The Garden of Your Life Part 3

 

Jesus often talked about gardening as a metaphor in his parables.  He spoke of workers who put in different hours and were all paid the same at the end of the day ~ oh that parable will push our fairness buttons every time.  He told stories about weeds and wheat and how those two can be twisted and tangled ~ grow together ~ just as they do in your life.  He told a story about a vineyard that was taken over by the labors who go all Lord of the Flies on the king’s son killing him ~ that story really takes an unexpected violent turn!  In Jesus’ day, people lived close to the land and knew the limits of our humanness ~ what we cannot control.  To be sure, I can help enrich the soil, but the soil also has its own life.  I can add water, but what is enough water for one seed might drown another.  I can pull the weeds around the tomato plant ~ so that the nourishing nutrients are not diverted to other things I don’t want to grow.  I might help or inadvertently end up hurting the roots.  I won’t and maybe don’t ever fully know.  Wait ~ don’t miss this ~ you won’t and maybe will never fully know all the mystery to the garden of your life. 

So, you might think, maybe we should do nothing, just sit back and think, “It is what it is.”  Or, we can do what we can, where we can, as prayerfully as we can ~ realizing that things don’t always work out exactly as we plot and plan.  Is there a place in the garden of your life you want to spend time?  This might be in relationships or having fun (play is a sacred practice) or connecting with God or serving ~ as you look at the drawing of your life, what corner calls out for you?  Maybe the whole garden plot is clamoring right now for your attention, and it feels overwhelming!  But know that you don’t need to make everything better instantly or immediately.  Chose one place and part to sink your fingers into the soil of your life, prayerfully asking and being open to God’s wisdom, and trusting that God longs to join you in cultivating and curating the garden of your life.  Amen.