Did you know life is like a garden? A beautiful garden (a beautiful life) doesn’t just come together haphazardly. There is a lot of tending, nurturing and time investment behind both. Both blossom, albeit in different ways.
I love driving through my neighborhood this time of year. Yards are starting to get their “green on” and a few early blooming flowers have burst forth: decorated in a manner as only the Master Gardener can create. What do neighbor see when they drive by your house?
The Garden
A mantel of green is settling over each of my front yard plants as the season warms. Nature’s paintbrush custom colors every bush and bloom. I have my husband to thank for our beautifully tended front yard. Me? . . . well, my front yard project is a small garden off of our porch.
It still needs to fill in a bit, but I smile at the three years I’ve devoted to finding the right plants and creating the vision I’ve had for this little plot of dirt. My efforts and investment are paying off. Slowly, but surely. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will my garden.
However, in the interest of full disclosure, I must also share the garden in my back yard.
Pitiful isn’t it? The lack of care is obvious. A lack of time and physical limitations on my part started the downward spiral of my once visually striking garden. It used to be my pride and joy until a part time job and foot issues turned my world upside down. The neglect started slowly. I was still able to weed somewhat, but planting plants was a no go. Obnoxious (but beloved), hot-pink flamingos replaced the vibrant orange marigolds and white, wispy cosmos that once provided a visual feast for onlookers. The weeds slowly settled comfortably among my plastic birds. Now look!! Flamingos are uprooted and weeds rule the garden.
It’s just like life. A garden in disarray denotes neglect . . . a life in disarray allows neglect a foothold. So let me ask you. How does your garden grow?
Nehemiah’s Garden
Nehemiah as a cup bearer for King Artaxerxes when the Jews started returning to Jerusalem after their exile to Babylon. Nehemiah received disturbing word from the Holy City:
“The survivors there in the province who escaped are in great trouble, and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire,” (Nehemiah 1:3, NRSV).
God’s garden was in disarray. Nehemiah was distraught. He eventually made his way to Jerusalem to tend to the city. He encountered opposition from both enemies and his own people, but eventually his investment and nurturing paid off:
“They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away,” (Nehemiah 12:43).
Jerusalem, God’s prized garden, was blossoming once again.
Our Spiritual Garden
Much in the same manner as my lilies in my front yard garden cause we to rejoice when they bloom, God rejoices when our spiritual gardens blossom.
Let me ask you, how is your spiritual garden growing? Are you giving it the nurturing it needs, or does it resemble my poor, pitiful garden strewn with hapless flamingos?
Here are some tips:
- Till the soil (your heart). Fresh and loose dirt is like an open heart. God can grow wonderful things in both.
- Plant good seeds. The best, most quality seeds I know for a spiritual garden are found in the Bible.
- Water those seeds. The best water, ever, is the Living Water, and you can find Him on the pages of God’s Word. Immerse yourself every day that you can. Attend church and fellowship with others who are also tending to their spiritual garden.
- Prayer!! Prayer is the best nourishment for sprouting seeds. Nehemiah prayed constantly as he tended to Jerusalem. See Nehemiah 1:4-11, 2:4, 4:4-5, 4:9, 5:19, 6:9, 13: 14, 22, 29, 31. He stayed in close communication with the Master Gardener . . . and so should we.
- Nehemiah also tended his OWN garden. The wall was the garden that God assigned him to tend. Of course, there were plenty of other gardens that needed nurturing, but God assigned those to other people. Nehemiah didn’t need to worry about those. He needed to tend the garden God gave him.
Whether your garden begins in the dirt or in your heart, they both need to be nurtured and properly tended to.
Prayer Needs:
Pray that New Mexico citizens will plant godly seeds in their hearts and minds. If this applies to you personally, pray for inspiration. Obtain a Bible (contact me if you don’t have the resources or know where you can get a Bible). Pray that God will show you a good, Bible-teaching church and put godly people into your life.
Pray that the Christians in our state will dig into God’s Word. No garden grows without getting dirty hands now and then. Pray that God’s message of love will be cultivated in your life and the lives of others.
Tend to your own garden! Pray that a movement will sweep the Land of Enchantment that causes people to tend to their business and leave what isn’t part of their garden alone. When nosy citizens, over-reaching politicians, criminals, overbearing neighbors start sticking their noses into gardens that don’t belong to them, disarray enters. (NOTE: I’m not encouraging people to ignore injustice, unrighteousness, , criminal activity, or neglect of any kind. Sometimes we must intervene. I’m speaking mainly of people who cause trouble and drama where none needs to exist.)
Pray, pray, pray for the corporate well-being of our state and personal well-being in the garden of your life.
©2015 Pray NM