A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt by Kyle Kramer
This is a story of coming home - nothing as dramatic as the Prodigal Son, but it is a homecoming story nonetheless. Kyle Kramer's book A Time to Plant: Life Lessons in Work, Prayer, and Dirt is more memoir than how-to, as he brings the reader along his journey home to the Catholic Church and the land of the Midwest.
Kramer begins with the questions, "What does it mean to make a home in the world? How does one live a life of faithful belonging to other people, to Creation, and to God?"
In his search to answer these questions, Kramer, a Christian, finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the rich tapestry of Catholicism, especially rooted in the Benedictine traditions of physical labor, prayer, and hospitality. Kramer's conversion to Catholicism (and his wife!) helped him to see how the growing of food was a ministry that served his growing family, his customer, the earth, and God.
Kramer's self-discovery reminds us that within each vocation, married or religious life, there are so many "mini-vocations" or calls from God in the life of service. We are all called to serve God in the pursuit of an authentic belonging in Creation - living a life in which we are connected to other people, the rest of Creation, and the Creator.
Kramer's story will touch anyone who is on a spiritual journey, looking for home; and especially anyone who is interested in the pursuit of a simple and sustainable life.
Review by Whitney Belprez, Program Manager, Kaufman Interfaith Institute at Grand Valley State University (GVSU).
