Lessons from my Garden

In 2020, I took up gardening. I never enjoyed gardening as a child. Specifically, I hated getting dirt under my fingernails. It was like nails on a chalkboard to me; if I got dirt under my nails I had to get it all out before I could do anything else (which is weird, because I played outside constantly and didn’t mind getting dirty in any other context!). But in 2020, the year of perpetual uncertainty and craziness, I started growing flowers. It brought me so much peace to watch my flowers bloom and remember that God was not anxious and uncertain about the state of the world; He was still in control. Every year since, I’ve been growing a small garden. I consider myself an amateur gardener, still learning how to successfully grow different herbs, veggies, and flowers, but I love it! I’ve learned to be a little less grossed out by dirt under my fingernails, and I’ve learned a lot about my walk with God through gardening, too. Here are five lessons God has taught me through growing plants:

1: Patience

This passage grew in meaning for me when I started growing a garden. The first time I planted tomatoes, I was out there every day, watching to see how my plants were growing, wondering when the fruit would come. When I started my herbs from seeds, I looked every day at the dirt, wondering if my seeds would actually sprout. I watered… and waited… and watered… and waited… and I stressed over these plants that were taking their sweet time to grow! And I started quoting James 5 to myself, telling myself over and over to be patient. And they did grow. Not as soon as I expected or according to what the packaging on the container told me, but they grew. They produced a harvest. And I had so much joy gathering in the work of my hands.

How this applies to so much of life! Maybe you’ve wondered whether any growth will happen as you lead in ministry at church. Maybe you’ve been sharing the gospel with your neighbors without seeing conversions. Maybe you’ve wondered whether the desires of your heart will ever be fulfilled. Or maybe you expected that the Lord would have returned to wipe away every tear and conquer sin and death by now, but instead you find yourself still waiting. The Lord calls us here to be patient. He is near to us, and He is working. We may not see it, just like I can’t see the little seeds I’ve planted as they sprout and wiggle through the soil until they have pushed through the soil. God is always working behind the scenes; after all, His loving hands hold the universe together and guide the paths of our lives. We can be patient and rest in Him, and we can anticipate with eager joy the fruit that He will bring about in our lives, whether we see it now or in eternity.

2: God cares about the little things.

I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Psalm 116:1

Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

I pray for my garden. It feels a bit silly sometimes, coming before the God of the universe and asking Him to take care of my tomato plants because their leaves are looking funny to me (like I said, I’m an amateur, so sometimes things happen to my plants and I have no clue what is going on!). This year I’ve been praying for hardiness for my plants as we’ve had huge temperature swings. The first time I prayed for my plants, I found myself thinking, why am I bothering God with this? But then He reminded me that He cares for the sparrows. He counts the number of hairs on my head! If an earthly father loves to give good gifts to his children, how much more so does my heavenly Father (Matt. 7:11)! We can talk to God about anything on our hearts, no matter how small. What a precious gift!

3: God is sovereign, even over my tomatoes.

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. James 5:7-11

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7

Whenever I pray for my garden, I’m reminded that is the one who causes the growth. I can water, fertilize, weed, and prune, but ultimately the harvest is out of my hands. I must be faithful to do my part, and then I trust God to do what only He can do.

I can’t force spiritual growth in my life, either. (Or in anyone else’s lives for that matter!) I must be faithful to do my part—to invest in my relationship with God through prayer, time in the Scriptures, fellowshipping with His Church, and by His grace living for His glory rather than my own—but ultimately all that I am and all that I am becoming is a work of His grace alone, not my doing. It is His grace that sustains me in spiritual disciplines, and His grace will cause my growth in Christlikeness. What a weight is removed from my shoulders when I realize how great a grace God has for me! God is sovereign over my tomatoes. And He’s sovereign over me, too.

4: Pruning is good, even though it is hard.

“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 bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” John 15:1-8

My least favorite parts of gardening (besides dirt under my fingernails!) are thinning and pruning. I hate thinning out the little sprouts that are too close together, and it’s tempting for me to think, why not let both grow? Then I get twice as much harvest! But I know that if I leave two radishes too close to each other, they will stunt each other’s growth. Similarly, I have in the past not pruned my plants, thinking that if I leave it be, the plant will be healthier than if I prune it. But I’ve learned that I must prune off branches that are dead or diseased so that the rest of the plant can remain healthy, which will in turn produce a better crop. I have to keep the long-game in mind rather than focusing on the short-term displeasure of thinning and pruning.

Jesus uses the analogy of growing a vine as He talks about our relationship to Him as believers. He is the Vine—our life source. Apart from Him we are spiritually dead and destined to be “cast… into the fire.” If we are born again, then we are attached to the Vine. We are a part of God’s family, destined to bear fruit for the kingdom. And the Father desires that we bear much fruit, which means that He will prune from our lives anything that is hindering us from bearing fruit. This is part of what it means to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts us concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Anything that hinders us from a close walk with the Lord must be pruned from us. And sometimes that means that we are saying no to good things so that we can say yes to best things. It is hard, but it will ultimately yield a greater harvest.

5: Not every season shows visible fruit, but that doesn’t mean I’m not growing.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58

We all go through seasons where it feels like we aren’t growing spiritually or our work for the Lord feels fruitless, unseen, unwanted, too small. That does not mean that our work has been in vain. If Jesus could multiply the loaves and fishes a little boy offered him to feed over five-thousand people, surely the Lord can take our small offerings—serving at church or at home, hidden hours of prayer for others, committing to spiritual disciplines even when it’s hard, etc.—and multiply them. We may not see how those offerings multiply. But that does not mean God isn’t working.

My great grandpa came to the Lord as a young adult. He only had an eighth-grade education. He owned a dairy farm and raised thirteen children. He never made loads of wealth or wrote books or had any sort of fame. But he left a legacy of faith for thirteen children. Those thirteen children all chose to walk with the Lord, as do many of his grandchildren. Though I never met my great grandpa, I am a recipient of the blessing of his legacy of faith, his love for family, and his good work ethic. His toil was not in vain, because it was in the Lord, and the Lord has reaped a harvest through the legacy of my great grandparents.

Be patient. Pray. Rest in God’s sovereignty. Allow the Holy Spirit to prune you. And trust that the Lord will produce a harvest. He is faithful, and He will accomplish His work in us, to the glory of His great name!

With love,

Kelsey