Garden

I was driving down Beltway 8 last week, and for a short time was following a large artfully painted supply truck that read “have you planted your garden?”.  And on the side of it, it read “our roots grow deep”. (bonniesplants) As I continued driving I kept thinking about that.  Two of my daughters have active vegetable gardens, and over the years , it seems to have become a gratifying hobby to many.  

That being said, it brings me back to the topic of gardens. And it made me think of the garden story in the bible. It was the first  place where Adam and Eve fellowshipped with God.  Can you imagine what God’s garden must have looked like? It had to be magnificent; filled with flowers, fruits, vegetables, foliage and beauty beyond our imagination. And then there was that “one tree”…forbidden to sample and yet a temptation that bellowed. 

Just think a minute about the garden that you have allowed God to plant within your heart and soul. Whereas Adam and Eve enjoyed a tangible garden, ours is a personal one.  It is a garden where we can embrace the very presence of God at all times. Within us, God has planted HIS peace.. hope… love...wisdom.. kindness…joy… and faith in God himself. These  are just a few of the attributes that God has nudged you and I to nourish and grow through our daily walk in this crazy world. In order to keep those attributes strong and healthy, we have to consciously feed them truths to make sure they are strong enough to overcome the weeds and the torrents of weathered storms.  

God has called us to nourish these seeds and help them to grow strong.  He has given us the gardening tools of scripture, prayer, Jesus, Christian friends and church, (to name a few), that we can use to enrich our soil and feed those virtues that God wants us to grow.

It is our job to maintain our garden and protect it from the things that bug us, the weeds that strangle us the insects which infect us, and the varmints that steal from us.  And we cannot do that alone, for it is God who knows the culprits, and their trickery and deceitfulness.  He is the one who will hold them accountable to the troubles they cause.  Ask Him! Let HIM! 

But there is always gonna be “that tree”. The temptation that grows within us to succumb to what we are not suppose to indulge in. Whether it is defying God's commandments or letting emotional feelings such as being anxious, or undeserving or self serving, judgmental of others,  fearful or even maintaining an intentional distance from God. He is the only one who is worthy to take up true  residence in our garden. It is God who enriches us and grounds us and roots us in his love and through his love. His love is what enriches the soil of our souls. His truths and blessings have been  set forth for you and I to enjoy.  

That tree is often time a hard distraction to overcome, but God is there to help us have the power and courage to throw a blind eye towards that which is purposely trying to interfere with the essence

of God’s beauty, peace, joy and our continued growth. For within us God is sowing his seeds of love contentment, faithfulness and trust.

The garden we have growing within us is the one where God’s presence infinitely remains. It is one that, if we continually sustain it with the seeds of His spirit, it is then that God will prune us, nurture us,  secure us, and grow us according to his plan and through his love for us.  

May you find joy and peace in the garden that God has planted

within you.  And let him help you to weed out whatever is blocking the peace that comes from taking a stroll in the magnificence of his presence.  Amen 

Ephsians 3: 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

John 15:1

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!

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