Aug
22
2019
The Bounty Of Her Garden
Posted in Faith 4 Comments
The invitation came from one of the women in our Bible study.
All of us know that she has a garden.
There have been times when she uses her garden as an object lesson.
We are always blessed when something so practical helps to explain things even better.
She decided to have a garden party earlier in the summer.
Not the quintessential garden party you may think of from movies or books.
This was a true garden party.
We feasted on the bounty of her garden.
There was a massive bowl of lettuce she had grown.
Everything imaginable to make a salad delicious was available to us.
The ones who arrived early got a tour of her garden.
Everyone was so amazed at the size.
I cannot even begin to list everything she grows in her garden.
We tend to think that backyard gardens are small.
However, with acres of land, this garden is massive.
We were the recipients of all her hard work.
The garden is a family affair.
Her husband and two children are involved as well.
She teases me because I am not an outdoorsy person.
She loves to get on the tractor and do all the things that I have never done.
In the back acres of her land, there are succulent blueberries.
Washed and displayed in a dish, they were begging to be eaten.
There is so much that goes into food production.
Going to the grocery store is the last step in the process of growing and harvesting.
She invited us to another garden party.
Summer is tricky with vacations and other commitments, but women still came.
Again, we were blessed.
Bowls of lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes were overflowing on the table.
She served us from food she had picked and placed in a basket.
She put all the delicious, healthy food before us.
There was fruit and deviled eggs.
There was orange/cranberry nut bread and angel food cake for dessert.
We feasted on the bounty of the land.
We enjoyed warm fellowship.
We had sweet conversation.
It was a delightful afternoon.
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. (Isaiah 30:23)
My friend, her husband, and children know how to garden.
They know what to plant and when to plant it.
They know how to successfully harvest the food they grow.
They also know Who to thank for such bounty.
Sowing seeds is not simply putting seeds in the ground.
Sowing seeds is an act of faith.
A little seed holds such promise.
In that little seed is the food that will soon be harvested and enjoyed.
We have no idea if the seed that goes in the ground will flourish.
We do what we can do to prepare the soil, to fertilize, and to water.
We sow our seeds in faith.
We sow our seed with hope.
A mystery happens beneath the ground.
We do not understand the things we cannot see.
We do not know the precise time a seed germinates.
We cannot predict exactly when a tiny shoot will pop through the soil.
But we have faith.
We trust the God of the harvest.
We do all we can do.
We know that the outcome is not in our hands.
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37,38)
We are farmers.
We may not be able to set a table with a bounty we have harvested from our garden.
We have other Seed.
We sow the Seed of the Gospel in a person’s heart.
We plant the Seed when we tell them the Good News.
We water it with discipleship and prayer.
We wait.
It is God who makes it grow.
God is the Farmer.
God is the Tiller of the soil and the One who irrigates it with His Word.
God is the Lord of the Harvest.
Are we ready to go out into the fields?
One day, there will be a Wedding Supper of the Lamb.
Bowls will lay before us at the wonderful Garden Party.
The bounty will be before us.
We will be amazed.
The Lord of the harvest needs workers in His fields.
We plant the Seed but the outcome is His.
There is laborious work to be done.
Are you ready?
Beautiful analogy of God’s work in the fields and in our hearts❤️
Thank you, Susan.
My friend’s garden was inspiration to me.
Gina
Thank you Gina.
You are welcome, sweet friend.
Your garden is an inspiration.
Gina