The parable of the sower is rich in imagery for anyone with a garden. Anyone who has ever planted knows about weeds. They take on a life of their own, growing in the best tilled and prepared soil. They’re just there, coming up alongside the seeds and the small plants we set in. Some we can pull up without uprooting the plants we intend to grow, and others not so easily.

This year I planted tomato, squash plants and herbs, and the rest were seeds—zucchini, carrots, beets, peas and beans. Usually I’d buy cucumber and zucchini plants, or seeds, but there were none to be found. Ah, well, I had some zucchini seeds, I’d plant them.

Most things came up from the carefully planted seeds in my raised beds—the peas, beans, beets and thin wispy carrot tops. The tomatoes grew well too. But no zucchini plant ever showed its leafy little head.

Then one day, there appeared a particular kind of plant, well, two of them. Tucked in by one tomato plant and in the space that was left in that same bed. I scratched my head. I had not planted seeds there.

I figured it was seed from compost, but which plant? I’d let them grow and see what happened. I transplanted one of them to where the zucchini should have been and left the other one where it was.

The tomatoes sprouted little blossoms, and my mystery plant only got bigger. I had to give it more room, so I cut the netting around it and let one long reaching branch spread out on the ground outside the bed. Soon there were more branches to join it.

Last evening as I spread extra mulch around the raised beds, I saw the fruit of that one giant plant—a pumpkin, fat and green, hiding under the giant leaves. Judging by all the blossoms, we might have a pumpkin for each member of our family once it’s done growing.

Surprises, that’s what we get in gardening. A little like these strange Covid-19 times, some of the things that happen are good, still a positive in the middle of complications and uncertainty. Take those as blessing and balance it with the hard stuff. We’ll get through it, our Creator and us together.