Disclaimer #1 – I love all God’s creatures. Disclaimer #2 – my being a dog person does not mean I don’t like cats. But before either being a dog or cat person, I am a gardener. I have roses, wildflowers, honeysuckle, geraniums (BIG ones), succulents (we do live in Tucson), and so much more. Every year my children tell me I have no more room for plants, and every year I find, or make, room for more. While all my plants are special and each has a story, my vegetable garden gets by far the most attention.
Every year in the winter I’m turning my compost bin into the garden to prepare the soil. I spend time getting the soil, space, and fencing repaired, updated, and ready. I fertilize depending on what I intend to plant and then I’m off to the races. However, each spring I have the same problem, neighborhood cats finding a way into my garden bed. It’s like they know just when to come to the yard and dig up all my hard work. I put up nets and confidently plant, only to come out the next day and see my hard work completely torn up. Holes dug, seeds displaced, new plants strewn aside, and little brown presents left in the wake of the chaos. So, I begin again, putting up more netting, filling each hole, and replanting, only to have it happen all over again. This year I GAVE UP! The cats won, I had no more ingenious ideas or energy to start over. I stood in front of my newly destroyed vegetation, shook my head and walked away. There would be no vegetable garden this year.
Instead, I focused on the rest of my yard, the other raised beds, flowers, herbs, and trees. I no longer looked, I no longer fertilized, I did not weed, or water. The garden lay a destroyed empty plot of dirt… or so I thought.
This week when I went out to enjoy my morning coffee and turn on the sprinklers, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Green shoots coming up out of the disheveled and displaced soil. Plants mixed up and misplaced were beginning to sprout and grow in my well cared for and fertilized soil. Gone were the neat rows and straight lines, but the beginnings of the harvest were evident.
My garden reminded me of the parable Jesus told of the Sower and the soils in Luke 8:4-15. The Sower is God, the seed is His word. Both, I was reminded recently, are perfect. The soil is us. The state of our hearts is represented by the different soils, the last being fertile and ready to receive the seed. Funny, it never said the soil is perfect, only that it was good. Good soil is all that is needed for the Holy Spirit to grow in you.
As a gardener I know that the better I can condition the garden space and keep it secure from animals, insects, too much sun, too much/little water, the better my harvest. What I sometimes forget is that I may be the one planting the seeds but its God who ultimately helps them grow. Good seed (God’s Word) can grow in imperfect situations if the soil is ready (good).
All too often I’m afraid we make excuses, we’re not good enough, we’re not worthy enough, we’re still broken, we’re not smart enough, successful enough, we have too much baggage, or we’re just not ready. We think that because we don’t have a perfectly secure garden with straight rows and strong fences that nothing will grow. We’re focusing on the wrong thing! All we really need is an open and willing heart, messy as the garden may be, the soil is still good.
Paul tells us if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved, Romans 10:9. Paul didn’t say we have to be perfect to be accepted, Jesus actually said He came to save the sick, “I came not to call the righteous but the sinner to repentance.” Matthew 9:13. Jesus died for us while we were still broken sinners, piles of unfertilized dirt. The Holy Spirit creates the conditions for the seeds to grow, we need to have faith and know that what God plants in us will bloom when we allow Him to work in our messy imperfect lives.
The cats came and dug up my garden, but the seeds were still there, the soil was messy but good. With water and sunshine, it will yield a crop a hundred-fold. Just like the work Jesus is doing in our lives if we let Him have His way. The seeds will germinate and grow, the seeds are His perfect will and words they cannot fail their purpose, if we are willing.
Let God surprise and bless you in 2021 as we walk in the path He created for us!
Please help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!
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