Vegetable garden: Sugar snap peas: spiritual harvest

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? [Mathew 5/13]

Today, during the garden walk, I discovered that my favorite plant sugar snap peas is beginning to bloom. First bloom has arrived, which gives the hope of pea pods to follow. Very exciting moment it was to see the first bloom of the pea. Among the seeds I sowed, I admire sugar snap peas. It is so cheerful, lush, and fast growing. Sugar snap pea is one among the first and fast growers in my garden. Their cheerful arrival by quick germination inspired me and motivated me continuously. I was so inspired, that I sowed them as one row in all the beds I prepared. While other seeds take long time to germinate, sugar snap peas germination came as an evangelizer of good news, and they appeared as though announcing to me that all is fine under the soil in the newly prepared bed.  Their acceptance of my amateur garden beds even pushed me to the joyful thrills. They grow lush and carry tender green leaves. I placed many trellis for them in the main beds and in other beds, they are sowed without trellis. They are doing well in both places with or without trellis.

Looking at the cheerful sugar snap peas, I reflect upon their God given qualities and characteristics. God created all creations before creating us human, and He brought us to the world as a child or as an honorable guest after preparing everything for our arrival. He gave His image and spirit to us, which is very special for our creation. He created all other creations by His word, but He created us by His word, action, and anointing with His identity ( Image) and spirit ( His breath). In the nature of all kinds living and non living creation, God also kept teachers and lessons for us to discover and use them. I think all creations around us have purpose to our life and it carries lessons for us to learn. If we pay attention, we can observe useful lessons hidden within all creations. Today, In my reflection of sugar snap peas natural qualities, functions of their growth and their contribution to the soil and the fellow plants, made me to learn lot from this little plant. This little plant made so much sense about individual life, that could impact others while living, the surroundings they live in and that impacts eternity.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 

8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 

9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? 

10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind[ Job 12:7-10].

Sugar snap peas belong to the group of plants called nitrogen fixer. By this quality, sugar snap pea converts the nitrogen which is present in the air into a useful salt and fertilizer and stores the nitrogen as nodules in its roots. The nitrogen stored within the nods is released to the soil, resulting in the enrichment of the soil  by adding fertilizing salt precursors as nitrogen. By this action, sugar snap pea not just flourish by its life, but also enrich the soil and help the fellow plants. Sugar snap pea contribution to the soil goes beyond its life benefits of  giving peas. It's life is useful to the soil and its fellow plants; as it grows and it also fertilizes the soil by adding stored nitrogen for the future plants. What a great life lesson this little plant of sugar snap pea displays!

There are multitudes of sugar snap peas among the human in the world. They add salt to the life of the world. They belong to all faith, all generations, and all walks of life. While many have contributed to the total goodness of the world we live in today, I begin to reflect upon the sugar snap peas among the faith based human who have added salt to the world by their faith, by their individual devotion, by their simple life lived with the collaboration with the Holy Spirit.  These are human who have made decision to live by faith. By their decision, they rely upon God and His will to make their life. So their life can be compared to the action of sugar snap pea seeking for nutrients not in the soil but in the air. The soul which lives by faith, tends to seek God and His will in their life. As the sugar snap pea look up for the nitrogen in the air, the soul which lives by faith learns to live by the guidance of Holy Spirit. As a result, Holy Spirit reveals Himself in their life as fruits. The fruits of these faithful lives help the fellow human and creations by their presence, charity, love, and forgiveness. Further, the fruits extends beyond their life time and it may echo for eternity.
"Let us give thanks to Jesus Christ, who has sent teachers and evangelists to be ministers of faith to all peoples who believe in him, alleluia."

Everyone of us has to work to live. For some it is outdoor work, and for others it is indoor works. But for all hard work involved in earning the living. This principle of life applied to all including to the poor and rich, young and old, even to the millionaires. If someone ceases to work, even the wealthiest's wealth may decrease as the days pass by. Normally, people work to earn, or multiply the investment in stocks and business, that takes hard work too, or live by inherited wealth etc..

So for the most part of the life, most of  us work hard everyday, by which we make our way of life in participation and contribution to the family, community, and to the nation in a big picture with our small role and function in this world. Now this role of being and living can be done either with the awareness of God and in the presence of God or we can choose to do it all alone. It is a choice to make and a willful decision to make regarding how we live our life. We have two options in front of us one which is to live with the guidance of God and in collaboration with Him and all creations, or to live one's life all alone in individual will and ways. Whatever may be the choice we choose, life has be lived and there is a definite role, function, and responsibility we carry through this life. There is a purpose in each one of our life. Every seed brings forth harvest. Every choice, decision based life brings harvest. Harvest can be good or not so good, depending upon the seeds sown. Depending upon the choice we make, our works may yield the harvest. Depending upon the seeds we sow, we reap the harvest. Good seeds bring good fruits, and not so good seeds may not bring good fruits.


While physical nature of work earnings, wealth, and living can be short lived or  temporary in nature, the impact of one's life can be eternal and long lasting. In the community impact perspectives we can witness lots of lives impacting many lives even after they have passed on this world: charitable organizations, and philanthropic activities all around us that are the evidences of the impact of somebody's life, which is common and comes from all people who have faith or who have no faith, who belongs to all walks and stratum of life.  These are fruits of someone's life that impacts the lives of many for many generations. Some contribute to the impact on nature, other contribute to the causes of fellow creatures, and many contributes to the fellow human. Long lasting good physical fruits of life. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Mathew 13/23

Harvest can be spiritual. By the choice of living in the conscious presence of God, human lives may impact multitudes for eternity. When the hard labor is dedicated to God and the work is carried out in the consciousness of God, labor brings harvest beyond the visible physical world.  When the life is lived with the faith exercises and lived with the awareness of God, it realizes the purpose of oneself to an individual, family, community in the physical world they live in. The fruits and harvest may impact the individual, community, and family for eternity. The soul which is tendered by God's presence learn to dedicate every action, thought, and plan to God, while living the fullness of earthly life. The humble faith and faith based exercise has the power to make an impact in the world.

There is nothing small or trivial in the eyes of God. There is nothing hidden from Him. He knows everything. He is omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotent. He is in control of all the situations. In that case, dedication of everything to His presence and power may yield fruitful harvest. Knowing this spiritual harvest, multitudes of  dedicated Christian devotees dedicate their work to God everyday. Those offerings and dedication becomes the salt of the world. Individual life and its little faith has power to make ripple effects in the world. Faith based life lived in collaboration with Holy Spirit, not just flourish in peace while living, but also adds the seeds and salts of faith to help the fellow creations simultaneously and make an impact of enrichment to the faith soil and the kingdom of God in this world. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.2/corrinthians 9/10

The life which is lived in the presence, and which is conscious of Lord helps one to carry the presence of God from prayers to the work and the world they belong to. The work that is carried out with the awareness of God is carried out with the power of God. The work that is anointed by the presence of God becomes the life giving fruits and seeds to the person and to the community he or she belongs to by bringing forth multitudes of harvest. Such harvest does not stop and it perpetuates in seasons and times of present and future. While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”: Genesis 8/22


Catholic Church has a long tradition of lives lived in faith contributed to our faith. Millions of people lived a sacrificial life before us, so we have Church buildings to go and pray, we have the Church institution to guide us, and we have the Church magisterium (teachings) to follow. The life that is lived by depending upon God is a model of faith life that does not conform to the standards of the world, but it is designed by the standards of the Holy Spirit. In this life, faith is watered and fertilized by Holy Spirit, in the ways of apostolic lives of saints in the Church.  Millions of faithfuls' martyrdom added eternal salt to our faith. Multitudes of devoted baptized lived their baptismal lives that added strength to our current journey. Thousands of saints lived their lives as faith role models, where we can witness the lived faith.   The fruits of life lived by God's will may reflect the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their life. These fruits are everlasting and echoes to the eternity, while serving and adding salt to one's life and surroundings. "But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control"Galatians 5/22-23.