Time In A Garden

                          Time In A Garden
Dear Friends,
     One thing that a garden requires is time.  Time to plan, to prepare the soil, plant seeds, time to wait for growth and time to pull weeds and time for harvest. Now that fall is here and winter seems to be racing to get here, my time in the garden is spent harvesting the last of the tomatoes, peppers and herbs.
   "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a book that shows what can happen to a garden when left to itself for a number of years and how it can spring to life again when it is cared for.
     The young Mary Lennox who had been sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire discovers a secret garden that has been locked up and the key hidden away for the past 10 years.  
    The story is full of surprises and beautiful transformations in both the people and in the garden. 
    God has a time for everything and if we experience a time where the garden is locked  for a period of time God knows and has His plans even if we don't see the beauty in it for a time. The spring will come in His time. That garden that is planted by Him won't be hidden or covered with debris forever.
     I am always thankful when I have the time to spend in the garden. In the fall I like to collect seeds and colorful dried ornamental grasses and lovely lavender flowers and sweet smelling herbs. Fresh herbs from my garden are nice to dry and use in the kitchen during the long, cold winter. When the house needs to be closed up against the cold weather it can be a comfort to have the scent of simmering pasta sauce made with the basil, oregano and parsley from my garden. These are small reminders to me that cold weather won't last forever and my garden will bloom again.
     Ecclesiastes 3 is the well know chapter about time.  The times are all in God's mind.  Verse 1 says that "to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose." This letter is a reminder of His faithfulness even when things aren't blooming.

Doves In A Garden

                                         
                                                           Doves In A Garden
Dear Friends,
     Doves are such quiet, peaceful birds.  In my garden I will see them either perched on a low branch of the maple tree, or napping  quietly in a shady spot. When they are hungry they enjoy the weed seeds that I can never seem to keep from multiplying in the summer. Sometimes I accidentally frighten them because they are so still and quiet and I don't see them until in fright they fly off in a group with a whirling sound of their wings. It is such a unique sound, not like anything else I can compare it to. The only other sound  they make is the soft cooing conversations they have with each other.
     Seeing the little doves reminds me of the doves my dad had in a small aviary attached to the shed in the back yard. He would open the door of the cage in the morning and the doves would enjoy the yard and sit on my dad's shoulder or hand. They would return to the aviary when the sun was setting.
     Doves are an important bird in the Bible and I'm always glad when they visit my garden. We see Noah take a dove in his hand and let it fly to look for dry land. The little dove trusted Noah and returned to his hand in the evening.
     The dove mentioned at the baptism of Jesus is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. It's so beautiful that God chose a dove that is quiet and gentle, not like a hawk. The word for Holy Spirit is the same word for wind, which indicates strength, direction and purpose. 
   Imagine the sky opening as Jesus comes up out of the water and the beautiful dove rests on His shoulder, His strong shoulder that carried the cross. His shoulders are also the place in the story of the lost sheep where the shepherd placed the sheep when it was found. 
Luke 15: 5
     "And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders."
    So when we see a little dove we can think of the strong shoulders of our Messiah Jesus.

Praise Like a Garden

                       Praise Like A Garden

Dear Friends,

     The colder weather is approaching and my garden only has a few things in bloom now.  The rounded mounds of spicy scented fall flowers with their bold tangerine orange and lemon yellow are some of the last colors braving the chill air. I'm so thankful for the colors of autumn all around me. The brilliant colored leaves are everywhere right now and on sunny days the hillsides seem to glow like gold. The brightest time of color only lasts  for a short time, then the trees will be dark and empty until the snow covers the branches.

     We have so many things to praise God for.  So many blessings come in praising and thankfulness.  Praise brings growth to the garden of our hearts. I desire for this garden to grow and bloom even during the months that the garden outside is resting.

     Isaiah 61:11 says this in a beautiful way.

     "The Sovereign Lord will show His justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise Him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere."

     Prayer and praise does change things. The changes start inside of us and then around us. 

                                           

Caterpillar In My Garden

                    Caterpillar In My Garden
Dear Friends,
     One day this summer I found this caterpillar eating a sweet, feathery fennel plant in my garden. It was okay, I really didn't mind sharing and he was really hungry like in the children's book about the hungry caterpillar. To think that it would someday have wings and that a part of my garden would contribute to the life cycle of the caterpillar was sort of comforting. 
    Changes and transformations are continual in a garden. The caterpillar needs food to live and to eventually transform. The right food is essential for the process. 
     In Romans 12:2  we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  The change God requires starts on the inside.  We cannot transform ourselves any more than the caterpillar can transform its self.  Since we live in a material world we are surrounded by material things and we have choices like the little caterpillar in my garden had choices of what to eat. God will change us as we yield to Him. It is a life long process. As we daily seek the Lord in prayer and the Word He will do the transforming. 
    2 Corinthians 5:17-18 "anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun. And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ..."

Treasure In A Garden

                           
                                               Treasure In A Garden
Dear Friends,
     Throughout history people have been intrigued by hidden treasure. Sometimes a great treasure is discovered that makes the finder very wealthy. Those stories have led people to leave their homes and families to seek a fortune in a lost or hidden treasure sometimes at a great risk to their lives. We have all heard of these kind of stories from The California Gold Rush and the Ship of Gold in which people found treasure and sometimes didn't. Hidden maps can be found that lead people on a treasure hunt through a wild jungle where they encounter snakes and quicksand.
    Sometimes a treasure is discovered by accident during the building of a new structure or during the renovation of an old building. During the plowing of a field or digging a garden lost things have been found.  I have heard of treasure being found inside a framed picture, inside a long forgotten coffee can and inside walls.
   There is another kind of treasure. No risks are involved in seeking it. The Bible talks about seeking treasure. Proverbs 2:1-5 is about seeking wisdom and understanding in the Word as if seeking silver and hidden treasure. Psalms 119:162 says, "I rejoice in your Word like one who discovers a great treasure." Deuteronomy 4:29 holds a promise that if we seek The Lord with all our heart and soul we will find Him. 
    A beautiful verse that describes how this treasure changes us for God's glory is 2 Corinthians 4:7, " We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure." God sees fragile clay jars as being the perfect containers for His Light. Our life jars that have been cracked and chipped can have His glorious light shine out of them to show the world a great treasure. All the glory is His!