The Gardener

My husband recently built a raised garden bed in our backyard so we could plant some fresh fruits and vegetables for our family. As I've been a part of this process, I started thinking about everything you must do to be a gardener and how much you need to know about each plant you are trying to grow. You must know how much water each plant needs, how much sun it needs, when it needs to be pruned, and how much love and care it needs to keep growing.

As I dug deep into researching all of this (so I would be a good gardener), it made me stop and think about how God is the Gardener of our lives. He plants us. He cares for us. He gives us the water we need and the nutrients from His Word. He helps us to bloom as we grow in Christ and produce fruit. God provides us with a family. He gives us a chance to create a godly seed. He enables us to grow and bloom into something beautiful. However, we will always need the Gardener no matter what season we are in, good or bad.

The beautiful thing about the Gardener is that he knows precisely what and when you need it. He knows the pruning necessary for your life. He knows when you need extra water if you feel wilted or worn down, strength and grace to make it through another day, and a little extra tender love and care. The Gardener loves his garden and desires to see it flourish and bloom into something absolutely beautiful, just like God loves his children and wants so badly to see them grow and serve him with their lives.

Take a minute and consider what the garden would look like without the Gardener. The weeds and pests that would creep in and destroy that beautiful garden. Perhaps what was once a beautiful, flourishing garden is now a weed bed overrun by the effects of no Gardener. However, when given access again, the Gardener can make that wilting, struggling garden bloom with beautiful plants again! God wants you to allow him to be the Gardner of your life. HE KNOWS what you need and how to help you grow in your Christian life if you allow him to take control.

Life is often thrown at you in such a way that you may have endured hardship, trials, and struggles that seem to never end. Sometimes, we allow weeds or pests to consume our lives and forget that we need God. The Gardener wants to work in your life. No matter what your past looks like or what you have been through, He wants you to bloom again; he is the only one you need to make that happen. When we allow the Gardener to care for us, we can produce precious fruit and godly seed. The garden's beauty comes not from the plants but from the work of the Gardener with the plants. The Gardener is the reason for the fruit.

I challenge you to allow the Gardener access to your life. Allow Him to prune you and care for you. Allow Him to give you nourishment. He wants to produce a seed through you that is honoring Him! He wants to strengthen you, encourage you, and admonish you. The beauty of the garden stems from the Gardener. Will you allow God to be your Gardener today?