Secrets from Gardening (+ How They Change Your Life)

Once upon a time, you came into the world.

And a seed was born. It was like this big, empty plot of ground was assigned with your name, and the seed of you was dropped into it.

Ground can turn into lots of things. Trees grow up, towering like sentinels in a fortress. Melons and potatoes and pumpkins and squash spread in vining, curling tendrils. Corn pierces the sky with shining tassels beside the sunflowers who smile for a day and then gently bend in pouring wind.

There’s more. Vineyards of grapes and berries. Orchards with trees organized in rows. Grassy meadows where cows graze or hay is raked.

But, in the beginning, you were one seed. You grew, got your second leaves, and then your third.

The field was still empty. Way back then, you had decisions to make. Today, the same decisions are there, but maybe a little harder.

What’s in your field?

Today I read in Proverbs,

Prepare your outside work,

Make it fit for yourself in the field;

And afterward build your house.

- Proverbs 24:27

A lot of times we do it backwards. We do step #2 before step #1. Maybe we’re planning sweet corn, but we forgot to mark out where the popcorn was, and everything’s messed up, and our garden is going to be ruined, and we think there's no hope for us.

We can’t build our house or plant our seeds unless our fields are ready. I’ve tried. Gardening the wrong way isn’t fun.

The Bible gives instructions - first we prepare the outside work.

I went by the field of the lazy man,

And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;

And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;

Its surface was covered with nettles;

Its stone wall was broken down.

- Proverbs 24:30-31

We’ve had gardens like that—overgrown with thorns, covered with weeds, boundaries broken down letting in the stray animals.

But once upon a time, I was given the garden of my life. And now, decades later, I see how it’s changed.

I have a lot of plots. Instead of Brussel sprouts, I have my writing. Where sugar snap peas might be, I have my job. There’re others too—my family, my hobbies, my talents, my chores, my friends, and everything else that consists of my life. Each one is like a plot in the garden of my life.

I like to think they’re organized plots. One here, another there, clearly defined and growing well. But a lot of times they’re not. Weeds grow, thorny. Walls collapse. I don’t have time for every plot, so I abandon some or focus too much on others. The plants twine into the plot beside them. Vines mix with bushes.

And I’m left wondering how on earth we can live fruitful lives when there’s so much chaos and weeds and distractions.

The answer: prepare your outside work

It’s not about the garden or the plans or the work I put into it. Without one thing, all else will be lost.

Weeds will come, rocks will cut, soil will dry and crack—unless I have my foundation. Unless I pile up mulch, scatter those woodchips across the ground, and let it do the work for me. It keeps the moisture in. It kills the weeds. It hides the rocks. The preparation is everything.

It’s Jesus.

Because I can do everything in the world and still be empty-handed unless He is the purpose. I can try to cultivate my writing, love my siblings, practice my music, learn a new language, but, without Jesus, it’s like watering a desert with a spoon and pail.

Once upon a time, you were born and given a plot. Since then, you’ve grown plants and done a lot of work.

Maybe there were mistakes like I had. Maybe you accidentally grew thistles instead of wheat. Or maybe you thought your gem corn was so beautiful that you completely forgot about picking tomatoes.

It’s not about what we do. Our life could be a picturesque field of trees or grass or vegetables or anything else. That’s not the point at all.

Jesus needs to be there. The foundation, the substance that supports our plot of ground. He needs to be the reason we sing, the reason we work, the reason we take every breath.

It’s surrendering to Him. There’ll still be some weeds, some care, some work. But there’ll also be so much more meaning, fruit, rest.

At my house, we have a garden that’s half mulched and half plain dirt. Every day I go out there and weed it. Half of the plants are surrounded by hard, weedy earth that I must keep clearing again and again. But the other half, the garden surrounded by mulch, flourishes with vegetables and moist earth even in the driest seasons.

So today I’m stopping the weed picking in my life. And instead, I’m laying woodchips down.

Go grow a garden. Start it with Jesus.

Surrender.

Practically? It's asking Him what I should be doing. It's taking time to listen. It's stopping my schedule and following His. It's doing more than a little "Bible time" and letting Him have the entirety of my life.

That's what abiding is, and that's the only way we grow fruit.

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

- John 15:16

(ps) Photos credit to my gardener + photographer brother.  =)

~♥~

Small Things Can Make Big Differences || a Guest Post

My little brother put a sticky note up on my wall. I still have it, although the locations have changed over the months. It's a square piece of paper, colored yellow. Five blue hearts are cut out of paper and pasted in a row, and under them his 7-year-old writing is scribbled in pencil marks: I Love You

There's no period. Under the words, there's a pencil heart that's oddly shaped. But it's one of my treasures.

Because that little note made my day. And every time I look at it, I smile and read the same words: I Love You

Small things can make the biggest difference. That smile, that hug, that prayer. We can become confused, thinking that changing the world means preaching a sermon or writing a book or being a missionary to cannibals. Maybe it does. But sometimes we change the world by sending one email. Or saying one word. Or posting that sticky note with the cut-out hearts.

My 12 year old sister had a school assignment last year. Although time has passed, I remembered that paper she wrote because it blessed me.

Because my sister is changing the world. She's not a missionary or mom or working woman, and she doesn't like being the center of attention. But my sister is full of thankfulness. She goes around the house saying "Thank you, Jesus" all day. She loves holding our baby sibling. She helps Mom.

Honestly, I want to become more like my 12 year old sister.  She's pretty awesome.  And she loves Jesus like crazy.

That's how you change the world. By being faithful. By loving Jesus.

Like the note my little brother gave me.  It changed my day, and it still makes me smile.  And my sister who constantly fills our house with her smiles.

Here's her post. Now you go--be Jesus to the world. We're cheering you on.

Expressing gratitude is not hard, and praying or reading good books is not like running a marathon, but these small and simple things done on a daily basis can bring blessings on your life. Sandra Cisneros wrote,

The older I get, the more I'm conscious of ways very small things can change the world, Tiny little things, but the world is made up of tiny things, isn't it?

Without the little things, the big things wouldn't be here at all!

Being thankful is so important. Dr. Seuss once said, 

When you think things are bad, when you feel sour and blue, when you start to get mad... you should do what I do... just tell yourself 'Duckie! You're really quite lucky! Some people are much more... oh ever so much more... oh muchly much much un-luckier that you!' 

Thankful people are always the happy ones. Take time to be thankful for what you have. You could have more, but you could also have less!

Compliments have been sent around for years and years. They brighten up a person's day or month, or even their whole life! Leo Buscaglia wrote:

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

 Abraham Lincoln told someone one day,

Everybody loves compliments.

Go give one right now. No harm can ever be done in giving compliments!!

How do you like to start your morning? I find that the very best way to get into any day is to read through God's Word. The Bible is our guide. It shows us how we should live, move, and breathe. I have asked my friends, "What are you reading in your Bible?" They always either change the subject of our discussion or say "Nothing right now."

There is absolutely no reason to not be in God's Word every day! You can take weeks or months if you want to think of a good reason. You'll never find one. It's just a short period of time every morning, but it makes a big difference!

Billy Graham once said:

 

We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds our world is needing; we are the sermons our world is heeding.

How can we be the Bibles our world is reading if we are not reading the Bible?

Friend, I hope that now you realize how important little things really are. Our world is filled with only little things. That's what the big things are made of. Little things are everywhere, and sometimes we just ignore them and look to the big things. Let's stop that right now. Let's love, cherish, and care about the little things!

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 

- Luke 16:10

Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. 

See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

- James 3:4-5

~♥~