Our Garden, A Lesson

I was just finishing up work for the day at TLC when I heard something on the roof.  I had been watching the wind pick up and the storm clouds roll in from my office window.  I texted Heath to tell him that something had to be on the way.  All of the sudden, it was in full swing.  With that metal roof, you can only imagine what marble and golf ball sized hail would sound like.  I quickly ran to grab my keys to roll up my windows.  Why I was worried about that, who knows.  It is not like that will really help anything when hail is being flung full force from the sky!  It was crazy.  By the time I ran from the building door to the car, it had really picked up.  At that point, I just decided to say put in my car.  I had to hold my ears to keep the noise from them.  In and out then done.

When I called home to see how we had faired the storm at home, Heath said no major damage, just chewed up the garden a little bit.  After walking around the farm this morning and just enjoying the work that we had all done this weekend, God tapped me on the shoulder bringing this verse to mind.

Job 1:21 NIV  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised."

To me, the garden is such an awesome faith story.  In the beginning the ground is worked and worked as the grower prepares diligently for the planting season.  As the seeds are planted then comes the faith, hope, and love.  Faith that something so small, such as that seed, can give a bountiful harvest as it uses all resources to push that growing point up through the ground.  Hope of something much greater than we can control will not destroy and a bountiful harvest will prevail.  Love is a huge part of this story as it is in our everyday lives.  Every garden needs tender loving care as weeds are pruned out to keep the nutrients and resources going directly to the growing plants, watering to allow the plants to not dry out and wither away, fertilizer to help feed them, and then, of course, extra special care when disease sets in or a bug infestation occurs.  This faith story can be likened to farming and agriculture.

Our garden is teaching me, on a daily basis, what God wants from our lives.  He wants us to live by faith and fully rely on Him as our strength, food, and courage.   We are not in control and as soon as I can grasp that, the better things will be.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  This is from Jeremiah 29:11.  His plan is full of love.  Love for us, love for our enemies, and love for everything He has created.

God has given Heath and I, and the boys this beautiful garden for our enjoyment.  We extended to nearly three times the size as last year.  The hail is just a simple reminder that we are not in control, God is testing our faith.  He wants us to know He loves us and that our hope must be in Him and not in earthly things.