St. Paul says that we are God's field. Sit with that image for a bit. Let it settle into your heart space. Take your time. What do you see? What do you feel? What do you hear? What does the image evoke in you; how does it connect with your life? What is your response?

The Beloved wants our field to be fruitful, to be abloom with love. In the beginning God, as the husbandman of the field of our lives, faces arduous work in preparing the field, clearing away the rocks and boulders, the obstacles we allow to stand between us and the Beloved. Our field then requires plowing, disking, harrowing before the soil is ready to accept the seed of love. All that turning over, breaking up, isn't very appealing to many of us so we take our hard hearts and turn away.

If, on the other hand, we are open enough to accept God's love implanted deep within our hearts, we will begin to see green sprouts here and there. As we offer the Holy One our unfeigned hearts, genuine, sincere, ready for transformation from barrenness to fruitfulness, we discover, as Paul notes, it is God who gives the growth. Some areas will grow as rich and full as the mustard seed in Jesus' parable (Mt.13:31-32); others less so, but all will need pruning from time to time to keep them growing in the way of divine Love. May we today find our particular field abloom with Love, producing in everything we say and do the fruit of love to God's glory.