A little while back, one of my coworkers asked me if I had noticed the little tomato plant growing out the back door behind the restaurant. I laughed a little and went back out to look at it. After taking a closer look, I realized that there was indeed a tomato plant growing in a small crack of the cement against the fence. We all questioned how it got there but immediately decided that we would take care of this little tomato plant in which we named Tomathan, or Tommy for short. I tried my best to make an extra effort to water my new friend every chance I got and eventually he started getting bigger. A couple of my coworkers and I weaved some of his stems in the fence and propped it up with some rocks to make sure he wouldn’t fall or become unrooted. I am happy to say that Tommy now has over 30 tomatoes growing from his single plant! I am so excited and amazed to see how much he had grown. Oddly enough, I have been incredibly inspired by this tomato plant and have learned many lessons from this small and seemingly insignificant experience. Sometimes it’s easy to feel similarly to the little seed of a tomato plant that has just been blown into some unfamiliar place, just trying to grow and make the best of the given circumstances. Because Tommy’s foundation was firmly placed in the crack of cement, he is strong and capable of growing the same way any other ordinary tomato plant could. I pray as I prepare to go out on my mission and into the world that I will be able to display as much courage as he did and continue to “water my tomato plant” by consistently strengthening my testimony in following the ways of Christ. It takes courage to feel alone and unwanted yet lift others anyways. It takes courage to stand up for what you believe in even to those who you thought would never let you down. It takes courage to be put in situations where you push the boundaries of your comfort zone and expand yourself. I’m positive it took a great deal of courage for Jesus Christ to come into a world full of wickedness with the knowledge that they would reject and crucify Him. I am grateful for the example of courage He displayed and the hope it gives me to continue to carry out His will even, and especially, when it pushes me to be more than I am. It isn’t comfortable to be molded, but Christ helps and changes people individually, in the ways He knows they need it the most. Even when I feel like I don’t belong or begin to be weary and fall into the traps of temptation and sin, the Savior will always be willing and waiting to hoist me back up and offer a safe place for me to carry my courage. I know that He is watching over each and every one of His children and cares about them individually no matter where the wind has taken and rooted them.
2 Timothy 1:77- For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Love, Lily
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