I read directions, I follow directions, I plant, I pray, I wait, I watch, I hope … and more often than not, I end up shaking my head and wondering what went wrong.
My hubby has planted more than 100 flower bulbs in our yard over the past couple of years, so I could hardly wait to enjoy a breathtaking display of splendiferous color in our yard this spring. Well, the curtain is up and most of the actors didn’t bother to show up. That’s right—they just didn’t show up. What on earth?
All those bulbs, and all we got was a few lousy flowers. Pretty pitiful return on our investment, I’d say.
I’d like to blame it all on lousy soil, but we’ve had our dirt tested and that doesn’t seem to be the problem. And I must say it does grow some magnificent weeds.
I’m afraid the hard truth is that I’m just a lousy gardener. If not completely inept, at least extremely inconsistent.
Last summer, for example, I planted a bunch of annuals in our yard. I did it all just right, following all the directions about sun exposure and spacing and all that. Then, right in the middle of my newly planted flowers, up sprang these monstrous zinnias I didn’t remember from the year before. I’d forgotten about them because they weren’t supposed to come back for an encore. But they did. Just to befuddle me, I’m sure.
Some of those zinnia zombies grew to be nearly four feet tall. My little “on purpose” annuals didn’t stand a chance in the shadow of those accidental amazons.
Our attempts to grow edible things proved to be just as unpredictable. The strawberry plants we were sure we’d kill went nuts, spread like kudzu and produced berries all summer long. We dug up sweet potatoes as big as our heads.But the plants everyone else seems to successfully grow—like tomatoes—were pathetic.
I don’t get it.
I’d sign up for a gardening class, but I’m pretty sure I’d feel like a chimpanzee in a physics class. Yep, it’s that bad.
Thinking about all of this, I’ve decided that sowing the “seeds” of the gospel of Jesus Christ can sometimes feel like my gardening adventures. It’s almost impossible to predict what will take root and bloom.
I’m sure Cindy, the college friend who first explained the gospel to me in a way I could understand it, at a time when I desperately needed to hear it, thought I wasn’t getting it at all. She had to be discouraged when she took me to the powerful Christian film, “The Hiding Place,” and I cracked jokes through most of it.
But, here’s the thing—what came out of my mouth didn’t really reflect what was happening in my heart during that movie. The message was getting through, as was Cindy’s very genuine relationship with Jesus and the grace she displayed in relating to this somewhat wild child.
Seeds of truth were taking root in my heart.
So, if you’re a Christ-follower who’s discouraged because family and friends don’t seem interested in the faith you live and share with them, don’t give up. Don’t try to shove it down their throats, but don’t give up.
Keep growing in your own relationship with God, live what you believe, love those people well, and pray.
Being an “ambassador for Christ,” as the Apostle Paul declares every Christian to be, can be discouraging at times, but take heart—you never know when a four-foot zinnia will spring up in your garden.
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” – Galatians 6:9