I love to go outside and work in the garden. I have such a sense of accomplishment when I am finished. I am dirty, hot, and thirsty. I can look back and see all the places where my work has made an effect.
If it's quiet while I'm working, then I have many deep thoughts. Sometimes it seems as if God is teaching me by speaking to my heart. The analogies between caring for a garden and caring for my children have been so direct that they've seemed surreal. I've been wanting to write down every wise teaching from the garden. I'm committed to save these summer treasures. I'm trying to do it here. The messages seemed profound when they were spoken to me in the garden. I was inspired. Now the lessons sound (or read) simplistic, but my experiences with God were truly holy...
Young plants (young adults) need protection: When the tomatoes and squash were growing quite large, I planted a couple of seedlings among them. I knew the little plants would be broken by balls or feet if they weren't protected. I used hardware wire that I shaped into a circle around them. The sun and water could still get to them and we could still easily see each part of the plants, but they were buffered from danger. Likewise, young children need protection. But it's more than that. Even young adults need protection. They need safe places to grow and mature. Like the young squash, they are close to maturity, but so tender and susceptible to danger. Extra measures must be taken to protect them. And the timing of removing the protection is crucial, lest the plant's growth be hindered. God is the ultimate authority on proper sheltering.
Weed often (weeds are sins, ungodly passions): When the garden is first planted the dirt is clean and clear between each newly planted vegetable. It reminds me of caring for an infant. Everything is sweet. After a couple of weeks the weeds start to visibly invade the dirt. The weeds are easier to spot and remove when there are just a few of them. This is also true in our children's lives. Ungodly heart attitudes are much easier to discover and "root out" when they have just begun. That's one reason that I enjoy a baby so much. Each birth presents a fresh start and bed of opportunity-just like a new, weedless garden. A diligent "gardener" will return over and over to root out the new weeds. I try not to overreact to bad attitudes/sin/ungodliness in our children, afterall I can sport an ungodly attitude just as well. Often that reality causes me to repent, in front of them, of my own poor example and then come alongside them to discuss how we can be more like Christ. "Weeding" is much more time and energy consuming than any other part of gardening-and parenting.
Weeds left unrestrained will take over a garden. Ultimately the desired plants can barely be seen. The weeds require deep digging to be removed, often damaging the nearby vegetable roots. The vegetables will wilt and threaten to die. But water, sun and weedless soil will give them another chance. That is very much like removing the undesirable things from a young person's life. They sulk. They want us to believe that they'll die without "such and such". But, they won't. Then again, there are those deadly attachments to certain sins (weeds) that do threaten a young person if we forcefully remove them. So, we must be vigilant and never tolerate a small dose of a deadly habit or appetite.
Hope: there is always hope. Never give up-on a plant or a child. I had a plant that threatened to die after I had vigorously weeded around it. I had even severed part of it. Secondly, we had another small plant that was trampled by little feet. It was broken at the main stem. I replanted it in a safer place. Both of the above plants survived. Both had appeared dead, hopeless. When I discovered them thriving and green, I sensed that God wanted to gently discipline me for being impatient and thinking certain situations were long-term problems in our family. In fact, in a short time, both plants looked new again. I think He wants me to develop a more patient, "marathon" mentality and not always look for instant maturity or fruit.
Beautiful, fruitless plants: I built an 8 foot trellis for our cucumbers. I planted seven plants. They grew like weeds. In a couple weeks the trellis was covered with vines and blooms, like the one in the photo above. Those vines promised to produce a summer full of cucumbers. It's now August and we have picked less than a dozen cucumbers from there. However, the tomatoes, slow to bear fruit, and quite over-grown and ugly, have filled our freezer with bags of soup-starting tomatoes! We've had many meals stocked with tomatoes! The two modest bush tomatoes have provided grape tomatoes for nearly every dinner salad. That cucumber trellis looks like a monument of infertility. Similarly, we do not desire to raise beautiful fruitless children. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control." Looking "good" on the outside is good if that attractiveness can draw one person to another initially. But the Spirit of the Lord, through us, ministers to the sick, gives to the poor, cares for widows and orphans, and brings men to repentance. This is a fruitful life!
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."Eph. 5:11
"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Matt. 7:19-21
"...I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last." John 15:16
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