The Garden Everyone Forgot
At the edge of Sunnybrook School was a little garden.
It had red tomatoes, crunchy carrots, tall sunflowers, and sweet strawberries. Bees buzzed around the flowers, and birds sometimes stopped for a visit.
The garden belonged to Mrs. Green, the school principal.
“This garden is for all of you,” she told the children. “You may enjoy what grows here. But I need you to care for it too.”
She gave each class a job. Some children watered. Some pulled weeds. Others picked vegetables to share at lunchtime.
For a while, everyone loved helping.
The children cheered when the first tomatoes appeared. They watched green strawberries turn red. They even measured a sunflower that grew taller than Mr. Sam, the school custodian!
Then something changed.
“We want to play instead,” some children said.
They stopped watering. Weeds grew everywhere. Children picked strawberries without planting anything new. One child broke a tomato plant reaching for its biggest tomato and walked away.
When Mrs. Green sent Mr. Sam to remind them about their promise, some children ignored him.
“We know what we’re doing!” they said.
But Mia remembered Mrs. Green’s words.
“This garden was given to us,” she told her friends. “We should take care of it.”
So Mia began working.
At first, only her little brother helped. Then their friend Lucas joined them. Soon, more children came.
They watered the plants, pulled weeds, tied drooping plants to stakes, and planted new seeds.
Slowly, the garden came alive again.
One afternoon, Mia noticed there were more tomatoes than the school could eat.
“Let’s give some away!” she said.
The children filled baskets, and their families brought them to a nearby food pantry. They saved some for the school cafeteria too.
A few weeks later, Mrs. Green visited the garden.
She saw healthy plants, beautiful flowers, and children happily working together.
“I see you remembered what this garden was for,” she said.
Mia nodded. “It wasn’t just for us to take things from.”
“That’s right,” said Mrs. Green. “A gift is something we receive with gratitude. And sometimes a gift comes with an important job.”
She picked four bright red tomatoes for Mia’s family and placed them in her hand.
“When someone trusts you with something good, help that goodness grow.”
Mia looked around.
The garden was more beautiful than before, not because it belonged to the children, but because they had learned to care for what had been entrusted to them. And the more they cared for the garden, the more it gave them to share.
Inspired by Matthew 21:33-43.