The Garden of Life
(**I went out and took pictures of my garden for you and sure enough... I ran off and left my camera at home. Since we do not have Internet at home I have to drive to Mc* for free Internet so the pics will have to wait!)
This is so not my garden but how pretty it is;)
Since we moved out to the country this year we decided to
have a big garden. We tried our hand at gardens throughout our lives in the
city with little to no luck. No matter what we did, our plants did not grow and
fruit did not produce. So it really defies logic to even think of planting a
big garden when we were never successful at a small one, however, we’ve never
been one to let failure stop us, so in the early spring of this year we began
planning our garden.
Oh, how I prayed for this garden! As my husband tilled the
rows and did the prep work I walked up and down each row praying and asking the
Lord to bless this garden. We carefully planned what we would grow and where it
would be placed. We planted the seeds and made little signs to plug into the
ground to help us remember where we planted what. I continued to pray for the Lord’s blessings
as we planted each seed.
As the days passed, we looked forward to going to the garden
and watching the progress of our labor. As the weeks pasted we realized that my
brother’s garden and my parents’ garden had grown double the size of our
garden. What had we done wrong? Nothing. We planned, we prepped, we labored, we
even prayed!
We continued to care for our big garden that didn’t want to
grow. We fed it and watered it. I continued to walk the rows and pray, “Lord,
please bless this garden!” Weeks and weeks passed and our garden began to grow.
Little by little we were able to bring in a zucchini and a couple of tomatoes.
It was never a lot, literally 2-3 veggies with each trip. We thanked God for
His faithfulness and soon we had enough to can a few jars of tomatoes. The
garden always provides a side with our meals.
As I have spent time with the Lord in my garden, I have come
to realize this garden is a representation of my life. The gardens in the past
never produced fruit. No matter what we did or how much care we gave, it
withered up and died. This represents the years of my life I played church. I
always had a good heart and wanted to do good things but despite my good
actions—I failed.
My garden today represents my life today. I no longer play
church but daily surrender my life to Christ. I work hard to live my life for
Christ but I often fail. I am reminded of this in my garden. In all the
planning and preparation, we didn’t notice that the row of corn received too
much shade. It has grown but not very tall. It will produce a few ears despite
our error. I am reminded that God is
faithful despite my mistakes. The squash plants grow and grow. Its vines are
thick and they twist around like a roller coaster. A reminder that life is not
always easy when we follow Christ and can often feel like a roller coaster when
we chose to worry and not give Him complete control of our problems. If we
stand strong in our faith in what sometimes appears to others an impossible
task He will bless us. I look at the flower bloom on my squash and I watch it
turn into a beautiful yellow squash, and I am reminded of the transformation
Christ is doing in my life. Last, I look at the tomatoes. They stand tall and
loaded with green tomatoes. Each day we walk out and one or two has turned red
and ready to pick. God is just good like that. He gives us what we need each day,
not too little, not too much. Each day as I bring in 1 to 3 pieces from our
garden, my heart is full of joy because it is a reminder of how God has
provided throughout our adoption. Each piece of “fruit” has been a reminder of
each one of you who chose to act in obedience to God’s word and reach out to
support the orphans, to help bring our son home. Time and time again, complete
strangers have approached us, all with the same story—“God placed it on my
heart to give.” Despite the huge
financial need to complete our adoption, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
God’s way—God’s time; Lord, help me to be completely dependent on you.
What started out as a garden bound to fail, has turned into
much more than I could have ever imagined. It has placed food on our table, it
has placed joy in my heart, and it has brought me closer to God. This garden
has produced much more than squash, zucchini, and tomatoes. It has been a
reminder how God uses ALL things to bring glory to His name. It has not only
been a reflection of my life thus far but a glimpse of what He has planned for
all who walk by the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things
there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, “let us walk by the
Spirit.”
Galatians 5: 22-24
