God’s Tomato Plant

After months of sowing, tending, watering, and weeding, the garden is finally bursting. During the last days of summer, I am always drowning in tomatoes. Black cherry tomatoes. Frilly Fiorentino tomatoes for salad. Tomatoes for pasta sauce. Still more for canning.

But this summer is special because of the tomato plant that helped me understand the will of God.

In early spring, I had sown the tomato seeds saved from last year’s harvest. The seedlings received tender care as they grew inside my greenhouse. In May I carried them outside to sunbathe on the terrace and took them inside again at night. Once big enough, I transplanted them into smaller pots, and by the end of May, I planted them in the garden’s waiting beds.

Through each stage, I responded to the plants’ needs to ensure their survival and growth. My personal will was paramount to this process.

But this summer, my garden taught me about cooperating with God’s will. I have often struggled with this question of will, praying the “Our Father” and saying, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” without fully understanding what that means.

When is something God’s will on earth? When am I acting upon my will alone? How can I best integrate what I discern as God’s will with my own? And when do I know this synthesis is happening?

Becoming a Cocreator of Life

Early in the summer, a rogue tomato plant started growing in the strawberry patch. It was strong and vibrant green. I had no idea what kind of tomato it would produce. My husband kept telling me to pull it out, but a small voice inside kept telling me not to. This tomato plant was growing better than any of the dozens I had planted with intention and care.

I started to tend it—pruning its unneeded shoots, tying up its long stalk, and feeding it. “Why don’t you just pull that out?” my husband kept insisting. The plant was becoming gigantic and unruly, making the strawberry patch look messy. But when the flowers started to bear tomatoes, I was curious to see what might happen.

One morning while watering the garden, I suddenly realized I was taking care of God’s tomato plant! Unlike the meticulous and deliberate steps I had taken with the rest of the garden, I was no longer relying on my personal will alone and was now cooperating with life on its terms.

I could have ended or altered this process, but instead I chose to support it. I was learning to merge my will with the Divine to see what we might produce together.

This tomato plant taught me the key is to be open to recognize God’s will, even if it’s not what I expect. Before simply pulling out whatever feels wrong, sometimes we first need patience and courage to wait and see what fruit it might produce.

Cooperating with the Divine

To my delight, the tomatoes from this plant ended up being huge, some weighing nearly two pounds. Italians call this variety cuore di bue or oxheart because of its deep red color, size, and shape. I had grown them the year before in another part of the garden, but not as big or delicious as this. Even my husband could not use his will to resist eating them!

I imagined God scattering the seeds in the strawberry patch, a place I would never consider tomato territory. I marveled at how effortless this approach was compared to my long, complicated process.

All this made me reflect upon other times I had interfered with the flow of life, placing obstacles in the way of positive outcomes or refusing to see cautionary signs and accept help. How many jobs had I taken that had felt wrong? How many dysfunctional relationships did I hang on to, despite knowing I was being taken advantage of?

I also reflected on those decisions I had made that felt blessed and in sync with the sacred. More than once, money suddenly arrived when I needed it most to move forward. Other times I felt my prayers were answered that had seemed impossible.

This tomato plant taught me the key is to be open to recognize God’s will, even if it’s not what I expect. Before simply pulling out whatever feels wrong, sometimes we first need patience and courage to wait and see what fruit it might produce.

If we cooperate with the Divine, the bounty is certain to be beyond our imagination.