~ Gardening ~

As a young child going to Sunday school, I learned all kinds of great songs of Bible truths. One that has stuck with me is a song that I still sing with my own kids and one that I love to hear the preschoolers at SHCA sing. It goes like this:

“Read your Bible, pray everyday, pray everyday, pray everyday, read your Bible, pray everyday and you’ll grow, grow, grow”.

Pretty simple words, big concept! I have never been a person who has a “green thumb”. As a matter of fact, if I walk by a plant in the store I believe I can hear faint cries coming from them. Cries of fear that I might take them home where they will die a slow and painful death! LOL! Plants in my care have such a short life span so; I leave that up to my husband. He has the green thumb in the family and I am grateful for that! He can tend the plants and help them grow and flourish. He knows exactly the water and sunlight they will need to grow. I really admire people with that quality. Matt & the kids have decided to plant a small garden this year and they are already looking to see exactly what goodies they want to grow. This is a big moment in our home! A garden is a big responsibility and my husband has made it clear that I am to stay away from it! HAHA!

I began to think about the care a plant needs. Well, first you have to plant the seeds, and then make sure they get the water, sunlight and care they need. If any of those things are missing, or not given enough of, then the plants cannot maintain their beauty or essence and they will in most cases, die. When you begin to think about our lives as Christians, we need the same things. First we start as little seeds in our Christian lives, but as we begin to infuse ourselves with God’s Word we get nourishment. As we pray to our Father and trust him completely, we get more nourishment and we begin to grow. Growth is necessary to further the Kingdom of God.

Jeremiah 17:7-9 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

I want to continually grow in my walk with the Lord. I want to always have leaves that are green and never fail to bear fruit. That means I need to put all my confidence in my Lord. I can only have confidence in him if I know him. That comes through his Word and through fellowship with him in prayer. When times of drought come, I want to bear fruit because the Master Gardener has tended my garden.

Begin this week by allowing God to tend your garden through his Word and through your intimate time with him in prayer. Just as this sweet preschool Bible song says, “Read your Bible pray everyday and you’ll grow, grow, grow”! We can be beautiful for him and produce that sweet, delicious fruit that brings him glory!

Blessings~

Allison