Every human heart is God's garden, where he generously sows His seeds of love. However, the landscape of our heart is formed by varied terrains - parched land that is hardened and closed (where his seeds of love are left futile) and rich ground that is loamy and open (where these seeds take root and grow, bearing life and giving fruit). There are times when we feel that the great part of our heart's landscape is arid, and this makes us feel that our life is almost a desert - empty, meaningless, barren! Then again, an oasis hides beneath every desert. And if we allow our Gardener to tend this deserted garden in us and till its soil, then we can be like the small disciples who were once parched and poor but have grown and have become God's great pillars of the faith. May we never lose hope in our loving God who planted His Word in our being, the God who promised us that His Word shall not return to Him void, but shall do His will, achieving the purpose for which He sent it.