“Those who sow with tears
  will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them” (Psalm 126:5-6 NIV).

As I read these verses a few days ago, I thought of a little poem I wrote just before Christmas. For two and a half years I had lived in a downstairs space in the home of a couple and served as a caregiver for the 90-year-old gentleman who dealt with Alzheimer’s. Their home was located in a peaceful setting where the beauty of nature and wildlife were right outside the door. I took thousands of photos in the time I lived there. In August, the gentleman passed away. As I prepared to move in January, I worked on a book of photos I had taken of some of the beauty of the property along with words of inspiration and encouragement for his widow. Some of the photos were of the beautiful irises that I could see from my window in the spring. I was told that they had been planted years ago by “Grammy,” the mother of the lady of the house. When we first had that conversation, I commented, “Here we are today enjoying beauty because of what someone planted a long time ago.” Those words were the seed embedded in my mind for what I knew would one day be a poem. I finally wrote it as I prepared my photo gift book.

“Grammy’s Irises”

With gentle hands she placed each bulb
Beneath the stubborn sod;
She watered them and tended them,
But left their growth to God.
In early spring the tender shoots
Pushed through the porous soil–
The beauty of the blossoms fair
Were fit for any royal.

Long years have passed but yet they bloom
When winter turns to spring–
Their graceful beauty on display,
Enjoyment still to bring
To younger generations who
Are following Grammy’s lead–
She taught that for the blooms to come,
You first must plant the seed.

So, too, in lives we plant the seeds
And water them with tears,
And tend them on our knees in prayer
Prevailing through the years;
By faith we trust the seeds will bloom
In each young girl and boy,
For those who sow in tears will reap
And gather blooms with joy.

–Rebecca D. Higgins