May 2025 Trestleboard

As the days grow longer and the earth softens beneath our feet, nature reminds us that now is the season for planting. Gardeners know this well: the care you give the soil, the intention behind each seed sown, and the patience you carry as you wait—these all shape what the harvest will become. In many ways, Freemasonry calls us to be gardeners of the spirit, both within ourselves and in the lives we touch.

This spring, I’ve been reflecting on the parable of the sower, where a man scatters seed across different types of ground. Some of it falls on rocky soil, some among thorns, and some on fertile earth. Not every seed sprouts, and not every sprout grows strong. But the sower scatters anyway.

As Masons, we too scatter seeds through acts of kindness, words of encouragement, the degrees we confer, and the example we set. Some of those seeds may not take root. Some may spring up and then wither. But some—perhaps the ones we least expect—will flourish and bear fruit in due time.

That truth has freed me from expecting every idea and every effort to succeed immediately. Sometimes, the point is not the outcome, but the act of planting itself. We are called to labor and tend, not always to harvest.

As Memorial Day approaches, let us also honor the Brethren who planted seeds through service and sacrifice, men whose legacies live on, even if we do not see the full fruit of their labors.