The Fruits of His Labors

This week we're enjoying the bounty of our backyard garden. I'm amazed by how big our plants have grown and how much produce has come from those tiny seeds we started with. We've made pickles, zucchini bread, pesto, along with numerous salads and sides of grilled veggies.

One of the reasons I enjoy gardening so much, perhaps because God's still working on my patience, is that with gardening in a short period of time, my efforts pay off, produce fruit, and bring me and others joy.

In ministry, we find things look both similar and different compared with gardening. Similar in that God uses us to plant seeds of truth in people's lives, to provide nourishment and nurturing as people grow in their faith, and to water people's souls with encouragement and fellowship. These spiritual seeds are different from the plants in my garden in that it often takes much longer to see the fruit in people's lives, sometimes years, and sometimes we don't even get to see it at all. Sometimes God only uses us to plant, or to nourish, or to water and we don't get to see the complete process. And sometimes impatient people like me get frustrated when we're asked to wait until heaven to see and enjoy the fruits of the labor God gives us.

That's when I have to stop and praise the Creator for his unending patience with me, his patience to tend to my heart and trim back the sinfulness and selfishness inside me. He's the perfect gardener, things ripen in his perfect timing and he prunes out of love with grace.

Who vacuums their garage?

My mom does. And now I do too apparently. Do you ever have moments where you know you are your mother's daughter? I had one of those yesterday while helping my bridesmaid (or bff if you prefer, hubby and I were in her wedding and vice versa) clean out her garage.

Bridesmaid and I are partnering together to participate in her neighborhood's annual yard sale which is coming up in 10 days. She's moving out of a four bedroom house into a two bedroom apartment and needs to downsize. I started on this because I felt we had too much stuff and needed to simplify. In the meantime, my parents have put their house on the market, so I now have all their old junk, excuse me, treasures to sell.

I think prior to last night's cleaning we both felt a bit overwhelmed with what we've gotten ourselves into. But there's something about seeing tangible progress, as leaves and dirt are swept away, that makes a task seem more manageable. Bridesmaid and I both work in the human services, so often the work we do in people's lives isn't tangible for a long time, and quite often we don't get to see it for ourselves. So it's nice to take on something where we can see progress and results.

I'm trying to not have overly high expectations that will leave me disappointed, but my hope is that from this yard sale and my birthday that's coming up, I'll be able to purchase a digital SLR camera. I'd love to have some pretty pictures for my blog and to be able to take pictures of family, friends, and our students. I'm still trying to decide between Nikon or Canon and whether or not the video feature is really necessary. But I'm also holding my plans loosely and trying to pay attention should the Lord show me that he has another desire for that money.

On a totally separate note, I harvested the first salad from our garden tonight. We had lettuce with fresh basil and green onions chopped up in it. With a little dressing, croutons, and cheese, it was fabulous. I can't wait to add tomatoes and cucumbers to the mix as the summer goes on.

There are no weeds...

just plants in the wrong place. That's what my landscape architect friend says anyway. So yesterday, in the rain, I dug up some daisies that were in the wrong place and brought them home with me. My parents' neighbors probably thought I was crazy out there in the empty lot, in my raincoat and flip flops, digging up the "weeds" and putting them in plastic grocery bags. I'm finding lots of joy in gardening this year, especially when the plants are free. I'm finding that I connect with my creator when I'm tending his creation.

On another note, hubby and I made some new friends tonight with our neighbors across the street. We've been very blessed with friendly and kind neighbors and have been wanting to use our home more often to serve others with hospitality. We had this couple and their daughter over for a nice relaxing dinner and really enjoyed getting to know them. I'm excited to see what the Lord is going to do with this new relationship.