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Where have I been?  I am not entirely sure....underground? within? digging? sprouting?  I don't know really.  I thought this photo might explain it better than my words ever could.  My co-teacher discovered this incredible corn plant growing from a wad of clay made by one of our five year old students and kept moist for future use.  Our student had employed an ear of indian corn to make impressions in the earthy mound.  Some of the kernals obviously found their way into the creation and this beatiful gift was the unexpected result.  When we first saw it we both knelt in front of it, awed by the determination of life.  This image became a sort of metaphor for my life right now.  I feel like freshly kneaded and tilled earth.  I don't know what seeds have been planted by the larger hand of life.  Yet I seem to trust the determination of life within me, like those seeds of corn embedded in clay.  There is a resilience and tendency toward growth that simply won't be ignored.  Perhaps someday I will be able to see the plants and even eat the fruits of my souls tenacity.

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