The Garden of Your Heart
This past weekend, I finally had the chance to plant my garden. Here in Colorado, many of us think twice before planting anything before Mother's Day. We may get a few gloriously sunny days in a row, but be warned and don't be tricked... we will get snow, frost, or hail at least one more time before we turn the corner into summer.
It breaks my heart, and my pocketbook, to see my beautiful flowers and tender kale stripped down to the stalk or wilting under the weight of cold and ice.
So I wait.
And when Mother's Day finally hits, I'm like a racehorse bursting out of the starting gate! It's on like Donkey Kong, and I head to three or four nurseries to get squared away.
I dig, till, sow, and water. And then I exhale in delight as my home suddenly bears more life and beauty.
I try to be intentional about this process.
And this year, I decided to plant more than flowers and vegetables.
I planted a Victory Garden.
More than just a beautifully embellished space, this year's garden is a visual representation of all of the good things I'm planting in faith this season.
Every plant and every seed declares victory over something.
My garden is green and full of life and there seems to be no greater balm to my soul than the intentionality of it all.
The Victory Garden is a part of all of our legacies. You see, during WWI and WWII the government urged people to “plant seeds of victory” to boost morale, safeguard against food shortages, and ease the burden of the farmers who were working tirelessly to feed the troops and civilians overseas.
And it worked.
People shared what they grew and they worked together to make things grow.
Did you catch that…
People shared what they grew and they worked together to make things grow.
How can we be more like the “Greatest Generation” who worked together to rebuild their communities, homes, and the economy after the world was ripped apart by war? Or the believers from the early church who met together and shared everything they had?
Where, and with whom, can we share what we’re growing?
Harvested crops and food are one thing, but how about being a person who freely shares the fruit of the Spirit, forgiveness, and compassion? Generosity like that brings healing, freedom, and lasting nourishment to the soul.
How well are we working with and alongside others to produce something meaningful; something that furthers the Kingdom of God, not just our private agendas?
When we grow and share, we are acting and loving like God.
When Jesus told His disciples, “My Father is the gardener,” (John 15:1 NLT) He wasn’t using random imagery to make His point. From the very first book in the Bible, we discover that God is a gardener:
“The Lord God planted a garden.” Genesis 2:8
As Beth Moore so eloquently puts it, “From the beginning, it’s God Himself with hoe and spade. It’s God who’s afoot with herbs and bulbs. It’s God with the knack and no Farmer’s Almanac.”
But I wonder, why would God choose to slowly grow something He could have created fully grown? Why would He go to the trouble of planting seeds that have to sprout, and push their way through heavy soil, instead of just commanding them into existence in full bloom?
Because God delights in watching things grow.
More than that, He likes watching us grow.
He has chosen and planted us, and He helps us thrive, flourish, and bear much fruit.
While we plant in faith, God plants according to His perfect plan. If we submit ourselves to His ways (mysterious and painful though they may be at times) we will find that it’s all part of a process that enables us to become who He’s created us to be; His, heavy with fruit to be shared, and of course, victorious!