The Richest Heart

Chapter 10

Emma sighed wearily as she pulled a handful of weeds out of the soil. Her back was tired from bending up and down, and her hands were brown from the dirt. But that wasn't the worst part. Once she got home, she had even more work to do.

As she tossed the weeds out of the garden, she looked around at the work which she and Peter had done that evening. The ground looked nice and clean. The peas were quite tall now, and the tomato plants were looking very healthy. But there was still one area of the garden where the weeds formed a green carpet. Emiline could hardly tell them apart from the young herbs which were springing up in that place.

I'm tired, the girl whined inside. I don't want to work anymore. She followed Peter silently as they went to finish their job. Cleaning floors was one thing, Emma thought, thinking back on all of the things she had helped Mrs. Winston with last winter. But I never did like gardening.

If it hadn't been for the fact that she loved Mrs. Winston and for the fact that the old woman paid her, Emma would have gladly let the weeds take over in that garden. Still grumbling inside, she knelt down and started picking the unwanted plants out.

"Oh, my dears, you've done a splendid job!" Mrs. Winston exclaimed.

Emiline looked up at her and smiled. Mrs. Winston had just stepped out of her house and was walking toward them with a plate of freshly baked cookies in hand. Peter met her half way and grabbed one gratefully.

"We'll be done soon," he said.

Soon? Emma echoed in her mind doubtfully. It feels like we'll never be done! She dusted one hand off and accepted the cookie Mrs. Winston offered her.

"Well," the old lady began with a pleasant smile, "you might as well call the job done for now anyway."

Emiline perked up with sudden joy. "Are you sure?" she asked, trying not to sound too eager to quit.

"Yes. I know there are a lot of weeds here, but the herbs are so small that I'm afraid they'll get uprooted while you work. Sometimes that happens, you know. Have you two heard Jesus' parable about the weeds?"

The two shook their heads and listened eagerly. The story was about a man who had planted his field with good seeds. But while the gardeners were asleep, an enemy had come and planted weeds there too. They couldn't pull out the weeds without uprooting the good plants. So, they let them both grow together until harvest time. Mrs. Winston explained that the good plants were Christians and that the weeds were people who had decided to be evil.

"We don't live in a perfect world," she said. "There are all kinds of people here, some good and some bad. Sometimes, the sinful people will try to get us to do naughty things with them. But we don't have to let the weeds of this world ruin us. All we need to do is make sure that we keep serving the Lord no matter what. We also need to be a good example to them when we can be because unless they stop sinning and start following Jesus, they won't be able to go to Heaven. We can be like lanterns shining God's love and the good news of salvation to everyone's hearts."

By the time Mrs. Winston had finished, Emma and Peter had eaten more cookies than they could count and were feeling very happy. Then they told the old woman goodbye and headed home.

As the two walked down the steep road, Emma looked over at her friend. His horse was walking at his side looking calmer than usual. Every day, it seemed like the creature became tamer and tamer. But Emiline still wouldn't go near him. No matter how much Storm liked Peter, he seemed flighty around other people. It didn't take much to spook him.