built relationships with over time. Come June this year they had invested much but ironically the growing season had only just begun. I´m sure in some ways it was hard for them to not be able to see and enjoy the harvest. The seeds they had sown had begun to sprout and grow significantly, but the time here for our volunteers was short.  

I can assure you however, since they left the garden has not stopped growing. It has spilled over with boutiful harvests of vegetables and fruits. This is also true of the investments that Valeria, Maksym and Alicia all made in the community and relationships here i Luleå. The seeds of compassion, solidarity, peace and justice which they have sown here in Luleå have been sprouting and growing and continue to bring fruit. But often the work that we do to create peace does not have direct results, we do not see the impact overnight. Maybe we will not even see results for years. 

I am reminded of the El Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero, martyred 1980. A homily attributed to his life reads:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent

enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of

saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church's mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an 

opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master

builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Alicia, Valeria and Maksym planting seedlings

So we continue to move forward in faith, leaving everything in God´s hands. Soon we will receive three new volunteers to The Good Seed Project. Oussama from Morocco, Palina from Belarus and Mariam from Georgia. We anticipate greatly their arrival and the contributions they will make to continue the vision of the Good Seed Project. They will pick up where Valeria, Alicia and Maksym left off, starting first with the harvest, reeping the fruits and vegetables from seeds they didn´t sow. 

av Josh Armfield