GARDEN TIME
The spring garden catalogs and magazines are arriving in my
mail box daily. Today it is unseasonably
warm for the North East area where I live, even in Kansas the weather man is
predicting 50-60 degrees today!…in JANUARY!
In my mind, this brings memories of past warm winters followed with LOTS
of summer insects and weeds of unusual size!
As I was pondering on these things, it occurred to me that
our hearts are like gardens….we choose what we “plant” in our hearts by the words
we think and speak, the sounds we hear and what we see. We are the architect of
hearts. No wonder God said we should “guard
our hearts!”.
Philippians 4:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
Meditate on These Things
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever
things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are
pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
When I lived on a farm in Kansas I
had a garden. It was bordered on the
north and west sides by evergreen trees, the south end by the Butler building
and on the east side by a tall evergreen hedge.
Although, it was by our driveway, it was not visible and lots of people referred
to it as, “Karen’s Secret Garden”.
I inherited it from my mother-in-law. When my in-laws moved into town in 1989, we
moved into the main farm, where they had lived.
My father-in-law had built the house in 1958. My mother-in-law had not been
well and so, the garden was overgrown and scraggly. Over the years, under my care, it evolved
into the lovely garden of my dreams! There were flowing shrubs,two flowering Crab Apple trees,a large Pine
tree, a Red Bud tree and a Pecan Tree. In the middle was a small pond with a
waterfall. It was surrounded by stone I
had carried from the rock pile and laid in a pattern to provide a small area for
a tiny table, a couple of chairs and a bench. With the help of two of my sons,
I put down mulch on the pathways and stepping stones throughout the garden to separate
the flowers from the herbs and the vegetables.
I loved my garden, even though it
was a LOT of hard work…for two and maybe three weeks of Spring Beauty! It was so beautiful… until the wheat harvest
came in mid-June! No matter how hard I
tried to keep the weeds out, during those three-four weeks of harvest…the weeds
just came up from nowhere and would overtake my garden!
One year, I thought I would conquer
this weed thing. I spent a lot of money
on special garden treatments that would, “stamp out weeds”… then laid new mulch
on top…and thought I had beaten the weeds! The garden was extraordinarily lovely that
year. The day after harvest, I went out
and surveyed the area…WEEDS had popped up and the garden looked just as bad as
in previous years!!!
In great dismay…. I sat down on the
garden bench and cried. How could this
be??? I had worked so hard to get rid of the weeds….Through my tears, I began
to ask GOD…why??? I had worked so hard to make it beautiful…why did the weeds
have to grow???? I poured out my heart
to HIM and then I waited…it seemed like a long time. Then, as I was looking at
a towering pigweed, I heard a quiet little voice,
“That’s how I feel when I look at my
people”
Instantly I saw in a vision, the
LORD Jesus looking out a glass window. I
could see tears in his eyes as he surveyed the whole earth from this heavenly
window. I felt so ashamed. Here I was
complaining about a garden and He was thinking about the souls and hearts of
His creation!
I thought, LORD, what can I do? I am just a farm wife, a 4-H Leader, the
mother of three sons in the middle of the nation…I don’t even have a college
education…
He said, “Bloom where you are
planted. Seek me and I will teach you.”
In the Holy Bible it is written, that
when we seek GOD with all our heart, we will find Him. He is only a prayer away and He desires us so
much more that we desire HIM! HIS mercy,
grace, peace, joy and perfect Love are available to us…Jesus is not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to know salvation through HIM….HIS
cross…His blood shed for our sins and His resurrection for our eternal life
with Him…ONLY BELIEVE and you shall be saved!
When the Apostle Paul was beaten and
put into prison in Philippi, an angel came and rescued him and the jailer asked
Paul:
Acts 19
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and
fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And
he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Wonderful story. I remember sitting in your garden and it was lovely.
ReplyDelete"Bloom where you are planted", indeed I will.
Thank you!