LIVING WITH GRACE
There is a French saying… bloom where you are planted with grace. In my veggie garden, nothing is there by accident. I have carefully chosen the plants to have in my garden, and if there is something I want to grow but I have run out of space – them I am blessed enough to be able dig some more dirt to make room.
Each plant has been chosen and the ground lovingly prepared, and as the plant grows I watch over it and train it and tend to its needs, so it can perform its best and provide a bountiful harvest.
God does that for us. When He has called you to do something, it’s not by accident and he definitely didn’t think “you’ll do”. You are chosen to be planted in this location or circumstance and he has prepared the way for you and will watch over you and guide you, so live with a spirit of grace, confident in the knowledge God has put you there so he can reap a harvest.
FINDING LIFE IN THE DIRT.
For most of us dirt is dirty, and we are not happy when it is tracked through the house on the soles of some grubby child and it is something we don’t like to see on our food. In this age of super hygiene, veggies are found in stores, having been scrubbed within an inch of their lives. It becomes easy to forget that our food comes from the very dirt beneath out feet.
Dirt isn’t some filthy thing to be swept away, but a gift from God. All our food comes essentially from a humble beginning, from dirt not dissimilar to the ground you walk across every day. It is often overlooked and ignored and maligned. But God knows its value and its worth and once you recognise its worth, it becomes an amazing thing with a lot to give. It can even give life.
Sometimes it is the least of Gods people that, once recognised can do amazing things. Are you that person?
THE MORE YOU PICK THE MORE YOU GET.
With some plants, the more you pick the more you get. And this is certainly the case with peas and beans, and many others. But I was a slow learner when it came to my basil plant.
It had a lovely shape with a single branch and I didn’t want to ruin it, so I would tentatively pluck off one leaf at a time. The plant stayed looking lovely, but it never really grew any bigger.
Then one day I discovered if you took off the entire growing tip just above a set of leaves, then there was a blessing there – two small buds just waiting for the opportunity to grow and replace the foliage that had been taken.
And those two buds quickly grew big and strong. And behind them were two more buds – waiting. So the more I harvested the bigger the plant became and I ended up with a huge bushy plant with many branches - so much more than the one I started out with.
Sometimes giving can be a hard concept to trust in, but if Gods abundance is anything like my basil plant then your storehouse will overflow.
GOD CAN BE FOUND IN MY GARDEN
I have been blessed to be able to share with the listeners of Radio Rhema how God can be found in my garden through a series of one minute 'God Spots' that will be featured over the months of December 2013 and January 2014.
I have included the God Spots here so you can linger over the message instead of sitting in your car listening to the radio waiting for it to come on again!
I hope from this you will be able to find God in the ordinary things in your world and may God Bless you mightly.
Sarah the Gardener : o )
WATERING WITH THE WORD
Sometimes in the busyness of life a plant in a pot gets ignored and I forget to water it. Its head is downcast and not lifted to the sun like it should be. So I throw some water at it and hope for the best. But still it fails to lift its head.
The soil has become so dry that it actually repels water and any I have given it just drains away. The best method to fix this is to slowly immerse the plant in a bucket of water until it sinks under the surface. Then leave it there a little longer for the water to soak into every last nook and cranny and for the bubbles stop coming. Then the plant will be restored and lift its head proudly to the sun again.
This is like spending time with God. The more you neglect Him and His word, then you dry out and the enemy sneaks in and repels any half-hearted attempt to get close to God. But if you immerse yourself in him and in his word then you are able to kick out the enemy – every last drop and raise your head and proudly look to the Son.
EVERYTHING HAS A SEASON
A mistake often made by enthusiastic gardeners is to plant vulnerable plants too early in the spring.
It may be spring, but there is a lot to do before planting begins. The soil needs to be prepared so the plant is in fertile ground. It needs to be tenderly nurtured so it can grow strong and adapt to the local conditions. And then it needs to be hardened off – spending time away from the warm security of the greenhouse, so it can get used to the harsh reality of the garden.
By then the weather will have warmed up enough and the risk of frost will have passed and the plant gets a great start in perfect conditions.
A seedling planted to early is often put into hastily prepared soil and has to cope in weather conditions that it isn’t suitable for. The plant never really does well.
Sometimes the desire to race ahead to do Gods work is strong – but make sure you equip yourself and do it in His time as this is the perfect time.
ARE YOU A FAIR WEATHER FRIEND?
Gardening can be hard work. With all the digging and all the weeding and all the watering and the processing of the harvest there is a lot of effort needed. Every time you turn around it looks like there is something else that needs to be done.
But with a good understanding of how to garden well and a willing heart and a touch of determination and some creativity a keen gardener can garden in some way shape or form all year long.
Most people only garden during the summer months when the harvest is easy, and at the end of the season, they drop their tools and walk away.
Are you a fair weather friend? Are you the kind of Christian who walks with Christ through the easy bits or are you with him when the going gets tough… there is always a harvest to be had.
LIVE IN THE LIGHT
I have a confession. I am a not a tidy gardener. I almost never put my tools away. I think to myself why put them away when I will only just get them back out again tomorrow. It is much better to leave them where I need them.
But long term it just isn’t good for my tools. And sometimes leaving things out for a long time can be no good at all. I left a bucket of weeds on the grass. Each time I walked past it I thought I’ll to that next time.
Weeks went by and I finally got to the bucket and when I lifted it up - the grass beneath it was dead. It had been denied light and it died.
If you know of others who aren’t living in the light, don’t put it off any longer move the bucket so they can live again in the new life God has for them.
