Month: April 2023

Anticipation

The garden is ready for its plants.. We had a wonderful time getting it ready. My daughter, son-in-law, and grandbabies, along with my ever helpful brother-in-law, joined me in preparing the space. We took turns caring for the babies as we tilled and raked the garden. We set up a watering system with multiple soaker hoses in addition to the hose for hand watering. We laid down weed barrier cloth and covered it with mulch, finishing the space with landscape timbers. It was an all-afternoon affair. And indescribably easier than trying to do all that by myself!

The sky was cloudless, and the sun was warm. We put a canvas and an umbrella in the yard for the babies, while the adults reveled in the April sunshine and cooling breeze. And between the four adults (the babies didn’t help much!), we got a lot done. It was not all manual labor, although much of it was. I needed to determine what I was planting, where, and how much space it would need. It took three of us to figure out the soaker hose system and get it laid out along the garden. The give and take, the sharing of tasks, the planning and doing – it was like a garden in bloom!

Not only was it a lovely afternoon, but now my garden is ready for the summer plants.

I am excited by my waiting garden; there is a joy in the anticipation of what is coming. My husband used to say that the anticipation of an event was every bit as enjoyable as the actual event: birthday, holiday, vacation.

Anticipation is born of a forward-focus; I am living in the here and now, in April, but I am thinking about and planning for July and September.

I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

Paul was living in a cell in Rome, but he was thinking about and planning for heaven.

Unlike heaven, of course, with my garden, there is the chance that my anticipation will lead to disappointment instead of fruition. But that is hard to think about as I survey my prepared garden. That space is ready for carrot seeds, tomato plants and cucumber vines.

I go to the garden center and peruse all the options, like a kid in a candy store! Each plant holds such promise. Each plant represents the work of others to get the plants to this point.

It reminds of going to the “Christian Literature” section of a bookstore; so many options!

I know I want indeterminate tomato plants; Lord, guide me to the ones that are best for my garden, my situation, my yard. It’s so exciting to hold this young plant and think about all the possibilities it holds.

God has gifted me with an intrinsic joy in doing something now that will bear fruit only later. Matthew Sleeth, in Reforesting Faith, says this is one beauty of planting a tree; you are planting it for future generations. My garden plants will reach fruition much sooner than a tree, but it is not immediate. I am engaging in an act of faith, taking action now in anticipatory joy of future results.

So the garden is ready. Any day now, the danger of frost will pass, and the seeds and plants can go in the ground.

Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. Isaiah 65:18

I am grateful that I had the time to prepare the garden. I am especially grateful that God made what would have been a chore for me into an enjoyable time with family.

What a blessing that God is creating something in this world, in our lives. What joy there is in anticipating His new world.

The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelations 22:20

Betsy

Sideways

A few of my sweet pea plants are growing sideways instead of upward. They should grab onto the supports and get taller. But they are not.

Did the weed cloth alter their growth? Were the supports not close enough? Were there not enough other plants nearby to force them upright? Why did they miss the nearby support and reach across the garden to the far one? Is this an unhealthy situation or just a different one? Is there someone or something to blame for this situation, and if so, is it me?

His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” John 9:2

I gently encourage the plants to grab hold of a support and grow upward, but if I treat them too roughly, the fragile plants will break and die. It appears some of them have found other plants and together they are growing upward. Perhaps these plants need the additional exposure to sunlight from growing sideways, exposure they wouldn’t receive if they were growing with all the others.

The question becomes, can they still produce lying on the ground? If they can’t produce good fruit without growing as recommended, what is my response? Do I force them to conform to the support, even at the risk of damage? Do I trust they will find their own way to grow toward the sun? If the plant can successfully produce from its prone position, shouldn’t I encourage it to do so?

I notice that the young plants often grab onto each other instead of onto the sturdier supports I have provided. As long as some of them are clinging onto the supports, the entire crowd seems to be encouraged upward. Many find their own attachments to the supports in time. But if the young plants attach themselves to an unsupported plant, the entire bundle often falls to the ground. Gently, gently I encourage the plants to attach to the provided supports. I know they want to grow toward the sun; sometimes they just don’t know the way.

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

I am going to continue to water, talk to and love on my wayward sweet peas. I am going to provide supports for them at every turn, encouraging them to grab hold. I will encourage them to grow, but I will not, cannot, force them to grow in the manner I think may be best. They are growing; they are living, breathing plants – a gift from God. God may see fit to produce fruit in them where they lie. God may yet use them, like the blind man mentioned in John 9, to reveal God’s works. They may yet find their way to climb the supports and reach for the sun.

It may take a while. It may take a lifetime. And it could be me and not the sweet peas that are in the wrong. Maybe these sweet peas are showing me a different way to grow and thrive and produce. Maybe they are exposing more of themselves to the sun than the ones massed along the supports. I just have to trust that God has placed the desire to reach for the sun into the DNA of these little plants. I will do what I can; and I will wait on the Lord.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some may think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

Love is patient and kind. Love does not insist on its own way (I Cor.5-6). I hope the Holy Spirit is producing this fruit in me and you. Love on. Love strong. Love in Christ.

Betsy

Spring

What a glorious time of year this is! As I check on my growing sweet peas, I feel the warm sun on my shoulders and the slight breeze across my face. I can smell the damp earth and see the green leaves peeping out of what once looked like dead tree limbs. A Mockingbird is serenading me with all of his friends’ favorite songs. And the best of all, Christ is risen!

Martin Luther’s biographer credits him with saying, “Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” Is it merely coincidence that Passover, and therefore Easter, takes place in Spring? I think not!

Spring, when God brings the dead trees to life, leads his people out of slavery, and transforms sinners into heirs of His kingdom.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. John 1:12

Spring is all about transformation. As a gardener, I get to witness the amazing transformation from seed to plant in my backyard. As a lover of the outdoors, I get to see the barren limbs of trees transform into a canopy of green leaves. Even the animals sense that this is the time to bring forth children.

And God chose just this time to empower us to transform. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead ushered in the Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of believers. He (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) is making us a new creation (2 Cor. 3:17), giving us a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36:26), and transforming us into His likeness (1 John 3:2). What a glorious time of year this is!

This week is an especially precious moment, because it is a time of waiting and watching. The sweet peas are growing; every day they seem to be taller. But there is little I can really do. It is a time to be grateful and rest. I will water if it doesn’t rain, but the hard work is done.

Soon I will need to till the rest of the garden and plant my summer crops, but it is still too early. The tiller sits idle, the fencing and weed cloth are still in the garage. I must wait until the time is right, until the chance of frost has passed, before I get back to work.

I am excited about my summer garden. I am planting carrots this year (the only true vegetable I am growing) and a fig “tree” and a raspberry bush, along with my tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. I’m a little worried I have over committed, but that will be a problem to face later. This week I am expectantly excited.

To plant a seed and watch it become a plant and bear fruit – what a gift! To see the stump of a bush or the twigs of a tree produce a leave, a bud, a flower – amazing! If nothing else, gardening makes me go outside and see the evidence of God and His transforming power.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world, His eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things He has made. Romans 1:19-20

I encourage you this week to go outside and stand in your yard, or a park if you don’t have a yard. Feel the sun on your shoulders and the breeze on your face. Listen to the birds sing their praises. You can almost feel the earth coming alive. You can almost see resurrection in a leaf.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Betsy

Too Many Good Things

The weather has turned warm and the sweet peas are up! Bursting through the ground; welcomed by sunshine and rain. I can’t contain my smile! Especially after last year when so few seeds actually germinated.

So, I planted a whole bunch of seeds this year, far more than recommended, hoping at least a few of them would grow.

And God, with His unique sense of humor, had them all sprout.

It is too many good things.

There is not adequate space between the plants for them to grow well. They may grow tall, but there is not enough space for them to spread out their fruit-bearing branches. When I was in advertising, we called the space between things “white space.” The white space is almost as important as the wording; the white space allows us to read the wording and clues us in to its interpretation.

The plants need this white space, this space between, as well: space for the sunlight to reach the leaves; space for the branches to reach out and grow; space for the roots to establish themselves in the soil.

At daybreak Jesus departed and went to a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him.” Luke 4:42

So I am going to have to thin my sweet pea plants. It’s a difficult thing to do, because I want all of them. But I know that some of them will have to go if I want any of them to be successful; if I leave them all, none of them will grow well.

I am facing a similar dilemma in my life right now. I had a busy life pre-Covid. During Covid, I developed some new patterns and activities which are dear to me. Now all the old activities are back as well, and I have new grand twins.

It is too many good things.

There is not adequate space for me to do all these things well. I need some “white space,” I need some space between.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but in the face of too much to do, I have been observing the Jewish Sabbath for Lent. I am imposing some white space on my life. I have found that it helps me focus on what’s important; it allows me to pay attention to God and what He wants me to do.

Observing a 24 hour “no work zone” has also encouraged me to work more efficiently during the other six days. I find I am wasting less time on the other days. It is forcing me to be intentional about how I am spending my time.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

So don’t ask me about the latest political wranglings; I am not filling my space with that. I am leaving uncluttered space for the plants I want to grow: space for the sunlight to reach the leaves; space for the branches to reach out and grow; space for the roots to establish themselves in the soil.

Because God is growing something in my life and in yours. We just have to make room for it to grow, even if it means getting rid of some good things.

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more that food and the body more than clothing? Matthew 6:23

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Create some space, my friend. If you are not sure which plants to thin, which good thing to eliminate, ask God for guidance. And take time to listen for His answer.

Happy Easter!

Betsy