Sow To Grow
It’s that time of the
year for each of us to get out into
the backyard and begin our preparations of
tilling the ground. We must loosen the soil
in order to prepare it for growing. We must
then plant the seeds in order for anything,
other than weeds, to grow and bear fruit.
When planting the seeds, we plant them in
rows. Thus, it will be easier to cull out
the weak and permit the strong to grow and
prosper, and the weak to strengthen
themselves by our culling.
Soil needs to be
fertilized for it to keep its strength.
There are many ways to fertilize and enrich
the soil. A weak plant, in poor soil, can
prosper and become the most beautiful flower
in the bed and bear the most fruit if it is
properly cared for and enriched.
Do we not all take
pride in these accomplishments of our work
and efforts, as much as we enjoy the fruits
of our labours?
Is it not time for
each of us to till that soil in our
communities? By our talk and actions, we
begin io plant those seeds about the Masonic
Fraternity throughout the community. Search
out those whom we know to be strong; and
those whom we believe will become the
strong. If we do not till and sow the
Masonic story in the community, then we will
never know who can and will be the strength
and pillars of our Fraternity in the future.
The young men in
today’s society are looking for something in
which to believe. We have that something for
them. But we must make them aware of that
something. Sow before them the seeds of
Masonry. Then add a little fertilizer each
and every day. Don’t drown them with facts
or over-fertilize them with figures, but
nourish them as you would your favourite
rose. Let them know that they must ASK.
If you plant the seeds
in fertile ground and give the proper
amounts of water and fertilizer, you might
be pleasantly surprised at the strong and
beautiful plant that you could “raise.’
Quietly let them know
that Masonry is not a “Secret Society,” nor
is it a “Religious Club”; but till the soil
by letting them know that we are a
Fraternity built upon moral lessons taken
from the Bible which we teach through
allegory or plays.
Answer all of their
questions, honestly. And if you do not know
the answer to a particular question, tell
them so, but that you will seek out the
answer for them from some Brother more
knowledgeable than yourself. By all means
let them know you are a Mason and proud of
it.
It is not time for
each of us to break the hold, that the long
habits of folly have held us in its grip,
and till the soil by speaking freely about
the Fraternity? Nurture and enrich the soil
by not hiding your pride in being a Mason.
Sow the work add a
little sprinkling of facts and carefully add
your fertilizer of knowledge. Watch with
pride, as the Fraternity Grows and Prospers
for the Beautification of the World, Our
Community.
Paul C. Howell, Grand
High Priest of Michigan
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