Times & Seasons

A garden is not static just as God’s time, times and seasons are not static.  Nothing stays the same.  One change only leads to another.  Spring, summer, autumn, winter.  We are as connected to the earth as are the elements He created us from.  We cannot escape it.  To be out of sync with creation is to be out of sync with God Himself.  He gave us the stars, the sun, and the moon to show us His proper order for our days on the earth; the clouds that bring the rain in their season to water the ground in and upon which lives every plant and creature ever created.  He gave us dominion over every living thing ever created.  Some of these He gave us as elements to nurture the bodies He created; all of these elements, including each one of us, expressing a facet of His infinite character.

I’ve been reminded of this recently.  For a full cycle of seasons now motivation to get out in the garden has escaped me.  Every task, and there are so many, seems insurmountable.  Unfinished projects loom before me. Where I weeded just last week needs to be done yet again.  Weed.  Repeat.  Weed.  Repeat.  I can never seem to get beyond the weeding and clean up to the fun and exciting building and planting part.  And for the last several months I’ve been unable to garden because of a knee injury.

But now, my knee has mostly recovered and I’ve been catching up.  Again!  It’s like starting all over again with the same tasks, the same problem areas.  And I’m sure it’s the same weeds.  But my recent physical slow down and continuing recovery has produced a shift in my attitude.  No longer do I dive all-in and hurriedly attempt to tackle every project in a day so I can see the end result and move on to what I [think I] really want to do, like watch TV; instead I’m required to work more slowly, a little bit at a time, submitting to, synchronizing with the times and seasons of each project, whether weeding, building, planting plants or waiting for them to grow; purposefully observing as each unfolds, unveils and reveals its beauty.  It’s a process requiring me to live in the present and learn to nurture and be patient with life in its many-faceted and beautiful seasons.  

I had been asking God to give me patience and He asked me to garden.  I asked Him for discipline and He asked me to write.  In the time, times and seasons of my walk with Him, He continually reveals His deep and abiding love and patience for me and His many-faceted and beautiful disciplines of life.  My heart is fulfilled and deeply satisfied when I put my hands to the tasks they’ve been given, expressing what they have to say.