A Story of Recovery:

Seeds of Recovery

I have a friend who recently moved to Idaho, and she loves to garden. Visiting her in early spring, her enthusiasm made me smile. The beds were prepared, a new sprinkler system was in place and the seeds were planted! I could envision the plethora of veggies and flowers that would enrich her summertime.

Now it’s the end of the summer. My grandchildren are back in school, the farmer’s markets are bursting with harvest, and I called my gardening friend to find out how her garden grew.

“Well,” she said, “the new sprinkler system is great. The flowers are beautiful and my vegetables grew in a wild, wonderful array. But I do have one problem that I’ll have to address next year.”

“Oh,” I said, “too much harvest?”

“Actually yes, the little bamboo stakes I found in the garage worked wonderfully for a while; the plants happily entwined themselves around the stakes. But they kept growing with such lushness that the stakes broke and the whole row of plants collapsed. Next year I need to prepare with a larger support system.”

I immediately thought of my recovery. These tools I use to grow spiritually — my quiet time, outreach calls, FA literature, meetings, prayer and weighed and measured meals — are my support system. The seeds of an abundant life are planted, and I want my recovery to be big enough to support a big, lush life.