Returning To The Garden

 

 

 

A friend reminded me that it was time to garden. She was looking forward to it because then, she said, I would start to write again. Her comment made me wonder if there is a growing season for writers, and if it returns like the seasons of the year.  

 

 

Last week, I went to the garden center to be inspired even though it is much too early to plant, but the seeds were there in the bright little packets tempting me.. The perfect blooms on the envelopes cried out, “Buy me!” Plant me!” I promise to bloom and grow.” And so I did. I bought Morning Glories, Moonflowers, Green Zinnias, and Hollyhocks.  They came home with me, promising to fill my scrawny, too-shady beds with lush plants in just a few months. All I have to do is to start the tiny seeds indoors in one of those makeshift “greenhouse nurseries” that promise me I can nurture seeds to sproutlings who will develop and grow into 70 healthy infant plants. I wonder if it is all true.

Just like I wonder if I will return to writing on the regular weekly (or daily) schedule I once had. Oh, there are these bursts of inspiration and if I quiet myself I can make it happen. A gardener has to work diligently for the plants to grow from seed. It will take time to get those tiny seventy cups filled with soil, the seeds dropped in, identified, watered, watched. Eventually I will need to move them outside to let the sprouts “harden” and get used to the natural elements. I will move them to get just enough sun, but not too much sun. And I will have to pluck out the weaklings. I will have to wait and wonder if there will be any success. Oh, what have I done! I said I was finished with gardening – too little sun, too much clay in the soil, too little effort. And now I find myself returning to hope again.

Writing is not so different. I have to be inspired. A comment by a friend, an observation in nature, words written by other “real” writers can offer seeds for thought. And yes, many words must be plucked out because they are weak or poorly arranged. The right punctuation, like the right fertilizer or amount of sunshine, is critical for words to take on meaning.  But the idea must begin with strong roots in a fertile and well-tended mind, where there is space to grow and develop into a garden of words that makes sense to the writer and changes the reader.

This returning season of spring bulges with emerging growth. A turning, if you will, from the cold bleakness of winter into buds and blooms and resurrection. Every morning the birds are a little louder, a little earlier, calling us to the warmer, longer days. Little by little we witness a new, unfolding season of growth.

The question becomes, “Will we emerge? Will we grow and develop? Will we bloom?”

Joel 2:12-14 offers encouraging words. “Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness.

Demonstration of Grace

 

 

 

 

I cannot begin to write like Charles Spurgeon but I love to read his work (http://www.spurgeon.org/medit.htm.) He was England’s best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century, drawing audiences of more than 10,000 people. His writing is voluminous, to say the least. It transports me to a rich place in reading, with word pictures and descriptions of a time we long for. And yet it is timeless. And rich.

The writing below reminds me of a friend whose faith is strong, even though her body is weak and failing. She reflects grace, trusting with the “assurance her Lord will either deliver her quickly or He will sustain her through the trial for as long He desires to test her.”

Sustainment or deliverance? Of course, as humans we want deliverance – always in this life. But to be sustained is to be kept in God’s presence—held— drawing on “the power of divine grace” which He so freely gives. It is why we marvel at the suffering one who maintains a joy-filled spirit. And why we come away from their presence marveling at the mystery of this divine grace given.

Divine grace is a gift given to us in our time of great need.

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

If we who are God's saints never experienced poverty or other trials, we would not have nearly the understanding of the comforts of His divine grace. When we come across a person who is homeless, who has nowhere to lay his head, yet who says, "I will still trust in the Lord"; when we see someone in abject poverty, who exists on nothing but bread and water but still glories in Jesus; when we see a bereaved widow overwhelmed with difficulties but whose faith in Christ remains strong; what great honor it reflects on the gospel!

God's grace is demonstrated and strengthened through poverty and other trials experienced by believers. True saints endure every burden of discouragement, believing "that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Rom. 8:28). They have faith that out of what may appear to be evil circumstances, a real blessing will ultimately arise. And they have the assurance their Lord will either deliver them quickly or He will sustain them through the trial for as long He desires to test them.

This kind of patience and perseverance proves the power of divine grace. It is like seeing a lighthouse that has been built far out in the sea. On a calm night I cannot tell if the lighthouse can withstand pounding waves, but once a storm begins to rage around it I will know if the structure will continue to stand. And so it is with the Spirit's work; if it were not for the many times of experiencing the storms of life I would never know for sure if His work was true and strong. If powerful winds never blew upon it, I would not know how firm and secure is the Spirit's work. The most masterful works of God are those people who remain steadfast and unmovable even in the midst of severe difficulties.

A person who truly desires to glorify God must come to terms with the fact he will face many trials. No one can distinguish himself before the Lord unless he endures many conflicts. So if your journey through life follows a much-tested path, rejoice because your life will better exhibit the all-sufficient grace of God.

As to the idea the Lord may fail you-never even dream of it! Hate the thought. God who has been sufficient to this point should be trusted to the end.

 

My grace is sufficient for you. 2 Corinthians 12:9