What I learned when I planted bulbs

Mark Ruble

When I was very young I used to visit my grandpa and grandma. They had a big yard with lots of plants and flowers. When we played we had to stay out of the garden and be careful not to ruin the plants. Sometimes we helped pick weeds or cut back the bushes so they could grow better.

But many times I would step on plants, or pull off their leaves, or break them, because I thought it was funny. My grandparents didn't think it was funny. They worked hard to have a nice garden.

One day I was playing on the compost pile and found some old bulbs.

"Why are you throwing away these bulbs?" I asked my grandma.

"They're dead," she said. "They won't grow anymore."

"Can I take them home and plant them?" I asked.

"Why do you want to do that? They won't grow."

But she did let me take them home anyway. I planted the bulbs, and I really took care of them. And I thought about how much God loves everything that He makes. I decided I should try to love more. I even started to like plants better too, because they tell us about beauty and growth and other good things. In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy says: "Love, redolent with unselfishness, bathes all in beauty and light. The grass beneath our feet silently exclaims, 'The meek shall inherit the earth.' The modest arbutus sends her sweet breath to heaven."^{Science and Health, p. 516.} (The arbutus is a flower that smells good.)

I went out every day to water those bulbs and to pick weeds so my bulbs would have room to grow. Everyone was surprised when they did grow! In a few years they spread all over our backyard.

I learned a good lesson: When we try to take good care of things and to express God's love, it will bless everything we do.

I also thought about the way I used to step on plants and pull off their leaves. Christ Jesus taught the Golden Rule: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."^{Matt. 7:12.} After spending so much time with those bulbs, I would have been hurt if someone had stepped on them, or destroyed them for fun.

My grandpa and grandma never had any more trouble with my wrecking their plants. After this I started to pay more attention to what I did and to what I could learn from plants and animals and things all around.

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Testimony of Healing

During my youth I was in good health

April 18, 1983

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