A few years ago I made a raised bed just outside the back door of our house. My intention was to offset our food bill by growing lots of vegetables. As with many good intentions, for the last 3 or 4 years I have failed to follow through with my intentions. This year I decided to actually do something with this wonderful resource. I planted some Radishes, Red Beets, Carrots, Spinach, and Garlic bulbs donated by one of my sons. Here are a few pictures:
Ok, so there are some weeds growing with the plants. Well, actually, lots of weeds. But I’m sure you’ve seen worse…….
Since this raised bed is so close to our back door, I decided to follow the directions on the seed packets (I’ve never really done this before – you know – follow the directions on seed packets). Usually I put the seeds in the ground and let them grow along with the weeds, and take what I get when the plants mature.
This year I’m thinning the seedlings to allow some of the healthier plants to grow better and produce more.
As I’m thinning the plants, I’m finding that it’s a rather difficult process. Really! How do I decide which healthy plants will get their lives terminated before maturity, and which plants do I allow to continue growing? Don’t laugh at me! This is a tough decision. The seed packet tells me the recommended distance to leave between plants, but the plants in between are doing really well. Of course, I am planning to eat the plants I pull. To make matters worse, none of the plants help me with the decision – it’s ALL mine to decide. Like, they’re not even suggesting that I pull the one next to them. That WOULD be helpful because I’m sure I would pull the one making the suggestion. And when I do finally make my decision…………..the plants I pull don’t fight back. They just willingly let go of the ground they’re growing in and give way to my tugging.
As I was going through this agonizing decision making process today, my mind wandered to John 15:1-2 NIV. This is what it says: I (Jesus) am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
I started thinking about that pruning process. I don’t know about you, but many people including myself have a difficult time allowing God to do the pruning. When something that I enjoy doing or something I enjoy having gets taken away, it takes time to get over it. I miss what has been cut away and sometimes I use valuable energy mourning the loss. I am tempted to consider what kind of good, loving God would take something so meaningful away from me. Or what kind of good, loving God would allow me to go through whatever the situation might be at the time.
My focus is on what has been taken away, God’s focus as the gardener, is on what has not been taken away. In his love and kindness, he removes one thing so that other areas of my life can blossom and flourish and prosper, and ultimately bring him glory.
Three things are required for me to calm down and allow God the Father, the Gardener, to do his work in my life. First, I need to be connected to the vine. I can only go through the pruning and shaping if I am able to draw strength from an intimate relationship with Jesus. If I am connected to the vine, actively clinging to Jesus, then he will provide the strength and assurance I need for the Father to do his work in my life. Second, I need faith that God the Father has a plan greater than anything that I could imagine, and that he can see things that are out of my sight. Third, I need to trust that God the Father has my best interest in mind.
I don’t know what is happening in your life today. I don’t know what you are facing. But I do know that God the Father, the Gardener, is loving, he is full of mercy, he is kind, and he cares for you and me in ways that we can’t imagine. So, I encourage you to cling to Jesus the True Vine, keep the faith, and allow your trust in the Gardener to grow deeper.
As for my little garden outside my back door? I had a great salad for lunch with some fresh spinach sprouts, and the plants that are still in the garden look healthier than ever.
Trusting in the Gardener,
Paul D. Good