The City of God is Like This

The Descent of the New Jerusalem, Trinity College Cambridge, MS R 16.2 f. 25 v.

The kingdom (queendom? commonwealth? city?) of God is like
A mustard seed
Small
Easily missed.
Potent.

The city of God is like
An olive tree
An orchard
A seed
A wedding guest
An ordinary thing
Mistaken for its commonness
Plain and under appreciated
Void of power or privilege
Full of promise
An unseen harvest
Waiting on people and patience.

The city of God is like
A bunch of dead-looking habanero plants
My husband brought home from the nursery
For free
He said
Insisted
I plant them
I resisted
He insisted.
Fine.
Weeds in the garden got away from me.
I pulled tall tangled ones with gloved hands
At the end of the season
To make ready for spring
Try again.
I revealed thriving shrubs with
Unexpected ripe fruit
Red, orange, yellow
A bumper crop
A lifetime’s supply
For using fresh
Freezing
Canning
Devouring
Savoring.
The city of God is like this.

The city of God is like
A modest hope, a goal
Quietly worked toward
Triumphant in its realization.

The city of God is like
A woman
A bunch of women
With God-given gifts and power
Talents and experience
Knowledge and wisdom
Overlooked
Underutilized
Dismissed
By men who cannot see them
Who do not understand
They way things happen
In city of God.