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Cultivated

  • August 26, 2016
  • Posted by: Kara Bratton
  • Category: Devotions
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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” – John 15:1-2 ESV

I like gardening and landscaping. Actually, that’s not completely true. Let me explain it mathematically:
My wife likes gardening and landscaping + I like my wife = I like gardening and landscaping

In fairness, I like having a yard that looks nice, but I have no eye for how to make that happen. Thankfully, Linda possesses that gift and is able to make the correct choices that will create the beautiful yard we both enjoy. Come to think of it, we’re actually very different when it comes to our gardening skills and abilities. She has the eye but doesn’t always have the physical strength to move large plants and bags of mulch. I can lug stuff around but I don’t know the difference between a hibiscus and a hydrangea. In fact, the only thing that I think we have in common is our dislike for the seemingly endless maintenance that comes with growing our healthy, beautiful plants.

Weeding, pruning, fertilizing, watering, and cultivating are the ongoing projects that come with any garden. The work is tedious, sometimes tricky, and usually inconvenient. You have to be careful when weeding around shoots so as to not uproot the desired plant. Water and fertilize too much or too little and you’re headed for problems. Prune too much and you risk damaging or greatly altering the plant’s appearance (Linda wanted me to mention the shrub I accidentally hit with the rototiller as an example, but I’d rather not discuss that).

So as we keep ourselves busy all summer long with all of these jobs I often find myself asking if this much effort is really necessary. But as Linda “lovingly” reminds me, if we wait the job would be more difficult and to stop entirely would make the beds look ugly and could eventually kill the plants. Couple that with my knowledge of the price I paid for all of these plants and I quickly shut up and grab the Miracle Gro.

Gardens provide wonderful analogies for life. Consider a teacher dealing with a student who struggles to behave appropriately in her classroom. The student/teacher relationship easily compares with that of the gardener and the plant. One is growing with many different influences and threats challenging their ability to be healthy and strong. The other is entrusted to provide nurture and protection to help the plant. Interestingly enough, neither are ultimately responsible for the growth.

Gardeners need seeds to grow plants. Teachers need families to enroll students. All of us need God to create and sustain the lives they live and shape. Teachers and gardeners feed, prune and encourage. God is responsible for the growth. He provides us with everything we need to do this work – especially when the garden is overrun with weeds and the plant seems unresponsive to our care. This is why it is vital that we as classroom “gardeners” seek God’s will. Go to His word for guidance as we carry on our work. Pray for our students in the same way a gardener will “talk” to a plant. The adage tells us that talking to your plants will help them to grow. The Bible tells us that praying for your students will do the same thing – lifting them up before the One who has known them from the beginning of time.

Finally, for those of you who, like me, wonder if putting all of this work into the garden is necessary, your answer mirrors the one that keeps me working. Consider the price God paid for this child in the blood of Jesus Christ. His great love for us moved Him to sacrifice His own Son to restore us to life. So as we praise Him for that life-saving gift we also give thanks for the role we get to play in growing His garden, nurturing the seedlings He planted to help them grow and flourish as He designed. It’s an incredible responsibility but also an amazing blessing He has given to those who take up this important work. Stand firm in the faith God has built up in you….
…and be careful when tilling around the shrubs!

Devotion by Richard Schumacher
LSEM Director of Programs & Services