And From the Smallest of Seeds...

Retirement is a remarkable adventure. As a former counselor/therapist I met several men in their mid-60s who presented with significant depression. Often, when I'd ask how long the client had been depressed, he would usually respond with, "About six months or so."

"Well," asking the next obvious question, "what happened six months ago?"

"I don't know," he'd say..."well, I did retire from my job of 40 years."

Those of us who find our worth in what we do, usually struggle when we stop doing that which defined us. The social response to self-definition is usually met with a job title..."Oh I'm a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker." A less defining response later becomes, "I'm retired," and the respondent no longer quite knows just what she/he is. Hence, depression leaps upon the retiree and forces a reexamination of the self at a time usually reserved for winding down. And while we all must answer the "who am I" question, those who find themselves known by their work/works are faced with a dilemma...either redefine the self or unretire.

I found the transition delightful, being one who loves Yeshua and seeks to walk with Him, know Him, and be known by Him. None-the-less, there can be gaps with one whose time is no longer occupied with the daily grind. Personally, there are several things that are meaningful and growth-enhancing in my retirement repertoire, however, I never would have predicted an attempt at the proverbial retiree activity...gardening. Gardening has been as difficult for me as my feeble attempts to learn Hebrew during the last few years and yet...it has also been just as meaningful.

Now, not only am I the TOL newcomer, I am also the TOL gardener newbie! And oh, as all you green-thumbers can attest, gardening is fertile ground in which our God teaches us many things.

In my first attempt last year, I thought I could learn gardening in the same way I learned piano...through YouTube. But as all you old-hands/thumbs well know...you learn gardening through failure. Last year, in a modest 10' x 12' patch, I only harvested from three of the 12 vegetables I sowed. In between planting and harvesting, my poor underlings were subject to mildew, cut worms, cabbage caterpillars, underwatering, overwatering, lousy soil and an ole fella who learned much as he ate YouTube crow.

But in retrospect, that first year must have been orchestrated by Adonai. In everything we do, there is opportunity to learn of His character and trust in His providence. This year, of the 15 seed types/plants I sowed, 15 are thriving, many already bearing fruit. This is also Adonai's doing. Of course, the temptation to brag about what is happening in the garden this year is akin to the scene in the old Tom Hanks movie Castaway, as he marvels at his first fire which he produces from rubbing sticks together..."Look at what I have created!" he screams with passion to no one.

Atop this blog post is a picture of a tomato seed, followed by the tomato plants that have miraculously appeared in this year's same 10'x12' plot. To pretend that the furiously on-coming produce is of my doing is to miss the beauty of The Creator's Hand. First, Abba demonstrates His authorship of creation. I look at that tiny seed and am dumbfounded! How are these plants and fruit possible? How could I possibly ignore the unseen hand that causes all things to come forth at His word? Really? From that tiny seed?

Next, HaShem teaches me that He can produce much from little and here in this patch is demonstrable evidence of that truth, ala, the muster seed illustration. There is an act of faith in putting a seed in the ground. The gardener prepares the ground with that which has been discarded as useless (mulch, manure). She/he then nurtures the seed with the life-giving and sustaining substance...water. The Lord causes the sun to evoke growth and call forth that which is hidden within the seed. The gardener fertilizes, weeds, and keeps away that which would consume each plant before fruit is borne. The lesson is clear..."work with Me and what I have provided to produce a crop...a venture we can share together."

And still, with all these steps in this joint effort, I have no true concept of the miracle that takes place...how something dead becomes alive and then produces fruit. There are many parallels between the plant and our life in Messiah. For instance, the world wants to disable our growth in Messiah...our growth in producing fruit. Just like the mildew, the cutworm, the starvation of the seed, and yes, the evil cabbage caterpillar (lol), the world and the adversary want to steal what has been sown. And, if I allow the seed to be planted and then ignore what He has planted, failing to cultivate that which has been entrusted, I can expect the results similar to what my garden looked like last year. Crippled, diseased, eaten away, with sporadic fruit that would not have otherwise produced lest the grace of God.

Haverim, as in our gardens, let us not let anything fall to the ground. I no longer want to allow myself to entertain diseased worldly offerings or starve that which has been planted by the Holy One...or forget the potential fruit-bearing gifts lying dormant, lest they rot away due to neglectful cultivation. Rather, as I am learning this year from our God, let us nurture, be vigilant and pay attention to the way He would choose to produce fruit in our lives...but all the while trusting Him implicitly in that fruit's outcome.

What has Adonai taught you as a gardener?