The Merciful Gardener
“Come, see a man who told me
everything I ever did.” – John 4:29
It feels as if I’ve been buried here
forever, dehydrated, covered in dirt,
a crocus stagnant and frozen with scales
wrapped tight and tunic pointing skyward
waiting for signs of spring. And now
water trickles down, sunbeams warm the soil,
I can feel myself changing, breaking!
All I’ve ever done was wait and rot.
And then he – And then he showed me –
I am compelled to tell, can’t help but bloom –
Do you see how he knew just what I needed?
Do you see how he knew what I could do?
Published by Sarah M. Wells
Sarah M. Wells is an award-winning author of seven books: To Say One Million Times, WOW: Essays on Awe, Faith, and Family from America's Great Outdoors (and Some Hotel Rooms) - forthcoming in 2026, Ordinary Time: Meditations from the In-Between (2024), The Family Bible Devotional: Stories from the Gospels to Help Kids and Parents Love God and Love Others (2022), American Honey: A Field Guide to Resisting Temptation (2021), Between the Heron and the Moss (2020), The Family Bible Devotional: Stories from the Bible to Help Kids and Parents Engage and Love Scripture (2018), and Pruning Burning Bushes (2012). Sarah's work has been honored with four Pushcart Prize nominations, and her essays have appeared in the notable essays list in the Best American Essays 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
Sarah is the recipient of a 2018 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. She resides in Ashland, Ohio with her husband and three children.
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Sarah Marie Wells 