The heavens declare the glory of God.
Psalm 19:1
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‘Joy...in the Morning’
Garden Provides Renewal for The Soul
By
Dotty Moore
If I had to describe in one word why I love gardening with all
the sweat and dirt that accompanies such a habit, I would have to
say: renewal. Renewal as in revived physical and spiritual strength.
When I’m out there pulling weeds, chopping at the long root
systems in a effort to “get it all,” I feel like a kid again. I remember,
as though it were only yesterday, digging holes and planting tomato plants and onion sets with my dad even before I could read and write.
Just remembering brings renewal. I remember everything from hoeing and raking with kid-size garden tools to eventually learning how to run Dad’s Gravely garden tractor when I got older. I’ve never outgrown my love for seeing seeds become sprouts and sprouts turning into big, leafy salads at our supper table.
I feel renewed when I pick the rocks out of the soil and toss them, clunk, one at a time into a pile “over there.” I feel renewed when I mix topsoil with compost in the wheelbarrow and then dump it in just the right spot. I feel renewed when I move from one location in the yard to another in an effort to stay in the shade.
I feel renewed when I plop a straw hat on my head and walk around the corner of the house carrying the four-pronged weeding, spading hoe that used to be my Granddad Heckler’s. I feel renewed when I go back inside much later, take off the hat and glance in the mirror to see a crop of flattened “hat hair” on my head.
Yes, gardening is about renewal as much as it is about growth. Growth evolves out of the process of being renewed, and gardening is one of the best ways to see the fruits of our efforts in this process.
But there’s more. There’s another stage of renewal that takes place in a garden. It’s a freeing from other cares and worries. It’s an opportunity to pray without interruptions and distractions. It’s a place to feel close to God. A place to see His hand at work.
A place to be encouraged that God’s hand is also at work everywhere else in the world. A place to kneel and to expect answers. A place to bury the impossible and wait to see what new life God breathes into it.
The garden is a spiritual classroom, a prayer closet and a sanctuary all in one.
Dear Lord, there is more to gardening that producing the biggest roses or the juiciest tomatoes. There is finding You there. You are the Source of any garden’s renewal or growing capabilities. You are why gardening is worth the work, the sweat and the wait. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
From the book ‘Joy...in the Morning’ Favorites, copyright © 2003 Dotty Moore. All rights reserved.
Variation of this column first ran in Press Enterprise, Bloomsburg, PA, May 29, 1999
Telling God, ‘Take Your Time’
By
Dotty Moore
Time and tide wait for no man,” states an old English proverb. No matter how hard we might try, we can’t grab ahold of time and slow it down. And yet, I fear, it’s not time we’d like to put the skids on. It’s life.
Life, no matter how fast-paced, can not keep in sync with the ticking of the clock. The clock ticks at the same speed, day in and day out, while life races on. And we, you and I, strive to keep up.
When is the last time you or I told anyone, or anyone told us, “Take your time”?
Taking our time is virtually an extinct concept. It’s been replaced by: Hurry up. Get to it. Do it yesterday. Don’t think, just do.
Whatever happened to the idea of taking enough time to do something right, and actually enjoy doing it? Which generation, perhaps the one just now being weaned from diapers, will be the last to ever have known anyone old enough to remember the good old days, when time served man, not the other way around?
Ironically, as much as we demand speed of action, thought and decision, we still have sense enough to wish things could be different. Also ironically, as much as we wish we could be given the luxury of taking our good old time to accomplish our jobs or tasks these days, we seldom, if ever, offer the Lord this courtesy. We don’t say to Him, “Lord, take Your time.”
What might happen if we did? What might our lives be like if we expressed to God that we trust His judgment regarding His timing of the things we pray about? His timing surrounding the agonies we endure? The burdens we struggle with? The problems we think we can’t deal with another minute, let alone another day? Beyond that, what if God actually does take His time and doesn’t appear to respond to our need until we label it “too late”?
Far too often we, men and women alike, rush ahead of time, especially ahead of God. There’s no telling what a difference we might see in our lives if we begin loosening the reins on God. Yes, it’s great we hang on to Him, but it’s not so great that we try to steer Him, control Him and spur Him faster and faster. That’s not a display of confidence, it’s arrogance. We’re trying to tell Him we trust Him at the same time we’re yelling hurry up.
Assuming God might like to hear you and I say, “Take Your time, Lord. You know what You’re doing. And that’s all that matters to me,” then let’s do just that. Will you pray with me:
Dear Heavenly Father, I trust You. I trust Your timing. I trust Your tenderness. I trust Your eternal sense of how and when things will be done. You, and You alone, know what’s right about speed versus the fullness of time. Help me to give You what is Yours anyway: the power, the wisdom, the strength and the responsibility to bring about everything in Your time, Your way. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
From the book ‘Joy...in the Morning’ Favorites, copyright © 2003 Dotty Moore. All rights reserved.
Variation of this column first ran in Press Enterprise, Bloomsburg, PA, January 04, 2003
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