God's Seasonal Plans

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

I was in my twenties, the spring of my life, when I first started going to the garden. I must admit that those times were few and far between. Most of the time I simply wanted to present God with my wish list. I was too busy having fun to spend very much time in the garden.

In my thirties we started our family and for sure I was way too busy to be in the garden! I didn’t even have time to water my house plants! The kids and that NEVER EMPTY laundry basket kept me hopping and I was also totally exhausted from lack of sleep. During that season of my life the garden was basically a place where I only went to cry for help or to ask for protection for my family.

The summer of my life arrived in my forties and I needed answers. So I began to spend more time with God in the garden. These years were full of questions. Did prayer really work? Was God really concerned about me? Why did God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why do Christian people disappoint us? Why can’t I be perfect in my obedience to God?

Then before I knew it the fifties had arrived and brought a major change to my life. We moved from Illinois to Maryland leaving a whole bunch of family and friends behind. Although I was eager for the new experience, this move left me devastated. I had just lost my father, my daughter had left for college, and my hormones were doing weird things! If that was not enough, my husband began traveling weekly leaving me at home with a teenage son. In desperation I ran to God! This desert of loss and loneliness was more than I could bear. But it was during this isolation that God really met me in the garden and taught me amazing things. Because of my great need, I was finally driven to discipline myself to a deeper “quite time” in the garden with God.

As I entered the autumn of my life I was approaching my sixties God began to use my life to serve others. I began mentoring several women, and leading a women’s Bible study. When exhaustion set in God said that’s enough and for whatever reason, we moved to our beautiful home in North Carolina. The seclusion of this home provided the next season God had in store for me. God knew that I needed restoration and redirection that could only be found in solitude. God has had so many wonderful things to share with me during this time. I began to write not really knowing what God would do with the words he was giving me.

I do not know what God will do with the winter of my life or if I will even live to see those days, but if I do, I am confident that just like in all of the other seasons there will be a heavenly purpose and plan. Was I a better Christian in one season verses another? No, I don’t think so. I was simply a child of God who he was calling to the garden. There were times when God simply needed me to minister and care for my family. In another season I was desperate and God met my need. In yet another season God helped me to raise the bar in my own spiritual life, as I studied and prepared for teaching others. Then there was the rest and restoration that could only come to me in my season of solitude. God has graciously taught me that in everything there is indeed God’s perfect season. God alone knows the plans and purpose he has for us, plans to give us a hope and a future.

Questions:

What season in life are you in right now?

How are you reaching out to God?

How is God ministering and teaching you?


Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for every season of my life. Help me to discover the purpose that each season has held. I simply want to say thank you for being with me in my current season of life. Increase my awareness of you as I go through my day. Open my ears so I might hear your call, order my heart so I might obey. I pray that you will continue to teach me and prepare me for the next season of my life.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

For Everything There is a Season

“There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:”

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

Every year my husband plants a vegetable garden and every year as fall approaches the produce gets smaller and the vines begin to wither and die. I dread the moment when the last tomato has been picked and eaten because that signals that yet another season is over for eating wonderful fresh vegetables.

This reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes that says, “There is a time and a season for everything under heaven.” I used to beat myself up because I couldn’t seem to get everything perfect all at the same time. The perfect wife, the perfect mother, the cleanest house, the prettiest garden, the thinnest body, the best hostess, the best Christian, and on and on it went! Then God showed me that perfection belongs only to heaven and that here on earth everything has a season.

It seems to me that some seasons of my life I have spent more time in the garden with God than at other times. I came to realize that Satan definitely wanted me to view those lean and infrequent times with God as spiritual failure, but God wanted me to know that my life would be a collection of changing seasons. God has shown me that in some seasons I had more desire for him. In other seasons I had more need for him, and in my busy seasons of life, the God of mercy and grace provided for me with a quick verse, a butterfly, a flower, a sunset, a casserole from a friend, a bag of clothing for my children, a song on the radio, a sermon, and a hard working faithful husband.

Each season of my life has become a precious pearl on a string around my neck. This necklace is a reminder to me that God has always been with me. God has loved me in every season of my life. In some seasons I have experienced prosperity, blessings, peace and joy. Other seasons of my life have experienced financial difficulties, personal loss, relational conflict, and lack of understanding.

Even with all of my mistakes, my busy responsibilities, and in the times of desperation, God has continued to love me in and through every season of my life. I believe that in any season of our life God is less interested in the quantity of fruit that is harvested from our garden, but is more concerned with the quality of the time that we have spent with him, in the garden of our heart. The quantity of fruit is God’s business, not ours.

God has an amazing way of taking even our smallest effort for growth and causing it to yield fruit for him. We may plant and we may water but it is God who gives the increase. I would like to paraphrase Psalm 1:3. “We are like a tree planted by a stream of water, a tree that yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, and what ever we do in his name he prospers.”

Questions:

Have you ever been discouraged because you wanted to spend time with God and you just couldn’t make it happen?

Have you carried guilt because of that?

Was that guilt from Satan or from God?

What season of life are you in right now?

Do you see any opportunity in your day to snatch a bit more time for God?

Is God in the process of moving you into a new season of life?


Prayer:

Dear God,

I thank you that you are always calling me to come to the garden. I also thank you that you have promised to meet me in my time of need. Today I need you to help me re-evaluate my schedule, my activities, and my season in life. Lord I don’t want to miss a single opportunity to seek your face, even if it’s only for five minutes. God if you are moving me into another season of my life show me my purpose and give me your wisdom for what is ahead. Help me to embrace wherever it is that you are leading me. Even if it is a season on sorrow I pray that I might find your sustaining peace and joy in the garden of prayer.

In Your Son’s Name I pray. Amen.

The Condition of the Soil

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 NIV

Several of my friends have recently become grandmothers and are eager to share photos of their newest pink or blue bundle of joy! I do not have a new grandchild but I do remember sharing photos from day one of my two precious grandchildren and I continue to flaunt their photos to all who will look! As I looked at the photos of all those precious babies, I noticed that most of the little darlings are all in the same pose, sleeping sweetly. Needless to say, they are all adorable!!!

I find it hard to comprehend that deep inside that precious, sweet newborn is a heart and a mind that is capable of being anything but adorable. The truth is that if any child’s heart goes unchecked and ignored the pride, selfishness, anger and fear will accelerate to unbelievable levels of sin. That heart when it is old enough to understand will need a remedy. The only remedy that will be available is God’s forgiveness.

Today I am reminded that before I met Jesus my heart was in this same sinful condition. I was born that way. The garden of my heart was nothing more than a plot of sinful soil. The ground was covered with rocks and weeds. If anything good was to come out of my heart it would only be temporary and I would not be prepared to withstand the storms of life. The fact was that if something didn’t change, my heart would always stay in this sinful condition.

To my great joy I found Jesus Christ, The Master Gardner and invited him to take up residence in my heart. Jesus tills the soil taking great care to remove the rocks that hinder planting his seeds of truth. Jesus also works consistently in my life to get rid of the weeds of selfishness and sinful pride. One very deep rooted weed is my need to control my life. If any of these ugly weeds are allowed to stay they will eventually take over my garden.

Even today I am realizing that I must not neglect the soil in my heart’s garden. If I do it will become parched and dry and my heart will begin to split into desperation and hopelessness. The boulders of fear and anger will roll into my garden, waiting for an unguarded moment to trip me up. Without a doubt, the weeds of sin will always choke out my love for God. I must also work into my heart’s soil the nutrients that are found in scripture and prayer.

The condition of the soil in my garden is of utmost importance! I must also step aside and let the Master Gardner put into place the garden design that he has chosen uniquely for my life. In the past I have tried to garden alone but now I know that I must step aside and I must wait for God to show me what to plant and which plants are in need of special attention. It is God who shows me which weeds must be uprooted and thrown away so that my garden will flourish. I am beginning to eagerly anticipate what my heart’s garden will look like when God is finished. I know if I will trust God with my life and if I am obedient, it will be beautiful!

Questions:

Is your garden lacking the nutrients that are found in scripture and prayer?

Can you identify any boulders or weeds in your heart’s garden that need to be removed and uprooted?

Are you an independent gardener?

Have you learned that you need the help of Jesus, the Master Gardner?

What is Jesus currently encouraging you to remove from your garden?


Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Help me today to allow you to be the Master Gardener in my life. Help me to allow you to prepare the soil and please take away all that hinders spiritual growth in my life. Please show me where the deep rooted sinful weeds such as, anger, pride, resentment, selfishness, fear, and impatience are growing. Help me to allow you to remove those weeds from my heart’s garden and show me what you desire to plant in their place. Father, I invite you to begin the beautification process that is needed in my heart’s garden so that I might be a person of influence for you.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Inviting God into Your Garden

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20 NIV

Today just try to visualize that you are standing in the middle of your heart’s garden. Yuck! What a mess! It really doesn’t look like a garden; it actually looks more like a vast wasteland. There is not a single thing growing. Nothing has been planted. Therefore, nothing is blooming. You have been working all of your life to make this a beautiful place and it still looks like a forsaken piece of land.

Now imagine yourself standing there in the middle of the barren land that is supposed to be a garden. Frankly, you are a mess! You are dressed in filthy, dirty, worn out work clothes. You have sweat on your forehead and smudges of dirt on your face. There are stinging blisters on your hands and you are bent over because your back is killing you. You are next to tears. No, wait, I think you are crying. After all of your endless day after day work efforts you still get absolutely nothing! You are standing there holding a shovel in your hand and on the shovel is written the words “self effort.” You try one last time to dig into the hard soil and when you do you hit a rock and the shovel handle breaks in two pieces. You cry out, “that’s it God, where are you…I need help!”

You hear a noise and you look up. Jesus is leaning across your garden gate waving his nail scared hand as he attempts to get your attention. He looks calm and collected. He finally speaks and when he does he simply says, “I’ve been standing here all the while, why didn’t you ask for help sooner? Why are you trying to make this a beautiful garden all by yourself?” Then he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV You then start walking toward Jesus and you say, “forgive me Jesus for ignoring you and rushing ahead of you with my plans for my garden.” You open the gate to your garden and Jesus, who is a Master Gardner steps into your barren garden. He has a huge grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He rolls up his sleeves and say, “we better get started, we have lots of work to do. Don’t worry, it will be beautiful!”

How well I remember the days before I started depending upon Jesus to manage my affairs. Before I began to trust him with my life and the lives of all those I loved. It was an ugly time of fear and frustration. You see the one you visualized in the garden could be you, but I know for a fact that at one point in my life it was me. God and I still work the garden of my heart, together every day. God has planted seeds that have bloomed into beautiful flowers of faith, hope and love. The Master Gardner has also trimmed my vines of service so that the branches would multiply and bear more fruit. He has pulled my personal weeds of pride, anger and selfishness. Trust me when I say that my heart is becoming a beautiful garden. Not only is my garden a place of sweet fellowship with Jesus, it is also a place where there is still much work to be done.

As I work side by side with the Master Gardner,

I am beginning to in image the possibilities for my heart’s garden!

Questions:

Do you ever remember standing in the barren garden of your heart?

What was it like when you looked up and saw the Gardner, Jesus?

What project are you and Jesus presently working on in your garden?

How do you enjoy working side by side with Jesus?


Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus,

How I thank you that you stand at the door of my heart knocking. Sometimes the knock is so gentle and I am so preoccupied that I am hardly aware that you are there. Forgive me for not inviting you into my garden for every need and for every problem. But most of all forgive me for the times I have missed out on the joy and beauty that you want to bring to my garden. I invite you into the garden of my life today and every day. Please make my heart’s garden a place of beauty.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

A Reason for Joy

“Having loved his own who were in the world,
he now showed them the full extent of his love.” John 13:1b NIV

This morning I am remembering Jesus’ last night alone with his disciples. It was an intimate time of fellowship. During those precious few remaining hours before his death Jesus found amazing ways to show the disciples the full extent of his love. There were last minute instructions, an example of service, a symbolic meal, future predictions, a promise, a lesson, a prayer, and a song. In just a few short hours Jesus reminded them of all the really important things that they would need to remember after he was gone. All that information was perfectly stated in a “Heads Up I’m Leaving 101” class.

Jesus lovingly washed the feet of his disciples, as an example of service. The symbolic meal of bread and wine told the disciples of his upcoming sacrifice. He predicted his betrayal and his death. He predicted Peter’s denial. He told them that in this world they would have trouble and to expect it. He told them not to be troubled by all this because he was going away to prepare a place for them and that he would come back to get them. Then there was the important lesson of the vine bearing fruit, being pruned, and how important it was to remain in him. John 15:1-8 Last but not least, Jesus prayed for those he loved and then before leaving the Upper Room, they all sang a song of praise.

I remember sending my daughter, Amy, off to college. Was I really going to let her out of my sight? Was she prepared? How in the world would she manage without me? In an effort to show her the full extent of my “love,” in the last few hours that we were together I spit out volumes of information from the book “Leaving Mom 101!”

My husband and I drove her to college and helped set up her room, (surely that was an example of service). We shared a “last super” nothing really too symbolic except it reminded me that our family always ate together and now she would be missing. I also had a few future predictions that I needed to share like; if you wash your red shirt with your underwear you will have pink undies! If you don’t clean your room, you won’t be able to find your bed! Then there was the promise that we would see her at Thanksgiving. I also had the need to give her a quick lesson on time management so that she could produce good grades by staying focused on her grades instead of boys. I whispered a heartfelt prayer for my daughter and lastly we shared sweet parting words. Although those loving, parting words were not set to music, they were words set to the music of unending love.

As mothers, when we raise our children we are always caring for them and teaching them all the important things that they will need to know in life. We eat with them, and we sing and pray with them. We also warn them of life’s pitfalls. Most importantly, we endeavor to show them the full extent of our love by our sacrifices, our actions and our words. Above all we want them to be happy.

Jesus does not promise us a perfect life but he does go to great lengths to show us the full extent of his love for us. This is indeed reason for joy!

Questions:

Can you relate to Jesus’ loving care for you?

Where has the extent of his love been the most meaningful to you in your life?

How can you show that kind of love to others?


Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for showing me the full extent of your love by dying on the cross for me. Help me to share with others the elements of love that you modeled in the upper room. Help me to share a meal when there is a need. Help me to take on your humbleness in serving others. Help me to share the truths of my faith so that others will know the full extent of you love. Lord Jesus I do anticipate with great joy your return.

In Your Name I pray, Amen.

Behold the Lamb of God

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29 NIV

On this Easter morning I am thinking about all of the “perfectly spotless little lambs” that have ever been slaughtered as sacrifices for sin down through the ages.

It makes me sad to think about the innocence of those unsuspecting animals. Yet, every Israelite family was required by God to sacrifice a lamb for the past year’s sin. The cut was quickly made, the blood was spilled, and the price was paid for the family’s sin as the Passover lamb was obediently sacrificed.

It is now occurring to me that there never has been an unsuspecting Passover lamb that suffered the way that Jesus suffered. No lamb ever dreaded the event of the sacrifice. None of the sacrificial lambs ever sweat drops of blood or prayed to God for another way to appease sin. No other lamb was beaten with a “cat of nine tails” until its back was shredded flesh. No other lamb was mocked, made sport of, and spit upon. No other lamb felt the rejection of mankind, the desertion of friends, the way the Lamb of God did. No other sacrificial lamb willingly laid down its life or was nailed to a cross. No other lamb ever experienced the slow excruciating painful death of crucifixion. No other lamb felt forsaken by God. No other lamb ever descended into hell. No other lamb was ever able to pay the all inclusive, one time only price for my sin and yours!

What kind of lamb bows in humble submission to the will of his Father and opens not his mouth in his own defense? What kind of lamb expresses no anger, or refuses to call down fire on his offenders. What kind of lamb refuses to call ten thousand angles to come to his rescue, even though he had the power to do so? It is a Lamb, the Son of God, who loves to do the will of his Father more than his own will. It is a Savior who loves each one of us more than he loves his own life.

There is nothing recorded in God’s Word that gives us any indication of a pity party, a plea bargain, or a devious plan of escape. Instead, all that we see from our Lord and Savior was surrender. Jesus Christ was both human and divine. In his humanity he suffered, it was part of the plan. Suffering and death was required in order to appease the sin of mankind. Jesus chose to let the love he had for his Father and for you and me overshadow his pain and suffering. He did not focus on himself but rather on his Father’s will.

Through his suffering the love of Jesus is spoken loud and clear. He expressed love and concern for his mother, his offenders, the thief dying on the cross next to him, and for all of humanity. Never forget that in all of history there has never been a sacrificial lamb like this Lamb!

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches,

and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”

Revelation 5:12 KJV

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"

Luke 24: 1-3, 5b - 6a NIV

Questions:

How does the price that Jesus paid for your sin and my sin make you feel?

Do you see that Jesus Christ has earned the right to be worshiped and adored by all of heaven and earth?

Do you rejoice in the truth that Jesus Christ is our risen Lord?

How can you share that truth with someone else?

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

I humbly bow before you, the perfect Lamb of God. Thank you for not only taking away the sin of the world but for making it so very personal. I am so blessed to be forgiven. I pray that today my heart will be full of gratitude, love, and joy for the ultimate gift that you have so sacrificially given to me. Yes Lord, you alone are worthy to receive honor, power and glory! Thank you Jesus.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.