Grounded in Giving

“There is about three quarters of an acre behind my church.” – Tom Rohr

Grounded in Giving

“My company’s purpose and motto are, ‘waste nothing.’”  Tom said as he introduced his business on a day filled with on and off again rain.  “I’ve also found that carrying this through to additional areas of my life has changed me in an amazing way.  It’s incorporation into my personal life genuinely took off one day while talking with others in my community about ways we could help some of our fellow parishioners struggling to have enough food to eat.  That’s when I had an illuminating experience.”

During that meeting Tom looked over the shoulders of those right in front of him.  There was sunlight streaming in through the windows as if to highlight an opportunity he hadn’t noticed before.

“It was almost as if the sun was acting as a spotlight to show me what I hadn’t truly seen before!”  He continued.  “Our congregation owns an additional three quarters of an acre beyond our building and managed landscaping.  Of course, we all knew it was there, but we’d never thought of using that land for a greater purpose.  It was about to become part of the solution to the hunger issue we were discussing at that very moment.”

Tom got the message!  It was the perfect way for him to unite his business philosophy with action in his personal life.

“We have the land to grow a lot of food right there!” He said pointing at the plot through the glowing glass frames.  “Let’s walk out there to talk about how we can transform this land and lives at the same time!”

That was about four years ago.  Since then Tom and other members of his parish have worked together to create a prosperous community garden.  It’s a garden that feeds the participants continually.  And, the effort has now gone way beyond just filling hungry bellies.

“It’s become an all-encompassing lesson about the value of sharing our individual knowledge and experience as well.  It’s been a process of discovery for all of us.  We’ve discovered and value each other’s unique knowledge and experience.  We’ve learned far more from each other than anticipated.  The great gardeners in our congregation have taught the rest of us how to grow delicious food.  Others who know a lot about food preservation have taught us how to prepare it so we all have food when we’re well past the growing season.  Skilled organizational experts, within our group, have taught us exceptional planning skills, how to work more effectively together and how to distribute the food and specific knowledge amongst ourselves well.”

They’ve accomplished more together than they ever could have imagined.  Tom says, “Working together has illuminated the way for us to accomplish more while becoming much more than we ever could have become on our own, to live abundantly.  Our garden has allowed us to become grounded in giving!”