Tag: transformation

Growth

It stopped raining long enough for me to check on my sugar snaps. They love this weather. The ground is fully saturated with water and the air is warm. Far enough from the creek to escape the flood, my growing plants cling to the supports and pull themselves ever taller.

What makes them grow? What makes the dried-up seed pods transform into these lovely plants?

I found the remnants of a seed packet in the garage the other day. There were still seeds in it. I guess I had saved them for bare spots and never planted them. They were still dried up little pods. Certainly, those little seeds had as much potential as the ones I planted. But I had not buried them in the ground and exposed them to storms and predators. I had left them safe in the bag, just in case. How pitiful they seem next to my luscious sugar snaps.

I’m planting them in the ground. It’s late in the season and the seeds are old, but they are no good to me as they are. Who knows? Maybe they will burst forth and become late season sugar snaps. At least they will have the opportunity.

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, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2.

The Bible tells us that with God all things are possible, nothing is impossible. (Matt. 19:26, Mark 10:27, Mark 9:23, Luke 1:37, Luke 18:27, Phil. 4:13, Gen. 18:14, Job 42:2, Jer. 32:17.)

I see it all around me. I see it every day in the garden. God takes worthless seeds and makes them grow and flower and produce fruit.

What can He do with our lives if we give Him the opportunity?

Not that it will all be easy. We can’t sit in our little packet and sleep all day. We will be exposed to weather and dangers and new experiences. We will have to stretch out fragile tendrils and grasp onto sturdy supports. We will have to learn which supports draw us closer to the sun and which keep us from upward growth. We will change. And change can be scary and difficult.

But if asked if I would rather be a seed in a packet or a luscious green vine bearing fruit, I’m choosing the vine every time.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Bare tree limbs burst forth in green leaves. Brown and brittle yards transform into fields of green grass and vibrant wildflowers. Strong winds bring us massive storms, then whisk them away to leave us clear blue skies. Water overflows the creek beds and then soaks into the soil, where it is saved in underground reservoirs. See, everything is becoming new.

I hope these growing sugar snaps encourage you as much as they encourage me. They are not hindered by what they used to be. What they used to be contained the core that allowed them to become what they are today, the nucleus of what they will become in the future. Now they are green and growing. Now they clasp hands with others growing beside them. Now they wrap their tendril tightly to the support and extend themselves, moving ever upward.

Yes, I want to be a fruit-bearing vine. I want to be like my sugar snaps.

So I say to you, Ask and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. … If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:9, 13.

If we ask Him, God will transform us. God will help us grow and bear fruit. Because with God, nothing is impossible.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Lenten Seeds

Dirt cakes my nails and sweat drips down my face as I toss the last of the seeds in the narrow furrow. Days of warmer temperatures bring me outside to plant the sugar snap seeds. The dark brown soil welcomes the seeds as they roll into dips and settle into tiny valleys.

Suddenly, winter is ending and spring is on her way. The robins dance in the yard and tiny green scapes sprout from my garlic bulbs. February snow and a late Easter have lulled me into thinking winter would never end. But now the blue skies hold promise. Spring is coming.

I cover the seeds with dirt and lay wire over them to keep the birds away. As soon as the seeds sprout, I will remove the protective wire, but that is weeks away. First the little seeds must sit in the dark ground and let God transform them.

This year, because Easter is so late, the planting of these seeds coincides with Lent. Somehow, the resting of the seeds in the quiet darkness seems appropriate. We think of Lent as a time to give up something, to deny ourselves, to wrestle with our personal demons. But God calls us to that every day (Luke 9:23). Perhaps Lent is better seen as a time spent apart from the world, in the wilderness, in the dark and lonely soil. Because that is where transformation takes place.

Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:24-25.

Those seeds that prefer the sunshine, the company of other seeds in the packet, and the orderliness of a display rack at the garden center, those seeds will never bear fruit. Those seeds which refuse to get dirty and sit alone in darkness will never transform into healthy plants.

Perhaps that is what Jesus means with his words. It is when we can step away from our clean and orderly lives, when we can spend time away from all our pleasurable diversions, and when we can deny ourselves the comfort of the known, that God gives us a better life.

Perhaps all He wants is for me to seek His approval rather than everyone else’s. Perhaps He wants me to be transformed by His presence and not by the world around me. Perhaps the only way I can become more than a seed is by sitting alone with Him.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 2:12.

So, for Lent this year, I going to spend time alone with God, intentionally, daily. I’m going to die to the world around me for a set period of time and spend that time with God. I’ve said it, now I must do it.

I want to be a seed that becomes a fruit bearing vine. I want God to give me the strength to deny myself and win the battle with my demons. I want my words to betray that I spend time with Jesus. (Matthew 26:73)

Are you planting any seeds this Lent? Are you preparing for the coming Spring?

Are you willing to sit alone with God in the quiet darkness and let Him transform you?

But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6.

I would ask you to join me, but this is something you must do on your own.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Buried Garlic

The cold damp air stings my cheeks. Soon it will start to rain, that miserable 40-degree cold rain that signals winter in the South.

The garlic needs to be planted this morning, before the rain, before Christmas. I poke holes in the cardboard and bury my unwrapped cloves in the dirt. The scent of wet dirt fills the air and competes with the tang of the garlic.

Poor little garlic cloves. I have separated them from their families, stripped away all their protective layers, and buried them in the cold, dark earth alone. Do they know this is the only way they can grow and reproduce and expand their presence in the world? Probably not. If they feel, they feel vulnerable and lonely and exposed. Perhaps they are scared and doubt that what held true for previous generations will still hold true for them. Will God turn them into big, beautiful garlic bulbs?

Life can be scary sometimes. Occasionally, we are led to do things in direct contrast to what we want to achieve. It makes no sense to us. Sometimes, to become a beautiful gift to the world, we must strip ourselves of our protective layers and sit alone in the dark for a while.

Think of the nine months when the creator of the universe grew in Mary’s womb, subject to her diet, her sleep patterns, her movements, and her health. Think of the caterpillar hidden in a confined cocoon. Time and God alone will make the transformation, create the growth, enable the blessing to break free.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Matthew 17:1-2.

Sometimes what we see is not all there is, even within ourselves. God can transfigure even garlic cloves into what they have the potential to be. He transfigured Jesus to show His radiant glory, and He can transfigure us to share that glory with others. He can turn us into our best selves, if only we take the time to be alone with Him.

I was in a centering prayer group for years until it disbanded. Now, I have found a new one, and I marvel at the blessing it brings. Just to sit in the presence of God in silence for twenty minutes. No demands, no wishes, no praises even, just silence in the presence of the almighty and loving God. I sense His Spirit within me needs this communion. I sense I need this vulnerable and exposed time alone with my Savior.

Some of you may feel your life is on the spin cycle. Perhaps the washer is shaking with the load. Turn it off for a few minutes. Just stop and sit in silence with your friend Jesus for a little while. It may feel scary. You may doubt that God will do for you what He has done for previous generations. You may feel vulnerable and exposed.

Have faith, dear friend. Just as the garlic needs this time in the dark, you may need this time for God to transform you into your best self, a gift to the world.

And the one who is seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5.

Christmas is a week from today. Too often it is marked by stress and activity and chaos and travel and eating and drinking. Take a moment to strip away your protective layer, poke a hole in your veneer, and sit alone in the dark with God. You may not see the results for a while, but God will use that moment, and any more you give Him, to make you into something new.

Love in Christ, Betsy

Good News!

God did it! Sugar snaps have burst from their shell and are reaching for the sun!

Why did I doubt? Why was I worried?

God gifted those seeds with the impulse to grow. Even in their dried-out, lifeless state, inside they held the desire to become more. I just had to give them the chance, the opportunity.

I planted these seeds the first week of March. They have overcome the crabgrass roots, dried clippings, and the cardboard. They have grown without me tilling the soil. In this week before Easter, I praise God for bringing life when I doubted He could. How amazing is our God!

I was focused on what could go wrong and forgot what joy God gives us in His creation.

In there world you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the world. John 16:33 (ESV)

The sugar snaps overcome the crabgrass; Jesus overcame the pharisees, overcame the Romans, overcame sin, and overcame death.

It’s Holy Week. Jesus had entered Jerusalem to praise and adulation, but He knew what was coming. Violence, abuse, betrayal, abandonment, and death; emotional, physical, and spiritual torture. Followed by the greatest gift of grace and power and love ever bestowed on humanity. He suffers with us; He rises to re-write our lives.

Seeds sprouting and becoming plants is old news. It happens all the time. Nothing new here; move on.

But wait! A lifeless, old, dried out kernel was buried, and now it’s a living plant! What an amazing transformation, life-altering, life-giving, inspirational.

God does it. God does it all the time.

God transforms seeds. God transforms marriages. God transforms congregations. God transforms cities and nations. God transforms people. God transforms me and you.

And all if us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Cointhians 3:18.

If you are looking at God and seeing His glory, He is transforming you into His likeness. God has put within you the desire to break out of your shell and reach for Him.

Sometimes, we may need to sit in the dirt for a while before He transforms us. God has created nature in such a way that seeds grow out of dirt; perhaps He created us in such a way as well.

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:24-25.

This Holy Week, the seeds I planted lost their lives as seeds, and have become what they were intended to be, beautiful sugar snap plants.

I don’t want to stay a seed either. I want to grow and bear fruit. That may take some radical altering of my life. If God calls me to change the life I am now living, am I willing to give it up?

I will listen for His voice. He loves me. He loves me so much that He endured this week of unbelievable distress and suffering just to call me sister. He lost His earthly life for me, for you.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name. he gave the power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13.

Good News!

God did it!

Happy Easter, 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