Watering.....

 

Mother’s Day brought flowers, I’ve planted new plants in my yard. They look beautiful, yes, thank you for asking. I make sure to water them regularly because they’re just getting rooted in fresh soil. They’ll take hold and perhaps next year, they won’t need quite as much extra water, though I do pamper the ones I planted last year with some extra water too.

What would become of them if I’d carefully dropped them into the soil of my yard and turned to walk away, never going back to tend them again? Out here in the dry Colorado dirt, they’d quickly wither up and die without some love, attention – and water.

Making this a point to ponder, we can see how watering is important and necessary for spiritual growth. Whether we’re talking about a brand-new Christian who’s just been introduced to the new soil of Christianity or a seasoned Christian whose faith has already been tried, we all need the watering of encouragement.

Evangelists sometimes get a lot of attention; they often make a big splash exposing our need for a Savior. Many of them are louder than the average bear and might pack a bit more energy into their presentations. But we daily share Jesus with the people around us, sometimes quietly and without words. Evangelists might be considered the ‘seed planters’ – and might also be seen as the harvesters. To the lost soul coming to Christ, it may feel like they’re hearing these truths, these ‘seeds of faith’ for the first time. But God has always been sending people along the path of their lives, planting seeds they may not have been aware of, preparing them for the harvester who will come along and lead them straight to the Throne of Glory to receive the salvation they’ve been needing, that maybe they didn’t realize they were looking for.

But what happens in between and after? While some have been planting seeds from the Word of God into the fertile heart of one searching for answers, others come along side them and water those seeds, showering them with encouragement and stories of God’s faithfulness in their own lives.

Without water, seeds quickly die off, even after they’ve sprouted up out of the ground. We may stumble across seeds of Truth, not realizing that God was at work behind the scenes preparing them for us, unnoticed there in the background of our lives. Jesus didn’t die in vain, He’s at work with His Father and His precious Holy Spirit wooing us, revealing Himself to us, softening our hearts and opening our eyes and ears to see spiritual things - and by His kindness, drawing us to repentance.

Without the waterers, what would become of us?

Even those of us who are firmly established in our faith need God’s living water poured generously over us from time to time. God won’t deny us that. He has plenty of waterers around us. No doubt, you’re one of them!

How do we water the people around us? Well, how do you find yourself watered – or refreshed and encouraged? That’s what the people around you need, too.

God’s Word is called Living Water, among other things. The River of Life that flows out of us is the Spirit of God that moves through us to the people around us when we encourage them. When we need encouraging, God sends someone across our path with a fresh bucket of Living Water for us.

If we’re not refreshed or nourished by the Living Water of God, perhaps it’s because we didn’t like the looks of the bucket (pride). How long will we go thirsty?

Much of my poetry refers to gardens and flowers because that’s one wonderful way God relates to me, He fills me with joy and stirs His Spirit within me when I’m outside amidst the beauty of nature, or when I’m breathing in the fragrance of the pretty bouquet my husband nourished me with. (He’s my favorite waterer!)

“As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for God.” (Psalm 42:1)

And sometimes - it's just rains......

You, my friend, are an incredible waterer. Keep up the good work. You’re VERY important! I thank God for you.

 

Garden Soil - Holy Ground

“There is grace for every garden you’re in…” 

– Pastor Pat Willard

When I think about gardening, I think of the only good gardens I’ve been a part of. I love living in Colorado, but the effort to grow plants in my yard is too great. I might as well toss my money in the trash if I’m pouring it into my yard. But, as a girl growing up on a farm in northeastern Ohio, I shared in the efforts it took to plant, tend and harvest our bountiful gardens. It’s a whole lot easier to grow a garden with good soil! It will always entail hard work, but it’s a labor of love when you get the results you want and can enjoy the fruits of your labors.

In the Word of God there are plenty of references to gardening. One parable, often referred to as the parable of the sower, might more accurately be called the parable of the soils, as our pastor has pointed out. Good seeds are planted each time; the difference in the harvest is because of the soil:

“And [Jesus] spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” – Matthew 13:3-9 (KJV)

God’s Word is that good seed. Some seeds are too old to sprout, but God’s Word is eternal, it never returns void. It’s never a faulty seed planted into the soil of our hearts, if it’s the seed of the Word of God. Yet, three soil conditions are mentioned in the parable that present problems for the garden. [Note: I don’t see them as problems for the Gardener.]

Unlike the sandy soil here in my Colorado backyard, I have choices to make every day. I choose to receive the Word of God with joy, I choose to cultivate the Word of God in my life. I can also choose to allow the seed that’s been planted in my heart to become overwhelmed with the daily concerns of my life; the worries that creep in, like thorny weeds that can overcome a garden, crowding out the crops I planted. I can allow them to steal my attention from my Creator, seeing them as bigger or more influential in my life than my Savior. Do we “tell God how big our problems are, or do we tell our problems how big a God we serve”?

Daily, I choose whether or not to forgive those who bring offenses into my life; those who wound me deeply or simply cut me off in traffic. Left unattended, unforgiveness shows up like rocks in the fine soil of my heart. Once I let bitterness creep into my life, I become hardened, like clay baked in the summer sun. Sometimes when those offenses show up, God can use forgiveness I choose to give as a hoe or a rotor-tiller to break up the hardening that had been taking place.

The condition of the garden of my heart is very dependent on me; yes, it will take time and effort. Often, that time and those efforts are spent on those we love – investments that can come back to bless us many-fold, or seem to leave us abandoned and lonely. But, God sees it all, whether we see the harvest on this side of glory or not. No tending.

YET…I look around and see seeds produce where, realistically, they shouldn’t. Here in Colorado I repeatedly see trees growing from crevices between rocks in the mountains. It makes me ponder. Was it a stubborn seed? No one comes to water it or to take care of any weeds that try to force it out. With no room for even pebbles, this isn’t rocky soil, it’s shallow dirt, blown and settled between huge pieces of rock! How does this tree grow? Where does it take root and how does it glean it’s nourishment? (You know if I planted that seed there, it wouldn’t grow at all!) My parallel point to ponder goes to the one, the unlikely soul we see cursing God on daily basis. Yes, the Word of God can grow there, too.

The Harvest of a Seed Planted

I’m compelled to quote a very dear friend of mine for today’s blog post. Nancy encourages me and loves me through her inspirational letters. There’s no doubt in my mind that God has brought her to me now, in this season of my life, where her support and friendship do me indefinable good. At the recent loss of my brother-in-law she wrote, in part:

I read a small devotional book (okay I 'try' to read it each morning before heading out into the world) and the words always give me comfort for the day's journey.

These words are one of today's readings. I just had to write one of today's Bible verses for you... "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, you may be also. And you know the way where I am going." John 14:1-4

In March, 1996, the night my dad passed away from a heart attack, my dear husband said these words to me in the kitchen of our home. In my shock, Loren's sharing of his 'favorite' verse from his childhood Bible studies gave me comfort. This many years later, I am grateful for the comfort given to me. I have since wondered if Loren could have ever imagined, as a little boy memorizing verses for Sunday School, (I often use his old Bible and see his underlined words) that his future wife would cling to those WORDS and TRUTHS in a time of great discouragement and sadness.

There could have been no more perfect message to uplift me that day. Thank you, Nancy. I love you!