The Big Green Thumb

One of my favorite things about Poland is the amazing landscapes. The flowers are so beautiful and the garden's people have are breathtaking!

The garden behind the church here in Szczecinek is gorgeous. It is green with lettuce, bean stalks, zucchini, parsley, and bright with daisies, sunflowers, tomatoes and carrots. I love sitting at the picnic tables in the morning and watching the bees pollenate and butterflies drink from the flowers. Not to mention how much I love the delicious veggies we have been enjoying.

The thing about gardens is they take a lot of work and care. They need daily attention and protection from bugs. They need tended to; weeds have to be pulled and soil fertilized. It requires sunlight and water in the right quantities to thrive.

If you planted a garden in Florida right now, you would no doubt be unsuccessful and end up with a scorched nonexistent one. I would like to have a green thumb when it comes to gardening, but I don't have what it takes to manage a thriving garden--I can barely keep a potted indoor flower alive.

Recently, God has been doing a lot of work in my heart here in Poland. The other day I was praying outside and he gave me an interesting visual.

Kneeling beside a garden was Jesus. I coudn't see his face but he was tending to it. On his left was a pile of uprooted weeds and at his right was a sack of seeds. He was placing them neatly in rows of fresh black soil. Each row had a wooden rod labeled by a painted sign. They read: LOVE, JOY, SATISFACTION, OUTREACH and FORGIVENESS.

That's my heart, I thought to myself.

If you have ever done any landscaping, you know the annoyance of weeds and bugs. They are hard to get rid of and an ever-present issue. As I stared at the pile of weeds, I realized they were seeds planted by the enemy that had grown in my heart. That is just what the devil wants, his lies to take over who you are (John 10:10 says he seeks to steal, kill and destroy).

Once weeds have taken root they are hard to get rid of. You can try and try on your own but they will inevitably come back. Lies like you're not good enough or God can never forgive you, or doesn't love you can often be so deeply rooted in our hearts they begin to affect our relationships, outlook on life, and self-esteem.

Maybe there was a season of bad weather for you. A hurricane came through and destroyed you. Whether it be pain from a loss, a broken relationship, lonliness, betrayal, or disappointment; you can flourish again. Seasons change and new plants grow but the damage still affects the garden. Those times are when the weed seeds blow in and the bugs plant their nests. The enemy knows just the right seeds to plant that will grow and turn your pretty garden into a weed, bug-infested wreck. He hopes the rain storm will drown you and the sun will dry you up. He wants the moles and the foxes to dig up all that is thriving, leaving you with the weeds and bugs.

Reality is we can't control the weather, so even if you are the greenest of thumbs, you have no control over what happens to your heart. I've had to realize this the hard way. There have been various seasons in my life that have destroyed my heart. The problem is that I want to rebuild or restore it on my own. Only Jesus can truly restore and bring my garden back to life. My control or quick fix remedies allow for bugs like rejection or betrayal to move in and destroy my love and joy. Without proper protection, critters steal my peace and dig up my faith. The sun dries up my self-esteem and the winds bring in seeds of fear and doubt. And just like that my damaged heart begins to grow rooted in deceit.

If that's my heart-- what do I have to offer in my relationships? Nothing of substance - instead I find my heart to offer only the lies I've accepted as truth and lacking any crop of worth. My gardening is like a black thumb. In trying to do it all myself my heart ends up worse off.

What I saw in that visual was significant--leave the gardening to the Master. My work is worthless. He is the one who restores us. He brings health, grows us and gives us the nourishment to produce sustenance to offer others.

Seasons are fleeting but a garden requires constant upkeep. The heart will always need tending, weeded, harvesting, and new seeds. If I leave that up to Jesus, I can trust that my garden is in good hands. Really all I can do to help is talk with him, pray and ask him about the weeds he is pulling up. I can fertilize with His Word, offer my fruit to others and thank him in every season.

Have you seen the earth? He's the big green thumb, I think he's got the whole gardening thing down pat.

Today, take a look at your garden. It's time to give Jesus your heart- all of it. What lies need to be uprooted? Where are you in need of new seeds? Have you fertilized lately with his Word? What areas need God's extra attention and care?

He doesn't just want a part of the garden to work on, let him take over. When you are rooted in the care and love of Jesus, the mess of your heart will grow and change into a flourishing garden despite the weather.







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Location:Szczecinek, Poland