Today I can feel the warm glowing sun on my face and I feel the zesty spring air as it drifts gently across my face and tickles my nose with hints of apple blossoms and lilac blooms. I’m walking through one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and breathing in the sweet air and fond memories of my childhood.
Burton, Ohio is one of my favorite places to be. I feel like I’m immediately at home when I start walking down Main Street towards the fairgrounds.
That big brick house still stands on the corner of Goodwin and North Cheshire and I as turn down the sidewalk onto Goodwin, I remember my little brother Amos had one of his very first jobs there walking the owner’s dog years ago.
I chuckle to myself as I remember that the dog was bigger than he was, but Amos was more stubborn than the dog even as an 8 year old boy, so it worked out okay I guess.
As I stroll farther down Goodwin, the road starts to wind to the left and here is where the sidewalk ends. It’s one of my favorite spots now in Burton.
Welton Cemetery holds a lot for me. My feet kick up the small white pebbles of the drive as I start to walk down toward the north end of the cemetery. The cemetery has a crest in the middle that’s a little higher than the road and so as I walk in and up the gentle hill, I can start to see the fairgrounds sprawl out in front of me.
In my mind I start to hear the loud speaker crackle and the sounds of the midway become so real to me that I am certain I start to smell the fried goodness of that golden joy called a funnel cake.
The Great Geauga County Fair was his favorite time of year. I think that Grant got the most incredible joy out of seeing everyone he knew and having the opportunity to make them smile.
As I stand in front of his headstone today, I’m smiling thinking about his giant grin that was always glowing on his face. I can’t remember a time where he wasn’t smiling. You could never get him down.
Somehow he inherently knew that his time here on earth would be a lot shorter than the rest of ours and so he was able to focus on one of the most important truths of life.
“Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.” – Zig Ziglar
Grant understood this truth better than anyone I’ve known and so he was always sowing happiness, love, and joy to those around him.
Even as I stand here six years later I’m reaping the reward of his efforts. He cracks me up to this day, and I remember the kind things he said to me and wrote to me.
This year has been a wonderful year for me. I’ve learned more in the past six months than I ever thought was possible, and slowly but surely I am starting to understand the echoes of life.
Until around the first of the year, I would have to honestly say that I’ve ignored this simple truth of life a lot more than I should have. Now it’s something that I think about on a daily basis.
I’ve realized that not only do the stupid and selfish things that I do come back to me full force, but the kind and sincere gifts come back too. It’s just confusing sometimes because the ripples and echoes come back from unexpected sources.
This law of life is simple: what you give, you get back; but sometimes I think it’s easy to be confused into thinking you will get it back from the person or activity where you are giving it. Although this can happen, it’s not always the case. Sometimes we receive back in other areas that we never expected we would.
I think that these three lessons are the biggest parts of sowing and reaping that I’ve been learning this year:
1. Give whole heartedly without expecting it right back. When the time is right, life will reward you in wonderful ways. Just be patient.
2. You can’t do the sowing for another person or make them understand. In their own time they’ll understand. Just be a good example and keep sowing good things. It will work out if you’re faithful.
3. Others may not understand the plot you chose. That’s ok, just keep sowing. It’s your garden of life anyway, isn’t it?
At the end of the day, you have to be pleased with what you’re sowing.
I’ve walked over my share of thorny ground; and yes, I am absolutely certain that I sowed those thorns and I’m ok with that. It’s good to experience the outcome of our bad decisions. It can motivate us and help us grow forward.
At the end of my life, I want to look back and be proud of what I’ve sown. Fortunately, Grant understood that long before I did, and he’s still giving back to me today years later.
Today is a good day to sow love. It’s a good day to sow into your future. It’s a good day to sow into your health and personal happiness.
You will get back what you put into the garden of life.
What are you sowing?
