A Time for Everything
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 NIV
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Even though we saw some beautiful and huge flakes of snow yesterday morning in southern Indiana, Spring is just around the corner. It is officially time to be thinking about what we will have in our garden this year.
Gardening is a great activity for many reasons and I am already looking forward to contributing my thoughts to the discussion. I love the harvest part but it really is Don who loves to plan and execute the gardening. I love the idea and I love the produce but I have a hard time getting motivated in the beginning because the plants start so slow and the weeds grow so fast.
Of course, whether or not we have gardens, we are planting seeds of something. What is in your garden?
Seeds of mistrust.
Seeds of anger.
Seeds of fear.
Seeds of disappointment.
Seeds of encouragement.
Seeds of faith.
Seeds of love.
Seeds of forgiveness.
Seeds of mercy.
Seeds of grace.
Seeds of friendship.
Seeds of health.
What do you hope to harvest? Are you planting and working towards those areas where you need to grow? Even before you can really get into the idea of casting seeds, it is important to look at where you are sowing. Sometimes there is a bit of pre-work that needs to be done.
Compromised soil can challenge the best of seeds.
Consider what you would like to see more of in your life. Of course, Scripture is full of inspiration. We need all of God’s good gifts and while we think we can be in control of all we want to see, yielding to God’s work in our hearts and lives will reveal a bountiful harvest beyond what we can even hope for or imagine. As you think about what you are planting this year in terms of flowers or fruits or herbs or vegetables reflect on all that God is and has been doing in your life. What part of the process can you most relate to with the work God is doing in your heart and life right now?
Planning…the yield.
Preparing…the soil.
Sowing…the seeds.
Removing…the weeds.
Feeding and watering…the young, vulnerable shoots.
Nurturing…their growth.
Collecting…the fruits of labor.
Sharing…the harvest.
The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” [Mark 4:4-9 NIV]
Where is God working in your life to produce His harvest? Is He working the soil in order to yield a harvest only He can orchestrate?
On the Way,
Liz
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