Aren't we all, really? We hope things look perfect from the outside, and do everything in our power with concealer, color, and shape-wear to make us look that way, but without God's mercy and grace, we could never have any hope of being what we intend to be.
I'm picking on my hodgepodge garden for a reason. It brings to mind three specific situations in our lives---conditions, really---that are calling for our attention...like that 6:00 AM songbird outside the window on Saturday morning. We can roll over, put a pillow over our head, and shut it out, or we can acknowledge the miraculous truth and beauty wrapped up in its notes...
1) What did you plant? Springing up between the neat and carefully planted rows of pansies now, I see the lilies I planted two springs ago. The hardy hibiscus I had given up for dead, transplanting the pretty little Japanese maple where it was....well, it has risen from the dead, and has sprung up underneath that little tree, awkwardly competing for space and sunlight. On the other side, the huge cannas I have extracted twice now (they are too tall for the space in front of the window), have popped up, more numerous than ever, now towering over the poor little rows of pansies on the other side.
We must remember that whatever we plant, grows. Not just now, but later, when we no longer want it. Whether it's anger, hurt, or reckless behavior, these things will continue to pop up until they are truly, thoroughly extricated from our hearts. Even the things we thought were good at the time. As we mature and our life plans move forward, they can get in the way of what God wants to cultivate in us, now. Be careful what you plant.
2) What are you neglecting? How many times have I bought plants, bulbs, set aside seeds, etc...with the intention of planting them right away? But life happens, and work happens, and the things I intended to do seem to get lost in the shuffle. Let's call it what it is---a life balance issue. In one of my flower gardens, it seems the St. Augustine grass is making as much progress as the wandering jute that's taking over, crowding out, stifling the flowers that I wanted to flourish. Then, the weeds are doing well, too.....Why won't the grow as well in that big bare spot in the yard? How does the jute take over so fast? Neglect. It occurred to me that, whether it's weeds or a wildly flowering plant, bad things or good things can equally get in the way of our purpose. They are equally destructive and distracting. Even "good things" can crowd out the right things we want to achieve. If we aren't reserving our time, our space, our resources, for God's BEST plan for our lives, we need to do some serious work to get our lives back in order. Whether it's work or TV that's robbing you of your devotional time, the result is the same.
3) What's the season? I don't know much, but I know enough to read the instructions on the seed packets well enough to know I can't plant my summer garden in the winter, or put things that need shade in full sun. It just doesn't work, no matter how much you want it to work --- you can water, pray, beg, coddle, and soak everything in miracle-grow, but if the season is not right, it just won't happen-----or it won't happen for long. Timing is everything. In Matthew 13, Jesus talks about the mustard seed---how that tiniest of seeds grows into the greatest of trees, all in due time. God's time.
Don't be discouraged or frustrated if it takes time for God to bring to fruition the things you know you've planted correctly, in the right season, in response to His direction. It just takes time.
"Guard your heart with all diligence," God's word tells us, "for it determines the course of your life."
Be careful what you plant, feed and cultivate. Don't neglect issues that need your immediate attention. Make sure the time is right, and have patience to see things bloom in God's timing.
Most of all, take heart. When our nearby lake was dried up beyond all hope, we thought we would never see it full again, but we were wrong. It's sparkling and over the banks now, in many places, where it was once only a dried, cracked wasteland. That same seemingly hopeless crop you've planted will come, in due season, and you'll be standing, smiling, in that same place where you now worry and fret, over the flourishing fulfilled promises that you thought would never come.
"What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord...
When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings." Psalm 84:5-6
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