God is not tardy. He’s not on Twitter, compressing His deepest thoughts toward us into 140 characters. His ‘timeline’ differs considerably to that found on Facebook.
I love the smell of hot soil as it meets that which will nourish it overnight. The plants smell, the night is still. I hear a neighbours radio, people talking. My little people slumber peacefully, and it is a moment. Just as the dirt does the water, I soak up my moment. I speak to Him. I listen. It occurs to me that we are not
dissimilar to the garden; soil, plants. Even weeds. Often we as Christians long to see the fruit (or vegetables!). We long to see the produce produced! We feel as though we’ve missed out, or He’s missed us, when we tarry and wait. We feel He’s not working, He’s withheld, He is silent. Too quickly we forget that in the silence there can be peace. Two can stand together without words. It does not mean we are alone. God is not tardy. He’s not on Twitter, compressing His deepest thoughts toward us into 140 characters. His ‘timeline’ differs considerably to that found on Facebook. For starters, it’s often not particularly in-sync with our human concepts of appropriate timing. Now that I’m able and capable of keeping these budding plants alive, thoughts turn towards the two larger vegetable patches. I want to remove the old soil. Although once rich, yielding a good crop, it’s now dry and weedy. To start well is important to me. I want my tender seedlings and plants to have the best start. Therefore I’ve decided to take my time in preparation. It’ll involve organic soil, mulch and other quality things I’ve yet to learn about! As I surveyed my little slice of potential vege-mart, I realised what a diligent, conscientious, and skilled gardener our Lord is. He showed me that He takes time to thoroughly prepare our soil. Unlike me in my garden, He does know which soils to use, fertilizers, which compost. He too takes time to ensure preparations are made to produce the very best crops. Sure, He could plant all the seeds now, but as they grow there’s going to be an awful lot of maintenance work involved, and a fair dash of rescue work. Surely it’s better to take time to prepare well, so that once seeds are planted and begin to produce ‘fruit’, they will be healthy, strong, durable. We of course are His gardens. As we allow Him into our lives, He leads us to these places. Weeds take time to remove, finnicky little things. If they break at
the surface when you pop ‘em out, it’ll appear as though they’ve been taken care of but alas, the roots are still connected. Pretty soon those little green shoots will sprout again, and work will commence once more. And so He takes time to remove these weeds thoroughly. And we have a choice… submit to the gardeners process or shut the gate on Him, denying Him entry to our garden. If we choose to close our doors, our hearts, our lives, our sinful, hurting and broken places, the weeds don’t go away. In fact, the opposite. They thrive. They grow, tangle and destroy the good plants. Why not allow the Gardener to get in with his trowel now, rather than later when He may need the grown up version – a pitch fork? Weeding takes time as I learned when I neglected my little garden. Weeds multiply like mice! One day… a few little ones, the next… they’re competing with good, healthy plants for attention, room, and resources. Weeding will need to be a regular occurrence. As it is in our lives with Him. Years ago I gave up drinking. I attended 12 Step meetings for a time. One of the things they encourage is to take life, “One day at a time.” Great advice! It’s still possible to have plans, goals, hopes and dreams, but to live – fully live – in the day. Worrying about tomorrow will not aid it. Mmmmm, does that sound familiar? (Matthew 6:34) Keeping short accounts with oneself is also beneficial to growth. Tending to our weeds daily is wisdom. Confession, repentance, prayer (asking for His help), declaring the fruits of the Spirits in and over ourselves. Another fabulous thing I’ve learned (gardening has opened up a whole new world!) is that there are certain types of bark or mulch that you lay atop the healthy soil. These stifle the weeds, deterring them from growth. Yes! The Word is our bark. By application we can spot weeds in our lives from
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