Life’s garden
Luke 8-5:8 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and he bird of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.”
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing.
For those of you who’ve read my postings in the past, you know gardening is one of my frequent topics. I love gardening—the trimming, the weeding, the planting, and the satisfaction at the end of the task of seeing the benefits of the area looking better, and the plants perking up. I enjoy the labor, getting my hands dirty, pulling up some of those insidious weeds trying to take over the space, and showing off the beauty of the plants themselves.
This morning our pastor was showing us how we are all God’s garden, and we need to be cultivated, fertilized and then can bloom. I had not thought about that, but I really liked his depictions of the garden…each of us a different plant, and needing to have bad or dead areas cut away, we need to fertilize our minds and souls with the Word, by surrounding ourselves with other Christ-like mentors, and strive to be loving and kind as we learn more and more about the forgiveness and love, the AGAPE love, of God.
We are His temple, His garden, and with the proper weeding, our struggling buds can become full blown blossoms. Maybe even the kind that sucks the breath from another in thankful amazement. Blossoms from most plants are lovely and fill me with admiration at God’s lovely creativity and blessings.
Part of the enjoyment and produce from the garden comes from being tilled, cultivating the soil, and culling out the weeds, cutting back some of the blossoms so more can be produced, and have the room to flourish more. That is what we do in our gardens. And it is what God does in the gardens of our lives so we can produce good works for others to benefit by. He works in us, with us, so that we can be blossoms for others.
As much as I enjoy being a person who gardens, I love being a blossom for God. Cull away my weeds, fertilize my mind and heart, trim my dead and nonproductive branches, and support the limbs that get too lengthy and leggy until they are strong enough to support themselves. My creative Gardener, Lord, I want to be a beautiful blossom in Your garden. I love the idea that I am a plant in God’s garden.
Thank You for the blessings of eyesight to see your many and varied blossoms and plants, to hear the bees and hummingbirds that seek Your nectar, and for the health to work in the garden of “mybellaviews.”
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