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The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; 

and there He placed the man (and woman) whom He had formed. ~ Genesis 2:8

 

Good morning dear Sister!

Rainy summer nights, sunshiny days and company coming always lead me to one conclusion: I have to do something about my gardens! I’m not much of a gardener. In fact, I suspect that when most people say they feel closer to God when they’re gardening, it’s because they are down on their knees! 

I’ve tried to like gardening. In fact, once upon a time I even had a nice little herb garden! I grew mint, oregano, more mint, thyme, basil and more mint! (mint is really easy to grow) It was around the same time that we brought two sister bunnies from the local shelter home for our ‘favorite middle son” who had been yearning for a pet of his own. (We meant to bring home one, but it turned out that they were BOGO) So, home we came with two sweet little herbivores that my future rough, tough Army Ranger son named “Sugar & Spice”. 

Having little bunnies brought some unexpected bonuses. Those adorable critters devoured every dandelion and every bit of clover in our yard! Our grass never looked so great! Later in the season though, we started to notice some other growth in the grass. It looked like…. oregano, and maybe some thyme and definitely some mint!! I looked at my herb garden, which had been sadly, but predictably, neglected. Except for the mint, it looked rather depleted, kind of chewed up in fact. The mint had gone totally wild and sprung up all over the place. It seems that the oregano and thyme survived in its own personal pellet of bunny fertilizer and popped up wherever they had been.

The bunnies lived to a ripe old age and my herb garden became ‘naturally’ replanted. To this day you can still catch a whiff of mint, oregano, more mint or thyme when the grass is cut. The original herb garden is covered with weeds…. and mint.

I have gardening friends whose flower beds are beautiful, full of blossoms for every season cheerily waving in the breeze. They spend time planning a layout, searching for just the type of flower they want, planting, cultivating, separating, watering, fertilizing and weeding.

In a way, isn’t that what our Heavenly Father does for us? He is the Master Gardener of our souls! He makes a plan for you, He carefully searches for you, He plants His Spirit in you; cultivating, watering and feeding you with His Word, even setting you apart from the weeds of this world!

I have experienced how, if I do not guard the God-given treasure of my soul, thieves, disguised as innocent, harmless, cute little bunnies will devour it. How not caring for my garden will allow the good things that God planted to be choked out by the weeds which spring up in my soul. How my plans and plants wither and die from neglect and lack of nourishment.

Beautiful gardens don’t just happen. They require a lot of work and upkeep! I must admit, sometimes I get tired or lazy and I let myself off the hook, thinking, “Oh well, maybe next season I’ll do better.”

“Next season” has been coming for a long time now. Since being challenged by the teaching of Pastor G, I’ve realized that I need to direct my gaze to God and let His Light nourish my soul-garden. I need to let Him choose what He wants to grow in me. I need to allow Him to plant and cultivate His work in me. I need to separate myself from the weeds, lest God’s plan gets choked out.

But just maintaining the garden of my soul by myself hasn’t been enough! I need the nourishment of the water of the Word. To be cultivated and trimmed by the Master’s loving Hand. And finally, to be fertilized with the fellowship of the brethren! And all in the proper season, which is God’s timing, not my own!

I pray that you might consider how your garden grows, dear sister. Let us be fertilizer for one another in His ways so that our lives may be like a fragrant aroma as we blossom in His love! 

With love, your sister, Celeste