Lessons From the Garden #1

The Runion household has been busy since we moved into our new house the first week of February.  God has blessed us is so many ways and we continue to see his hand upon our lives as He leads us and directs our steps.  It hasn’t always been easy.  In fact, the majority of the past few years have been sheer struggle.  But from the struggle, we have also seen the love of The Father for us through His grace, comfort, provision, and through the love of His people. 

One of the biggest blessings, for me, to come out of this major transition in our lives is our back yard garden.  I have always wanted to grow plants.  I especially have always wanted to grow food!  I remember one grandmother having tomato plants in her tiny yard in Chicago and my other grandmother having all kinds of vegetables in her big yard in N.E. Indiana.  It was a special time to be able to go pick something to eat that day and enjoy the “fruits of their labors”.

I started with some research, asking friends I knew that have gardens, reading and watching tutorials about gardening in our region, what grows, how it grows, what to do, and so on.  I am still learning so much as there is so much more to learn. My first purchase was two raised bed kits from our local membership warehouse and an order of peat moss dirt from a local garden center. My kids helped us put the raised beds together and fill them with dirt as well as dig up a strip along the fence and fill it with dirt. 

A good friend offered to start me off with a bunch of starter plants.  From tomatoes and peppers to pumpkins, squash, and leafy greens, I had lots of fun putting them in the ground as she brought over more and more.  I started a gardening journal to write down what I learn and plan to improve and learn more as I go.  As I was putting together my gardening journal, I felt the Holy Spirit say to listen as He speaks in the Garden.  It was a sweet message that there is more to learn than just basic horticulture and botany but that God would use this fascinating new area of my life to teach me more about myself and ultimately more about Himself.

SO, without further ado, Lessons from the Garden… 
(This is not an exhaustive list of lessons, but the most poignant ones that have left a deep mark on my mind. Bear with me as I am being transparent and vulnerable for the sake of being used by God.)

#1) Support systems.

The second round of transplants I received were 3 different kinds of tomatoes.  I had intended the smaller ones to go into a large flower pot but that didn’t work out too well so into the garden they went.  They were small but hardy and I was so excited to see them grow.  I knew, though, that they would need support.  As I did some research I found that tomatoes are climbing vines but their fruit is heavy so they need support so they don’t snap and die.  I was given 8 tomato cages by someone else and positioned the tomatoes right in the center of each cage.  I have watered and fed my tomato plants lovingly and they are starting to bear fruit. As each little green orb grows, they get heavier and heavier for the vines to support.  The tomatoes are not ready to be harvested because they are way too immature.  If they fall off the vine now, they will merely shrivel up and die.  This is called “dropping their fruit” (or “dropping their flowers” if they do not get proper pollination).  See, when tomatoes are not properly supported, fed, and watered regularly, the weight is too much for them to handle.  Their stems strain to hold on to their precious fruit.  Not enough water and they will dry out. They are strong but also fragile. However, properly supported tomatoes will produce a bounty of fruit that will continue to grow throughout the whole season until it gets too cold to continue. 

As I learned all of this and began to implement them in my garden, I heard the Holy Spirit teaching me this lesson for my own spirit.  We are all of us strong and hardy when we are fed, watered, and well supported.  Many times we neglect the last one though.  We grow up strong and tall, eating and drinking in the word of God and the presence of God, but when it comes to supporting our fruit, we don’t want to be supported.  I have seen this in numerous ways and have even tried doing this myself at times.  “I can do this!”  “I can handle this!” “I got this!” Our roots begin to grow deep but our arms are further and further out reaching until we realize we are exhausted, we are busy, we are frazzled and we can’t take one more thing.  All of our energies have been spread out between so many things that they are all suffering. It is at this time that God, in His never ending love, puts us inside a strong supportive structure.  It was never meant to hinder our growth but to support it as we grow within and around it!  See, Tomato plants are not confined by the tomato cages.  They are held up by them.  They take the weight of the tomatoes and allow the plant to continue to grow and mature as their fruit grows and matures.  The fruit are healthier as well because they are supported by the vine which is supported by the structure meant to help it grow and become nutritious and produce more seeds to produce more plants next season.

Are we allowing God to plant us within a strong support system in the Body of Christ, The Church?  So many have turned away claiming that it is restrictive and there are so many rules or they have been “burned” by the church.  God did not intend you to be hurt but established The Church so that we would have a strong support system as well as to be able to come together and corporately worship Him in unity and mutual love.  It is also a place for healing, restoration, and growth from past hurts and circumstances of life. 

In this first lesson from the Garden, I challenge you to as God to show you where your weak spots are and where you need help.  He will help you to identify areas of hurt that need healing so that He can begin to restore you.  Ask Him to show you where you can be transplanted to be supported and to grow and bear good fruit.  That may look like trying a new small group (our church calls them “Life Groups”), taking a class on Sunday mornings or Wednesday evenings, or trying a new activity where you can meet new people to be around. 

I am praying for you that God will give you boldness to step out and be supported as well as bring the right support to you.  God bless you as you seek His face and serve Him

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"24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."  Hebrews 10:25-26  (ESV)

"2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." "9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."  Galatians 6:2, 9-10  (ESV)

 "5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned."  John 15:5-6 (ESV)

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