Category: Autumn

When God bears fruit in our lives

Fences

My yard helpers and I are putting the new fence around my garden in weekly installments. The old fencing was bent and broken, and I wanted easier access to my plants. The deliberate slowness of installing this fence, not a normal trait of mine, has left me with time to contemplate why I want the fence, what its purpose is, and how best to achieve those ends.

Fences generate emotions in me, probably in you as well, often conflicting emotions based on which side of the fence we are on and who is manning the gate. I’ll talk about the gate next week. This week I am wrestling with the fence itself.

Why do I need a fence? The answers seem obvious. I need a fence to protect my young plants from bunnies and ‘possums and my neighbor’s dog when she escapes her invisible fence. I need a fence to delineate where the mowers are supposed to mow and where they are not. I need a dedicated space where I can nourish the soil and protect the plants and give my seeds and saplings the best chance to thrive and bear fruit.

We need fences in our life as well if we are to bear spiritual fruit. We need those fences so we can dedicate certain parts of our day to God and God alone. Thirty minutes without the phone or computer or television to meditate on His Word and converse with Him in prayer. A small space that nourishes our soul and protects our faith and gives us the best chance to thrive and bear the Spirit’s fruit.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35.

Fences make good neighbors and we dream of the white picket one. Therapists tell us to develop boundaries for better personal mental health. Groups have fences that delineate membership, some invisible, some difficult to articulate. And at least one researcher has found that playgrounds without fences lead children to huddle around the adults, while playgrounds with fences encourage them to explore the entire space. Yet, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and that is the problem with fences.

When I was a freshman in college I applied for an exclusive organization. To be accepted I went through two rounds of written essays and a weekend of personal interviews. They took fifteen freshmen from a large state university. During one interview I was questioned about my decision to join a sorority since they were so exclusive. Often one’s view of a fence depends on which side of it they are on.

We struggle as Christians with fences, specifically a fence around the kingdom of God. Some would build it so sturdy and small that few (if any) would be allowed in. Some believe there is no fence at all. Most believe the fence around the kingdom is of God is there, but disagree on its purpose, its porousness, and its permanence. We sometimes worry about which side of the fence we are on.

I can cite Bible verses to support almost any position on fences. You probably can too. These are the ones I keep returning to:

It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates, twelve angels. Its gates will never be shut by day – and there shall be no night there. Nothing unclean will enter it… but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:12, 25, 27.

A holy space, separated from evil by a high wall, with open gates.

While I am building my fence in my backyard for my garden to thrive, only God gets to determine the fence around His Kingdom. I can’t claim to tell you what it is, but I do encourage you to turn to God in prayer, to seek him out and find him, because if we are to enter, we need to know who is guarding the gate.

Love in Christ, Betsy

A Spot of Green

The rain falls gently on the parched ground in my yard, plastering the fallen leaves to the driveway. I am like the brittle grass, reaching up to collect each precious drop. Oh, how my yard needed this respite from the drought! Oh, how I did!

The muck in the creek rinses clear and the dormant eggs lying there burst into life. Little minnows dart around my grandson’s feet as we wade together through two inches of water. Already the grass along the banks is turning green despite the October chill in the air. Amazing how even a little rain can revitalize the world and restore life.

I had put my garden to rest until spring. Pulled down the old fence to begin work on the new one. Pulled up most of my plants. What wasn’t killed by blight was scorched by heat and drained of life by drought. The garden was over for the year. Only laziness had left the basil plants in the ground, brown and leafless.

Or maybe it was a nudge from God that had me leave the basil plants there. Because He is using them to restore my hope and bring my dormant seeds of faith to life.

The basil plants are covered in new green leaves. Bright and fragrant, they stand in contrast to the brown of my garden and my yard. See what God’s life-giving rain can do! See what God’s live-giving love can do.

I have been parched, feeling drained by demands and decisions and lacking the Spirit’s rejuvenating inspiration. This has been a time of soldiering on, preserving in the small tasks, taking tiny bites in faith that one day the elephant will be gone. (How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.) My quiet times have been just that – quiet. The grass had withered under the relentless sun and parched air.

As a deep longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalm 42:1-2

I train myself to give thanks for these times, times when my faith is put into action, when my roots can grow deep, when I can prove my perseverance. But what joy and relief when the rain comes!

Life revitalized, dormant ideas brought to life, dreams considered dead showing new signs of life. Each drop of the Spirit’s presence is an answered prayer, a call to life, invigorating, and restorative.

Perhaps we will have colors other than brown before fall morphs into winter. Perhaps I will get to make pesto once more this season. Hope – renewed by a little rain.

Perhaps you too have been feeling the drain of too much heat and too little water. Don’t hide yourself inside when the rain comes. Be like the brittle grass and reach out to catch each drop. Be like the dormant eggs that burst into life. Be like the basil plants bearing new leaves no matter how late in the season it is.

These expressions of life are made even more brilliant by the drab and dying environment around them. This may be your opportunity to show the world what water, the Spirit’s living water, can do.

Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that it is you. 1 Peter 3:15b.

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1.

Perhaps this is your opportunity to be the green plant in the brown field.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Sun Rise

The sun rises through the trees and fills the day with light. The mist on the ground evaporates and the sky brightens to a glorious shade of blue. The sun has risen. Risen indeed!

What a joy to watch the darkness disperse. What a blessing to see leaves that looked gray in the dark slowly become a radiant shade of orange in the sunlight. Look what God is showing us He can do.

The leaves on the tree cannot block the light forever and soon even those will fall. The clouds in the sky cannot dim the sun forever. Soon the light will break forth from behind the clouds and stretch across the sky.

There is no stopping the light of God. There is no hiding the love of Christ.

Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12.

His beauty and His love are everywhere, surrounding us as completely as the light of the sun surrounds us during the day. Often His love is hidden by anger and hate or dulled by clouds of gloom and despair. But He knows us too well and loves us too much to stay hidden forever. And when His presence breaks forth in our lives, what a glorious thing! This is cause for rejoicing!

I have had my moments of darkness, my nights of sorrow and despair and anger. I have nursed the fear that they would continue forever. But God (the two words that change everything), God breaks through with light and hope, with love and joy, just as the sun breaks through the clouds and shines through the leaves that would hide it. He relieves me of the burden of my sinfulness; He dispels the gloom of a fallen world; He shows me a better way.

I have experienced it myself and seen it in the lives of others. Deep in darkness, the light bursts through. We see where we have been wrong, where we have hurt others and ourselves, where we have not acted in love. God burns it all away in his light and shows us a path of love instead. And when we turn to follow Him, I think all heaven rejoices just as I rejoice.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:6-7.

I face the rising sun and let it warm my skin as it dispels the darkness. It’s a new day, the day the Lord has made. No matter how cold and dark the night was, I will rejoice in this day and be glad in it. The sun has risen and a glorious day awaits.

Christ is risen; He is risen indeed!

Now is the Time

The January ice storm had killed my previous arborvitae, which had grown too tall for my front garden anyway. These were planted in late spring, which seemed like a good time to plant new ones, and there was an abundance of them at the garden store. Apparently, though, late spring is not the best time to plant arborvitae; early fall is.

Like planting garlic in the late fall, the idea of planting trees in the fall feels a little unwise. Aren’t we headed into winter when things die? According to experts, though, it is the shock of warmer temperatures which threaten the plant. In duress, early spring is okay, but my poor new plants had faced drought and extreme temperatures and had not survived.

Now is the time to replace my dead arborvitae with new ones. The preferred window for planting is short and almost over. The time to plant is now.

It’s got me thinking about other things that seem to have time constraints on them. I remember the Israelites who missed their first opportunity to enter the promised land. I remember Esther who waited for the second dinner to make her request, not even knowing how God was preparing the king’s heart and mind. These stories remind me that timing matters, and we need to follow God’s timing, not our own.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

I had an old family piano in need of repair that I decided to get rid of. For some reason, I couldn’t pull the trigger; I couldn’t let go. For a year, I looked at that piano and felt, ‘not today.’ Then one morning, it was time. I put an ad online and got an immediate response. A small church had voted the night before to allocate exactly the amount it would take to get my piano in working order. God’s timing. They came and picked it up that afternoon.

Sometimes we need to act at once. Sometimes we need to wait. God knows when the time is right and if we stay in connection with Him, He will let us know as well. It’s scary. I don’t want to miss an opportunity; I don’t want to mess it up by acting too quickly. My own knowledge is so limited.

Fortunately, God has sent us the Holy Spirit to guide our steps, a good shepherd to lead His sheep. Often, He gives us second chances, and sometimes third and fourth chances! I can replant my arborvitae. It took forty years, but the Israelites did enter the promised land.

I can imagine few things worse than spending eternity realizing I had missed my opportunity to get to know God. We have so much to be thankful for on this earth, so much beauty, so many relationships. God wants to connect with us and gives us many opportunities to get to know Him. I don’t want to miss a one. I don’t want to have any regrets that I acted too quickly or too slowly. That’s probably an unreasonable expectation, but I will not miss the opportunity to follow Him today.

For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time, see now is the day of salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2.

My landscapers are here with my new arborvitae. Now is the time.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Armchair Quarterback

It’s football time!

Beyond watching the game, many of us also coach the players from our dens. Throw the ball! Run! Go for it! As if we know more about the situation then those athletes and coaches who have played and studied the game for years. As if we were physically or mentally capable of doing what they are doing. As if we were willing to dedicate that much of our life to this game. Because let’s face it, I am not. I do not have the skill set or raw talent they have. I have not spent hours on training and physical conditioning. I have not learned the nuances of my teammates or my opponents. I don’t know all the different options available and what determines which plays are carried out when. I have not immersed myself in strategy and analytics. So, what qualifies me to criticize these players and coaches who have?

And if that is true in football, it has become a national obsession with politics. I am completely unqualified and incapable of running for President, being elected President, or governing as President. My guess is that that is true for you as well. And yet, without being to understand the complexities of the job, we routinely criticize whoever holds that position. As if we could do a better job. As if meeting my expectations of leadership were the President’s objective, as if he should value my opinions at all. What hubris!

I fear we do this with God as well sometimes. We question His motives, His presence, His sovereignty. We think He doesn’t love us when we don’t get our way. We stomp our feet like an indignant three-year-old and scream. And when we have finished with our fit, God answers.

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? Job 38:4-7.

That is not to say that we should stop asking questions, stop trying to learn more. If we care about football, we should learn the rules, the strategies, and the physical demands of the game. If nothing else, it helps us realize how difficult their job really is. Asking questions and learning the answer may help us understand why the players we were yelling at from our couches did not throw or run or go for it.

And we certainly should care about how our leaders govern us. If there are issues that are important to us, we should be all means get involved in advocating for those issues, whatever they may be. But for the past fifty years, we have made a pastime of hating our President. No matter what our President is doing, we criticize his decisions and how they are made. As if we could do better.

And we should certainly bring our questions to God. We should study and read and learn and pray and worship and stomp our feet occasionally. From Abraham to Nicodemus, God welcomes our questions, our arguments, our wrestling. He wants us to ask because He wants us to get to know Him better.

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3.

Sometimes a question is criticism and sometimes it is a pathway to deeper understanding. Let’s stop asking questions like we already know the right answer. Let’s admit that we are not trained athletes or successful politicians. Let’s admit that we are not God and resist the urge to criticize Him. Instead, let us bring all things to Him in prayer.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Roots

A few years ago, a best-selling Christian author told a story about a tree that had fallen in her yard.

She had installed an underground irrigation system to keep her grass and trees alive. It worked, but the system had encouraged the tree to send its roots out laterally through out the yard just under the water source. While the tree’s shallow roots brought ample water, when the storm came, the tree was unable to stay standing. Its roots were too shallow. To stay upright, the tree needed to develop deeper roots.

The speaker left the story there. We need to develop deeper roots to withstand the storms that life will certainly bring.

The story has stayed with me. What I keep returning to is what caused the tree to have shallow roots. The tree was doomed because it had never been forced to develop deep roots. It did not have to work for the water. There were no dry spells to encourage the roots to dig deep into the ground for hidden aquafers.

The woman meant well watering her yard. We all mean well when we make life easier for others. We care about our plants, our pets, our family, our friends, and even the wildlife around us.

But there is growing research that what we think is helpful may be harmful. Feeding wildlife can hinder their ability to forage naturally (Don’t feed the wildlife!). There is growing evidence that protecting our young children from failure and heartache limits their ability to manage those situations as adults (Let your children fail). And making water too easily accessible for our trees may prevent them from growing deeper roots.

Could this be true in our faith as well?

A woman once told me that she had been skipping going to her big screen church because she just didn’t feel happy enough to sing all that praise music and lift her hands. I wanted to ask her what being happy had to do with worshiping God, but instead I encouraged her to read the psalms.

I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. Psalm 6:6.

Just maybe it is precisely the times of pain and thirst that encourage us to develop deeper roots of faith.

Can we believe in a God who lets thousands die in flooding? Who lets a child be abused? Can we worship a God who shatters our happy life? How will we know if our life is always easy and successful and well-watered?

When the storms of life come, and they do come, I want my roots to reach deep to find the hidden joys of a relationship with God. There is everlasting water there. It may not be easy water. It probably won’t be easy water. It may not contain the laughter of the water park, but it will bring peace and strength and faith.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14.

Today, I will praise God for those days when He has led me develop deeper roots of faith. I thank Him for those days of drought and heat, of tears and sadness, of doubts and fears that have led me to dig deep and find His eternal water.

Would it be wrong to wish the same for you?

Love in Christ, Betsy

Change

The cucumber plants have died. The pepper plants are dying. It’s time to call the summer garden done and begin preparations for fall.

Change is never easy. The end of something you loved, successful or not, is a loss. The days are over when I can fix or improve this year’s harvest. It was what it was and now I must move on.

This year, that moving on involves work. My fence is broken down and torn apart in places. My soil is diseased and in need of restoration. My body tells me to stop bending over the fence to harvest and develop a means of easier access. So, I have called in my garden helpers, and we will slowly reconfigure the garden. It is too much to do in a day. And I have at best one morning a week to give to my garden. And I have some time before I need to plant again, so I am in no hurry.

This seems to be the way most change happens, slowly, over time, a little bit at a time. Not all change is good, but not all change is bad either. This tearing down of my garden feels destructive. I’m ripping up dead plants, pulling out supporting cages, and tearing down protective fences. This can’t be good, right?

Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured. I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. Isaiah 5:5.

But the garden is such a glimpse of a larger reality. I know that all this destruction will enable my garden to produce more and better fruit in the future. I know that this destruction is not permanent. Like re-breaking a bone before you can set it properly, sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better.

We know it’s true, but it’s hard to see when our lives are being ripped up, our support pulled away, and our defenses destroyed. It just feels like destructive change. It feels like judgment.

Perhaps it is judgement, in the sense that I know my garden can produce better fruit than it did this past year. This year’s harvest was fine. I loved the few tomatoes I got, the random cucumbers, the scanty basil leaves, but I know the space has produced better in the past. If I want it to produce better in the future, some destruction needs to happen.

Perhaps God knows that you are capable of oh-so-much more than you are producing right now. Not that what you are giving to the world right now is bad or unappreciated, just that God wants your life to be abundant and your garden to be fruitful.

I am the vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes to make it bear more fruit. John 15:1-2.

The problem, of course, is that the promised benefit is in the future. Right now, all we sense is destruction and judgment.

If, however, our desired goal is a closer relationship with God and if difficulties, change, and disruptions deepen and strengthen that relationship, then we can see them as pruning, as ensuring an abundant future. If our desire goal is a comfortable, easy life, we will not see the beauty in overturning the garden.

The transformation of my garden will take a while. I hope you will continue to join me by reading along. I can’t promise it will be pretty, but I am confident that God will bring something good out of all of it.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Give Thanks

I am grateful to live in a country that intentionally sets aside a day to give thanks. As humans, we often let the day devolve into a day of political arguments, old scores, and overdoing it. I. like the biblical Martha, tend to focus on logistics and preparation and miss the important thing.

God gives us this day, this food, our breath, what little strength we have. (Deut. 8:11-18) God gives us the opportunity to live in communion with Himself, the giver of all good things, the creator of the universe, and the Lord of heaven’s armies.

This is the true gift for which I want to give thanks:

The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself. Philippians 2:8

He calls us to “abide with him.” (John 15)

Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:16,20.

So,

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he will also deny us;

 if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:11-13.

Thanks be to God! His faithful love endures forever!

Love in Christ, Betsy

Plans

I planned to plant my garlic this weekend, after the first hard frost. But a warm spell has made my iris come up, so I think I will wait. I fear if I plant them now, they will expend all their energy sending up scapes instead of developing bulbs.

Best laid plans. Man plans and God laughs. (Not an actual quote of Proverbs 16:9).

It’s got me thinking about planning. I do a lot of it this time of year. Planning for Thanksgiving, for holiday activities, for family gatherings, for next year. And planning for the garden. What to plant, where, and when. What needs to be done before I plant. Lots of planning and scheduling.

Where is God in all this planning? He must be front and center. He controls the weather, so I need to be flexible for when He brings warmth and frost, rains and droughts. All my plans may be sidetracked tomorrow by a sudden illness or accident.

I spent one December homebound with two sick children. Pre-internet or amazon, so gifts were sparse. Not what I had planned.

This fall, a group of women and I are discussing “respectable sins,” you know, those ones we often laugh about – irritation, frustration, cynicism, vanity, pride, fear, worry. At root is often a lack of faith in God, His love for us and His knowledge of what we need. Sometimes, we fail to cede our will to His and instead tell Him what to do and get upset when he doesn’t do it. We stomp our feet and hold our breath, figuratively if not literally.

My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want, but what you want. Matthew 26:39.

Can you imagine? And I think a delay in planting my garlic bulbs is inconvenient?

What would happen if I didn’t plant them until December? Until February? Never? What if I didn’t have cranberries at Thanksgiving or never decorated my mailbox for Christmas? Are any of these things worthy of irritation or anxiety?

I still plan to plant my garlic, serve cranberries, and decorate my mailbox. But if none of that happens, that is okay, too. (At least, I plan to be okay with it!!) Because none of those things are important in the big picture of my relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. What is important is that I deepen my relationship with Him.

Jesus tells us to “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). I think of this as seeking first His presence. Not just first thing in our day, but also first in priority. More important than gardens, or menus, or decorations. More important than my plans. Easier said than done when I am caught up in the hustle and bustle of my desires.

Perhaps I will take a moment to wonder at the beauty of iris pushing through the ground and reaching for the sun in November. Maybe I will revel at the beauty of the leaves that still cling to the trees and feel the sun on my face. Perhaps none of my plans are as important as praising God for His goodness right now in this moment.

After all, who am I to questions God’s plans or think mine may be more important?

As God reminds Job:

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Job 38:4.

I’m inviting God into my planning this season. I’m asking Him what His plans are. I pray that I will conform my plans to His. Will you join me?

Love in Christ, Betsy

Tarps

For as long as I have had a garden, I have had weeds in my garden. My husband and I designed our garden space around the dimensions of weed barrier cloth, but that only keeps the weeds suppressed under the cloth. They soon resurface. I have spent hot hours pulling weeds. I have paid others to pull them. I have even considered elevated beds so grass from my yard wouldn’t invade my garden space. Of course, I would have to fill the raised beds with weed-free dirt, which probably doesn’t exist.

My efforts may have kept weeds at bay or out of sight for a while, but they always come back. I know people who love to weed, love to see the pristine results of their daily diligence. But daily diligence is not my strong suit. I reserve what little talent I have for that to devotional time and brushing my teeth. Nothing else receives daily attention.

So, there have always been weeds in my garden.

I am trying something new (to me) this year – occultation taps. These heavy-duty tarps block sunlight, UV rays, and water. The white underbelly of the tarp heats the soil, so the weed seeds germinate, and then kills them, leaving you with a weed-free garden to plant. Fingers crossed.

I put the tarps over my garlic beds about a month ago while it was still warm. I plan to plant garlic within the week, so we shall see. I also covered the sugar snap beds. Although occultation is only supposed to take a few weeks, I will leave my sugar snap beds covered until I plant them in late February or early March. Hopefully, we will have enough warm days over the winter for the tarps to work.

These tarps aren’t cheap or particularly easy to manipulate. It makes me wonder about the lengths I will go to get what I want, without submitting to the proven method of daily weeding. Is this stubborn orneriness? And if so, where else does it raise its head?

If you have read my musings for long, you know that I often talk about weeds. Perhaps I should spend more time talking about the wonders and joys of having a garden. Just before I took the above photo, I picked five ripe raspberries and one ripe fig from my garden. A November gift. Sweet and juicy, they were a divine reminder of why I have a garden. The fruit is worthy of any and all aggravation.

When we talk about the Christian life, what do we talk about? Do we only talk about the joyous fruit of communion with God, the times when we sense His presence, feel His love, hear His voice? Or do we talk more about the struggle of not conforming to the world, of keeping the weeds of self-interest, pride, and irritation at bay?

Neither one tells the whole story. Because, like my garden, the Christian life contains both glorious fruit and troublesome weeds. Green pastures and valleys of shadows, wondrous feasts and the presence of enemies. (Psalm 23)

I fear we tend to emphasis one over the other. I know a woman who couldn’t go to her big screen church after her husband died because she didn’t feel joyous enough to worship God. I know a man who attends a church where discussion is discouraged and congregants are spoon-fed “correct” answers to complicated issues. And I know that I am prone to dive into the struggles and difficulties and fail to share the absolute joy I find in communing with God.

I look forward to a weed-free garden. Until then,

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35.

Love in Christ, Betsy