Having planted a garden too early and then having had to later replant it (due to unusual weather, too much rain or too little; colder soil temperatures, etc…), I have learned to be more patient and more persevering over the years.  Some years we have had the challenges of very large gardens, and other times we have planted in containers on our patio.  Yet, every year I have gained more understanding as a gardener through my experiences and observations.

Often, I have admired the tidy herb gardens my neighbors have had and the beautiful spacious wildflower gardens along the Ohio and Carolina highways, and I realized they are the same and yet different.  Both types of gardens need some kind of planning, regular care (even the highway department must plan their mowing in line with blooming periods), favorable weather/soil conditions, and someone to use/enjoy them.  If we look at our lives as gardens and Father God as The Gardener, then we begin to see a new perspective on gardening.  Then even small, clay flowerpots on the windowsill can speak to us of His loving care and faithfulness.

As I hoed some rows and sowed the peas, beans and lettuce seeds last week, my mind went over the familiar passages of the Bible where Jesus taught parables about seeds, sowing, soil and harvesting.  I realized how often he used the "gardening" or farming around him to explain how Father God--The Gardener--wanted to relate to us.  For a short discussion of the "Sower and Seed Parable" and it’s meaning, click on the Kingdom of God link to go to this article in the Living Room.

In the beginning, God created a beautiful garden in Eden.  It was a place of fellowship with "man".  Later in Isaiah 58:11 and Jeremiah 31:12, God promises that Israel would be like a well-watered garden if they followed His plan and His Way—walking with Him.  Jesus later wept and sweated blood in a garden of olive trees.  Here he prayed to the Father to let the cup of suffering of the cross pass if possible, but to restore fellowship between God and people he was sent to the cross.  After His resurrection, it seems fitting that Mary thought he was the gardener. There are many words of Jesus that refer to gardens and fields, seeds, working the ground and harvest.  Finally there is the beauty of heaven that is described in Revelation as full of life—trees for the healing of the nations, flowing crystal rivers, and the greatest harvest (of peoples’ souls) being there to enjoy that eternal garden forever.  Again, our fellowship with Father God is the harvest of heaven.

In every biblical mention of gardening (from the mustard seed, to the vines and Vinedresser, to the olive trees with the grafted-in branches), the message is plainly stated: Father God, as the Gardener has a plan for each of us as His gardens--a plan for fellowship with Him.  He wants to faithfully work out that plan in us completely, as we yield (like the soil) to His Way.  Then, as we have the seeds of His Words implanted within us, we can grow and mature (as we apply those words to our lives) until we produce a great harvest!  That harvest is an intimacy and love for Him—His fellowship!

His Work, His Will and His Supply= Our Abundant Life.

Even, as I have replanted my garden at times, so He will patiently persevere with us to re-sow His Words into our soil (hearts) over and over again.  He is Faithful, even when we are Faithless.  Then one day, we will be ripe for the harvest and He will take our matured seed and sow it into another field and another, and another.  One thing I have understood through gardening is how one tiny, seemingly insignificant seed can produce a multiplied amount of seed over time—given the right care, and supplied with the right amounts of growth factors.  Even though the rains come too hard or not at all, and though the sun is unmerciful in it’s heat and the soil lacking in nutrients, still somehow the seed can grow given the TLC of a true, experienced gardener.  This month, my desire for you is that Father God as The Gardener would have you for His Garden.

For ideas on starting a simple garden of your own, check out the following link (www.burpee.com).  No matter if you grow flowers, herbs, vegetables, or a large crop for market, take time to experience the fellowship of Father God—The Gardener--as you enjoy and use your gardens!

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