Put up a fence

As I put my first seeds in the ground, it’s as if an alarm sounds, the puck drops, the ball is tossed at center court.  I am in battle. The birds watch me intently from their perches; the bunnies peer longingly from the hedges; the neighbor’s dog strains at her leash; even the grass seems to lean in as if to recover lost territory. They covet the seeds, the young plants, the fertile ground.

No! Stay away!  This is my garden. This is the space I have set aside and you are not welcome here. This is not unkind or selfish; the birds and bunnies have the rest of the yard; the dog can play elsewhere; the grass has plenty of territory. This space is dedicated to nurturing those sugar snap seeds into fruit bearing plants. You need to stay out; I need a fence.

I have over 150 yards of wire fencing, in manageable segments, folded and flattened in my garage. I take what I need into the yard, unfold and re-flatten it by stepping on it, then stretch it between the poles around my seeds. (It’s my own personal work out session – works the legs and the arms!) The fence keeps most two and four legged creatures from invading my garden. I even cover the seeded area with fencing – birds love those seeds!

Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower. Matthew 21:33

I went to a youth service once where we were asked to leave our cell phones and shoes at the door; the chapel was a space set aside to honor God. Same idea.

Several people I know have permanent fencing around square-shaped gardens, a good solution if you have the space.  Some terrain makes fencing unworkable; the farmers use terracing and edging and repellent plants to protect the space. What fencing looks like varies person to person and changes over time.  What stays the same is the need to protect the space.

Because there are predators out there who want to steal the seeds you plant and chew up whatever you are growing. There are invaders out there who don’t like you having space from which they are excluded.

So when you have set aside a time to meet with God, when you have prepared your heart to receive the seeds He’s planting, protect that space from predators and invaders. Turn off the phone; turn off the TV; train your brain to stay in the moment. Use the tools available – the Bible, a journal, a devotional book, an inspirational book – whatever it takes to give God dedicated space in your life. 

Sometimes that takes saying, “no.” Jesus did.

At daybreak he departed and to a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must proclaim the news of the kingdom of God to other cities.” Luke 4:42-43

Saying “no” is not always selfish or lazy; sometimes it is prioritizing God’s will for my life.  Sometimes saying no is a way to keep the predators and invaders out.

Recently, the image of a stone garden wall had captivated my imagination. Stone walls were the traditional barriers around gardens and homes, towns and temples. They are built of stones carefully placed one upon the other.

If I am a temple of the Holy Spirit, as Paul asserts in I Corinthians 6:19, then I should protect that temple at least as much as I protect my garden. I need to build a stone wall around my soul. Each Bible verse that I memorize and internalize becomes a stone that builds up the wall protecting the Holy Spirit’s residence in my life. Each verse is a stone carefully placed one upon another. That protective stone wall enables the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in my life. And that is a beautiful thing.

I have included scripture at the bottom of each post. These are some of my “stones.” As of today, there is a page available in the side (or bottom) menu called “My garden wall” containing verses which have encouraged, strengthened, calmed and protected me through the years.

Then Satan answered the Lord. “Does Job fear God for nothing?  Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?  You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.  Job 1:9-10

Are you protecting your garden? Are you keeping the invaders and predators out? Are you building up your garden wall with stones of faith? I encourage you to join me in this effort.

It can be a workout, but it’s worth it.

Betsy

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You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Deuteronomy 11:18

Breaking Ground

Enough of this talk, talk, talk – it’s time to till!

Before I put this little seed in the soil, I must till the ground, prepare it, removing whatever hard ground and weeds and rocks are there. I must ready the ground for its next big adventure.

I put on my boots and long pants, and lug my tiller across the yard. I crank it up and force it into the hard earth. It takes all the strength I have to move it along the garden, ripping up weeds and turning up rocks. Often I need help – stronger hands and arms and backs. Tilling is arduous, but rewarding at the same time. The results of your efforts are immediate.

Suddenly, the soil is darker and richer; more receptive to the new seeds, oxygen, and water. No longer is the ground hard packed and crusty, set in its ways.

There is an excitement in ground breaking – it is the herald of something new. Unless, of course, you are the ground. The ground may have been perfectly happy covered in grass. I remember telling a friend of mine about a Bible study, saying, “It will change your life!” To which she replied, “Do you think my life needs changing?” Sometimes we are happy where we are. Untilled, unbroken.

But if I sow those sugar snap seeds on unprepared ground, they will not take root and grow.

A farmer went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Luke 8:5

So while I till up the ground in my yard, I wonder if there are hard packed areas of my life that need tilling. Where am I too resistant to the change God wants to see in me, the seeds He wants to plant? What weeds and rocks need to be uprooted and overturned? Lent, which providentially coincides with the tilling season, provides the perfect excuse for such self-examination.

See now, I am for you; I will turn to you, and you will be tilled and sown. Ezekiel 36:9

Sometimes I am “tilled” against my will. When I developed RA, my regular life came to a screeching halt. I could no longer do what I had always been able to do – cut an onion, turn a key, shuffle cards, walk around the block; everything hurt. I had to focus on work-around solutions and pharmaceutical options. I was told to reduce stress! One thing I lost was my ability to journal; I couldn’t operate a pen that early in the morning. Could I have a devotional time without journaling? I had to learn to sit quietly. What a different way to be with God. By the time we settled on a medicine that worked, three years later, God had planted some wonderful seeds in my inactive, quiet life. As if He was preparing me for all that I was about to face.

2020 was such a time for a lot of us; Covid overturned everything. This strange virus changed our lives against our wishes. Has Covid opened you up to something new or has the grass grown back? Because if there are no seeds planted in that newly tilled soil, it will revert to its old ways and become yard again.

In a different conversation, our senior pastor once asked, “Are we the soil or the hoe?” Wow! Both? I’d like to think that I was the hoe, preparing myself to receive God’s plans for me. But that may be ego. In the instances above, I was the soil. Maybe I always am. Maybe the only thing that changes is my willingness to let the Holy Spirit till me and break up my hard packed ground.

Because I have to be broken before God can use me to produce His fruit.

The sacrifice acceptable to the Lord is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

I once heard a sermon about the verbs used in the feeding on the five thousand (Mark 6:41). They are the same verbs used in the last supper (Matthew 28:28) and in communion services to this day. Take, bless, break and give. Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to others. Does He do the same with us? Do we have to be broken before we can truly serve?

Perhaps it is my pride and self-absorption that needs to be broken. Perhaps it is my attachment to earthly pleasures, worldly success and other’s approval. Jesus calls me to crucify myself, break myself, daily to follow Him. (Luke 9:23)

So, grab your tiller and join me. Let’s break some ground.

Betsy

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And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20b

A place to grow

Now, where to plant those seeds. I need a dedicated garden space.

Because, the garden is the place in my yard where I encourage plants to grow. Elsewhere in my yard, I mow down the grass, cut back the hedges, and spray weed killer. In my garden, I encourage and protect growth, because I know what is growing there and I want it. I want it for myself, and I want to share it with others.

As a percentage of my yard, my garden space is pretty small, maybe 1% of total acreage. But the
garden is very important, because it is there that the wanted growth takes place. It is there that the important work occurs, the production of that much wanted fruit. Because my garden is so
important, I have designated a specific spot for it. I have set aside a portion of my yard for it. Instead of trying to fit my sugar snaps, tomatoes and cucumbers in among the other things in my yard, I am dedicating certain space specifically for their growth.

You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last … for I have chosen you out of the world. John 15:16,18

Do you want the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life? Do you want a closer relationship with God?
Set aside a space, designate a time, dedicate a portion of your day to that growth. 1% is only about 15 minutes of a day, but what a difference it can make! Because it is there that the wanted growth takes place. It is there that the important work occurs.

Sometimes setting aside a space for your garden is easy. When Nick and I moved into our first
home, the yard had established garden beds that had grassed over. The presence of these empty beds motivated us to start a garden. 

In our current home, we faced a large yard, and we had to decide where our garden would go. We had two creeks to avoid, and flood plain issues to consider. We had boats on trailers that we needed to pull across the yard. There were the large trees, boundary lines, a utility pole, all immovable objects. We had swing set apparatus that needed its own space. But if I wanted that fruit, I needed to set aside a place to nurture the growth of it.

Over time, we settled the garden in its current spot, which still works well. I don’t use all the
garden space every year, and I rearrange the crops occasionally, but I know where in my yard I am cultivating my sugar snaps.

When committing to growing my relationship with God, as with committing to the garden, I faced twenty-four hours and had to decide when to set my devotional time. I had two
children, and scheduling issues to consider. I had a house and possessions which demanded upkeep. There were the needs of my children, my husband, his father, my family, all immovable objects. There were my hobbies and interests which needed their own space. But if I wanted that fruit, I needed to set aside a time to nurture the growth of it.

Over time, I have settled my devotional time in my day. It has changed as my life circumstances
have changed. I don’t use all the time every day, and I change up my activities within it, but I know when in my day I am cultivating my relationship with God.  

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

Last year, our ministers challenged the congregation of First Presbyterian Church, Nashville,
to read the entire Bible in 90 days, the Big Read. The suggested reading path would take 30 to 45 minutes a day, out of 24 hours; the equivalent of an episode of Ozark or Cupcake Wars. Could I spare the time?

As for me and my household, we will worship the Lord. Joshua 24:15b

What are the things that crowd your day, your yard? What immovable objects do you need to work around? Are you caring for your kids? Your parents? Your spouse? Yourself? Is your work schedule demanding? Do you want that fruit? Are you ready to stop being so busy and get to the truly important work God has planned for you? 

Because those sugar snaps will not grow while they are still in the packet on my table. And they won’t grow scattered across the ground and dropped here and there among everything else. To be what God designed them to be, to be their better selves, they need dedicated space; they need a garden. 

I encourage you to set aside 15 minutes today. Open your Bible as you would open a seed packet. Open yourself to what God can grow in your life.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22 

Thank you for reading this and joining me on this journey, Next week, we till!

Betsy

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, that will not rot. Matthew 6:20

Seeds and Sugar Snaps

I look at the packet of seeds and think, “Are you kidding me?” There is no way that these dry little things can bear the yummy looking peas on the cover. If I didn’t have thousands of years of testimony telling me that a plant would grow, I would never believe it. If I didn’t have first-hand experience to the contrary, my cynicism and doubt would keep me from ever planting a seed.

“Don’t be silly, Betsy,” you may say. “There is overwhelming evidence to back up the claims of Ferry-Morse and Burpee.” And yet, so many of the seeds I bury in the ground don’t become sugar snap plants, and some that do become plants never bear fruit. This is universally true of seeds. If not, oak trees and strawberries and pumpkins would cover the earth.

And yet, the only way I will ever get even one sugar snap plant in my backyard is to plant a seed, a seed from this packet which promises so much. That, my friend, is faith.

Cool weather crops, like sugar snaps and lettuces, give me a test run for this faith. I’ll just drop these in to a small portion of my garden space and see if it works; see if Ferry-Morse is giving reliable testimony. I can do this in February or early March, before I have to commit to all that growing tomatoes and cucumbers entail. Those with a greater faith than I can start such summer plants from seeds in their own hothouses. I am going to do a test sample with the sugar snaps in my backyard.

These seed packets excite me somehow. Perhaps because I got off the couch and took my first baby step towards a garden? Perhaps because the seeds herald warmer weather? Perhaps the little step of faith I took buying the seeds creates its own joy; acting in faith often does.

It is as if God gave us seeds so that we could understand what He is doing in our lives and in the world.

And God gave us A LOT of seeds. And it takes A LOT of seeds to get a garden full of sugar snaps. As discouraging as it can be, most seeds do not become fruit-bearing plants. But instead of focusing on the negative aspect of this truth, I choose to focus on the lesson – that I have to sow a lot of seeds to get a healthy sugar snap crop.

Now this I say, He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.  2 Cor. 9:6

Jesus, in the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-8), uses this seed metaphor beautifully. There is so much that I can say about seeds! Looking at this seed packet, however, I am in awe of the indulgent generosity of God. In the parable, surely the sower knew that many of those seeds wouldn’t take, but He sowed them anyway. Should I be following His inefficient ways? Is He calling me to not prejudge who is “fertile ground,” but sow His Word everywhere? Or, as Jesus put it, “if (we) greet only our brothers and sisters, what more are (we) doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matt. 5:47)

And when I am buying those seed packets, I have to be careful to get the correct seeds. Because the seeds I plant determine the plants I grow. There is a wonderful scene in Second Hand Lions in which they have bought a variety of seed packets labeled incorrectly as okra, cucumber, squash, tomatoes, etc., but they all come up as corn because all the seeds were corn. Truth in advertising laws may prevent Burpee from doing this, but culturally, I think this still happens pretty often. I mustn’t kid myself; if I fill my brain with the seeds of pornography and violence, it is unlikely that I will produce fidelity and gentleness.

Finally, a seed is a beautiful microcosm of the interconnectedness of life. A seed is the beginning of a plant, but it is also the culmination of a plant. And it is so tiny! And it can turn into something so big! But it has to be sown before it can grow. So, whether I am sowing seeds, producing seeds, growing from a seed, or if I am the seed itself, I am part of a greater story which precedes me and will continue after I am gone. I just need to do my part to keep the story going.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown, it is the greatest of shrubs. Matt 13:31-32 (also Luke 13:18-19)

It is faith that enables me to believe that God can turn the dry little thing in this seed packet into delicious sugar snaps. It is faith that enables me to believe that God can turn even the tiniest, least likely to succeed, unpromising, dry little thing in my life into fruit that brings joy and sustenance to others.

Because I have overwhelming evidence, thousands of years of testimony, and first-hand experience that tell me that if I overcome my cynicism, doubt and inertia and plant a seed, God will make something beautiful grow. Just as iI have overwhelming evidence, thousands of years of testimony, and first-hand experience that tell me that if I act in faith, God will make something beautiful grow in my life.

Betsy

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For the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. I Samuel 16:7

To grow or not to grow

“Are you going to grow tomatoes this year?” my friend asked.

It was a simple question, kindly asked by someone who knew that I have grown vegetables for the past 30 years. Well, actually my late husband and I grew them. Am I going to grow them without him?

Am I going to do the work he used to do? Am I going to commit to the labor and effort that growing vegetables takes? Am I going to till and fence and plant and tend and harvest? Is a home-grown tomato really worth that much effort?

Because gardens, like most worthwhile endeavors, take hard work; not that I am opposed to hard work; it’s just, well, hard. Gardens take manual labor and regular tending. You must set aside space in your yard and prepare the ground. You must commit to attending to the garden and providing what it needs to thrive.

Suddenly, the question is not about growing tomatoes, but about life. Am I going to make the effort to go on without my husband? Am I going to get up every day and take care of myself and my home and my finances and the car and the yard? Am I going to be open to growing something new in my life? Am I going to trust God?

Perhaps for you the question is “Are you going join a Bible study?” “Are you taking exercise classes? “Are you planning to travel abroad?” “Are you starting any needlepoint projects?” “Are you taking cooking classes?” Perhaps, for you, the question is not can you grow vegetables without your husband but can you grow these interests while caring for your husband or your parents or your children.

Maybe not such a simple question after all.

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “this fellow began to build and was unable to finish.” – Luke 14: 27-30

I often battle inertia – the difficulty getting up off the couch and doing something. There are days I lose the battle. It’s comfy on the couch. And while grief seems to amplify inertia’s power over me, I battled it long before Nick was ever diagnosed. Steven Pressfield, in The War of Art, exposes this force, which he says seeks to prevent us from becoming our better selves, improving our world, and following our dreams. Victory, he says, comes by taking the first step and then the next one.

And I know that my battle with inertia is not over once the garden is started. I will battle it throughout the summer, along with predators who steal my seeds and fruit, weeds which stunt my plant’s growth; and weather which can undo what progress I have made.

I battle these in my life as well. But God has granted me a vision of fresh vegetables where only barren ground now exists. And God has promised victory.

Are the results worth the battle? Delicious home-grown tomatoes, cucumbers, and sugar snaps, Wow. A full life, a better me, Wow. Love, joy, peace, and patience, Wow. A personal relationship with the Almighty, Wow. Yep, they are worth getting off the couch. 

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 14:45-46

Now to take that first step. If I want a garden, I must, at some point, actually go outside and plant something. If I want to continue on in life, I must get off my comfy couch and do the tasks that need doing. If I want a personal relationship with the Creator and Master of the universe, I must at some point step outside my comfort zone and invite Him in. Such a relationship will not just happen, anymore than fully ripe tomatoes will turn up without effort in my backyard. And, like a garden, like any relationship, it takes both of us. I need God to make the plant grow and bear fruit; He needs me to put the plant in the ground and water it.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. John 14:5

So, yes, I am going to grow something this year, God willing. Are you?

Betsy

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Hopefully, these posts will continue through the year as I plant, tend and harvest my garden. Gardening is a wonderful metaphor for the Christian life, one that Jesus often employs. God has taught me valuable lessons through the act of gardening, about life, marriage, child rearing, myself and my Christian walk. I hope to share these fruits with you. Let me know what you think.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. John 15:1