View from outside our patio of a plant sprouting up from the ground.
In our four years of living in this apartment, this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything sprout so close to our patio. Perhaps the seeds I planted back in March (and that my toddler son quickly got into) ended up fallin into the ground beyond our home and are now sprouting. Or could it be that all the rain we’ve been having has awakened seeds that were once dormant but now spring to life? I may never know the answer to this question. What I do know, however, is that these little saplings are serving as a vivid image for what I hope my time is to be remembered for when we leave this little, Texan town.
What did I plant here? What seeds have I sown that will remain and grow long after I’ve left this place?
My mom told me something the other day as she ponders how much longer God might have her and my dad stay in their current dwelling place. She commented that she wants to leave any place where she has lived looking more beautiful than when she first came. In part, she means that in the most literal sense due to her own love of gardening. But I know the sentiment runs deeper than that.
As believers, we have an opportunity to plant something eternal because we have the Spirit of the eternal God living in us. At the end of our time here as a family, I hope and pray that we have left something beautiful and of eternal value, just as many within our church community have left such a deep impact on us. I hope that we will leave this place more beautiful than when we first arrived.
As we prepare for our departure, the plants that have quickly sprouted up and are growing just past our patio challenge me to keep sowing here while we still can, even to the very end. And they also encourage me to trust that our time here has not been in vain. It definitely has not been in vain as far as what we have received here as a family. We have been blessed so greatly and by so many in a plethora of ways. But God has had specific ways for us to contribute to this community, too. I pray that our contribution will leave a lasting impact in the years to come. And, just like the saplings outside our apartment, that it will only grow.
I’ll eventually put another plant in the pot, but for now, the fake flower will do! 😀 Picture of three plants and a fake, purple flower.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV
My tulip bulbs didn’t bloom again. It’s not too surprising, however, since I didn’t do any research to know when and how to plant them. I simply stuck them in a pot of dirt on our patio when Liam and I were planting seeds over a month ago. Then I watered them and hoped for the best.
Now, weeks later, the rest of the plants have sprouted and are really starting to thrive, but the bulbs remain a potted patch of dirt. Come to think of it, I vaguely recall reading about planting them in the fall when I was originally researching how to take care of the bulbs after their first blossoms. Apparently, timing really does make a difference. Timing and the right kind of care, in this case.
Being greeted by that barren plot of dirt each day as I water the rest of the patio plants has made me consider the importance of planting in season. This is certainly true for gardening, of course, but I can’t help but think it applies to so much more than that, too.
Lately, JJ and I have been talking about some dreams that we would like to pursue in the near future. God seems to have planted certain desires in our hearts, and those longings only appear to grow as we ask God to mold our hearts to His.
Nonetheless, it is not quite the right season to plant in the physical world the desires that have been planted in our hearts, so we hold onto these hopes like seeds, watching and waiting for God to direct us to when planting season is here.
Thinking about the dried-out bulbs is the encouragement I’ve needed these days to trust God when I grow weary of this watching and waiting. JJ and I could try to force things to conform to our desires now, but we know it would be foolish. Much like the tulip bulbs, our efforts would render little result if we didn’t let God determine the right season. Our labor would be in vain of God wasn’t in it (Psalm 127:1).
Knowing that the good gifts God wants to give us will flourish in the right, God-ordained season brings me a sense of stillness, and as we wait on Him to receive these God-given dreams, I can rest assured that He is preparing the soil and climate of our lives to entrust us with those good gifts in due time. He is the Master Gardener; He does not plant a seed simply for the soil to remain barren. So, as I stare at this “patch of dirt” in my own life, seeds of hopes and dreams in hand, I’ll keep looking to Him and trusting that He will show both JJ and me when to plant. And I’ll trust that, in due time, we’ll have a beautiful garden by God’s help because we waited on Him for the right season.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
“Is that a weed?” JJ asked me as he looked out the glass door to a potted plant in our backyard.
“No!” I retorted, feeling protective of my little plant. I explained to him how a friend of mine had given me flower seeds for Mother’s Day last year, and I had finally planted them at the beginning of this summer. The longer we stared at the plant, however, the more I started to wonder if JJ’s original thoughts might be right. Could it be that the seeds never took root and that a weed had somehow worked its way into the pot instead?
JJ asked me if I was going to uproot the plant in light of these ponderings. I decided not to, however. Not yet, at least. I’m not sure if it was hope or laziness motivating me, but I planned to give the plant awhile longer before determining my next course of action. I didn’t want to uproot something that could possibly bloom into flowers, and since the plant was contained, I wasn’t worried that this it might wreak havoc on my yard. If nothing else, I would have a good laugh at the end of the summer over all the love and care that I poured into it if it ended up being a weed.
As much as I still find this possibility funny a month or so later, it has caused me to wonder what all I have been growing in my own life on a more serious note. Were the seeds that I wrote about planting in the spring (found here: http://anticipatingadventure.com/2021/05/15/planting-seeds/) possibly giving way to weeds rather than the beautiful garden I had envisioned?
The funny thing about figurative planting is that the seeds we start with are not always the plants we get in the end if we are not careful. If we neglect our plants or use the wrong fertilizer or overwater them, they can turn into something different than what we had originally imagined. Much like literal gardening, a plant will die if neglected. In a figurative sense, however, the plant that is fed the wrong fertilizer or overwatered can quickly turn into a monstruous weed that begins to choke out the other plants in our gardens. The question, then, is what type of plants are we currently growing in our gardens? Moreover, are we tending to them properly so that they can continue to grow into the plant that they are meant to be?
In May, I planted something new in my life. It was a year’s subscription to an online fitness program that was on sale, and although this new aspect of my life has proved to be a wonderful addition thus far, I am becoming more aware of my need to be cautious with this “plant” so that it doesn’t turn into a weed.
The truth is, I find myself thinking about this program more as of late, so I have to ask myself if I am giving it more attention than it deserves. Is it taking up more time than it should? Are my priorities where they should be?
These are the questions that we should ask ourselves in general as we tend to the hopes, dreams, goals, desires, etc. that are sprouting up in our lives. Let’s not neglect any plant entirely (unless God shows us differently), but let’s be careful not to give any one of them greater importance than they merit either. Let’s not water weeds. After all, whatever we grow in our gardens has the potential to affect all the other plants within it, so let’s tend to each one properly and uproot any weeds as needed. Furthermore, let’s give godly, trusted friends permission to point out any weeds that we may be unaware of, and to give us advice on how to help our fruit-bearing plants grow when needed.
Several weeks after my initial conversation with JJ, my mom came into town, and since she has been gardening for years, I asked her if she thought the potted plant might be a weed. After examining it for a minute, she told me she thought it might be a marigold plant and reassured me that the flowers were always the last thing to bloom. It put my mind to ease to hear this and to know that the time spent taking care of that plant should render something beautiful in the end.
Just as we need godly individuals to help us recognize weeds at times, we sometimes need their help to recognize when a plant is worth growing. Sometimes we need their encouragement to persevere in our gardening attempts and to trust that the end result will be worth it, as hard as it may be to see in the moment.
Had my mom told me she thought my plant was a weed, I may have uprooted it right then. But because of her words, I have continued to tend to it, and just as of yesterday, I noticed several sphere-like shapes beginning to form on the top of it. It makes me hopeful that I’ll see some gorgeous orange flowers soon.
Literal and figurative gardening will always require lots of work, but in the end, both are worth it. Knowing that a harvest is to be reaped (or in my literal case, flowers are to be enjoyed), makes the time and effort worth it. And the lessons learned along the way are valuable treasures gained in the process—a harvest of its own.
Photo on left: when I was finishing writing this blogpost. Photo on right: picture from today, July 27th, 2021.
