The Gardener

     We often don't realize what we have until it is not there anymore.  Adam and Eve lived in a paradise until they disobeyed.  Just like them, people today often see what they believe to be something "greener on the other side of the fence" until they actually get there and realize differently. 
     As I sat in "A Friendly Shade"  I pray, "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."  (Psalms 119:18)  and in your land.  

Morning by morning,
   day by day,
   night by night,
   the earth yields a beautiful site.

The Gardener handles all with tender care;

   a beauty He wishes to share.
A wonder! Lush, green, landscaped,
   planned, and shaped.
A splendor for all-
   inspiring, enchanting, a luscious exhibit hall.

All around,

   there are sites to astound.
The mountains and hills
   peak with jagged frills.
Trees sway stately,
   budding forth, donned ornately.
Flowers ascend to sing
  a song with the coming of early Spring.

The Gardener waters and nourishes;

   the landscape flourishes.
Where once thorny bushes grew,
   new life sprouts anew.
Where once the land lay dark,
   sunshine sends bright rays to leave its mark.

Morning makes way
   for the dawning of the day.
Forests of fir, pine, and oak
   amaze the eye with their colorful cloak.
By day, fields of wheat and oat
   dance beneath clouds that gently float.
By night the moon makes way
   for light to brighten the grey.
A flight of birds with feathered vests
   return to nature’s given nests.

The Gardener cares for it all,

   through winter, summer, spring or fall.
Cold, hot, drab, or bright,
   there’s something always to delight.

Morning by morning,

   day by day,
   night by night,
   the earth yields a beautiful site.
                             Mary Crisp Jameson

 

 

 

 

Litter Clean-UP

     Driving home from church this morning, I noticed paper cups, cans, and other debris along the roadside and in the ditches.  What a mess!  It is not right that someone would have to come along and clean up what others have done.  I, myself, have worked as a volunteer to clean up our countryside and, as I picked up litter, I thought, “It’s not right that I should have to clean up this mess.”
     Yet, isn’t this what God does every day?  He cleans up our messes.  Only, he cleans up out of love regardless of our bad decisions. 
     It seems as though God has been cleaning up after humans since the beginning of time.  He helped Adam and Eve make clothing after they disobeyed Him.  He opened the heart of forgiveness when the prodigal son returned home only to be received with loving arms by his father.  God converted Paul from a life of hatred and killing to a life of proclaiming God’s Word and giving him a heart of love for others.  When Jesus was on the cross, He gave life to one of the thieves beside Him when the thief asked of Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”  Jesus told the thief, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”   
     When people seek God, He can change a life.
     I was reminded of the newness of life by the author of our Sunday School lesson when he wrote, “Jesus made all things new through His life, death, and resurrection.”  Those who believe on Jesus have a helpmate; One who can take our messed up lives and make them new.  When we stray and began to litter up our lives God’s power can turn us back to Him.  We can have a fresh, new life because of the  good Shepherd. 

 Luke 15:3-7 (NIV)³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

 

The Fig Leaf

     “A Friendly Shade” is covered in various types of trees, including a fig bush.  As much as I enjoy “A Friendly Shade” it is a far, far cry from the Garden of Eden. Yet, when I observed the fig leaf and thought about the sin Adam and Eve tried to cover, I looked at my own heart and decided that I needed to find a much bigger leaf. I didn’t have far to travel to find the largest one in “A Friendly Shade.” As you can see, there is no comparison. My leaf of choice has to be the sycamore.

     Even at that, the large sycamore leaf cannot do a better job than the fig leaf did for Adam and Eve. God can see through them both no matter how much I try to hide. He knows my every thought and my heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 “…Man does not see what the lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.

      Man may not always see or know what is in our hearts, but our actions often tell the story. The words that we say may not always protray our works or actions.  Man has to “listen” to the action of people rather than their words in order to determine what is being hidden in the heart. We may think we are hiding our true feelings or intents but, at some point, they will surface.

     Praise God He has a forgiving spirit! Unlike most men.      

Have A Little Talk

     My previous blog was about a conversation between Adam and Eve, which is basically the same conversation that has been repeated through the generations.  Today I thought about yet another conversation-one which fits a lot of us in so much of our daily lives.   We all like to have a little talk with someone we love.  Couldn't that also be turned around? 

     Having worked all day, I was tired.  It was early to bed for me.  As I turned off the light, I heard my companion and best friend quietly say, “Don’t you want to talk awhile. We really have not talked much today for you have been too busy.” 

     Trying to brush it aside so I could close my eyes, I replied, “I really want to, but could we do it in the morning?”  Not waiting for an answer, I quickly rolled over and went to sleep. 
     As usual, I woke a few hours later and was having trouble going back to sleep.  I thought, “Maybe I could say a few words so I rolled over and whispered,  “Are you awake?  And can we talk now?” 
     “Of course, I am always here waiting for you to take time to talk with me.” 
     It was dark and I couldn’t see.  Not wanting to fully wake up, I never even opened my eyes.   Sluggishly, I offered a few bits of what was on my mind, never thanking Him for staying awake to hear what I had to say, much less listen for an answer or sense His presence, for soon I was fast asleep.
     The next morning as the alarm sounded, I tapped it off and dozed some more.  Then suddenly it was late. Much too late!  I sprang from the bed to dress for work.  Running out the door, I muttered, “Sorry, we didn’t talk this morning. We’ll do it later.” 
     “Any time,” I heard a voice, so understanding, quietly say, “I’m always here.”
     The day was busy with no time to stop and soon, here again, time had rolled around and the bed was looking good.  I crawled back in, flipped off the light, pulled up the covers and heard, “Don’t you want to talk?  I have been patiently waiting for you all day?” 

     If the shoe fits, we should be ashamed for we should come before God,  humbled and on bended knee, giving Him quality time in the morning, during the day, and last thing at night.  God is so ready to give us His love, direction and protection.  He has already given us His Son! 

      

 

 

Conversations

     Sitting here in “A Friendly Shade”  I couldn’t help but laugh as I remembered parts of a conversation between 2 sisters; one who loved the outdoors and the other preferring the indoors.  Not one to remember the exact way it was told to me, let me just say, it might have gone like this:    

      Coming inside from working flower beds, the sister asked her avid stay-inside sister,  “Do you have any root conditioner?” 

     The sister, busy mopping her floor, replied, without looking up,  “Sure,  there is probably some L’Oreal or Gardenia on the shelf in the bathroom.”
     “Are you mocking me?”
     “No!  I thought you were going to wash your hair.”
     “I am planting roses and need stimulator for their root system”
     “Oh.  Well, why didn’t you say so?”
     “I did!  If you went outside more often, instead of having such clean floors, the kind you could eat off of, you might know what I was asking about.”
     “You are right.  Some days you can eat off my floors and actually get full.  You might even have your choice of green peas or bread crumbs.” 
     “Well, do you have any?”
     “Any what?”
     “Root conditioner or stimulator?”
     Smiling sweetly, “No, I don’t keep any of that kind of stuff.”

      That was a loving conversation between two sisters who accepted each other for who they were.  Thinking further, I remembered another conversation, but one in which the instigator tried and was successful in changing someone to suit their own agenda because the listener did not adhere to her principles and accept her current life; she wanted more!  The conversation went something like this:

     “I have been out wandering about seeing the world and here you sat doing nothing but tending this garden.  Don’t you want to be wiser and see more?”

    “But, I have all I need.  Look around, I can have any of the wonderful fruits from all these trees except  the fruit from that one tree in the center of the garden.  I was told I would die if I eat from it.”
     “No!” the intruder firmly replied.  “You will not die.  You can have it all.  See how lush and robust it is.  Imagine how juicy and tasty it must be.”
     The woman fell to the temptation.  She looked at the fruit and found it pleasant to the eye.  It was then she began to desire that which she knew in her heart was forbidden.  She reached up and took the fruit in her hand. She desired it's lush sweetness, and she tasted.  That one bite led to a deeper desire for more.  She even took the forbidden fruit to her husband and tempted him.  She wanted him changed, as well.   

     Most all of us, at some time in our lives, blame Adam and Eve for the labor imposed upon us today.  We think, “If they had not taken that first bite we wouldn’t have to go to work every day.”   But isn’t that what we do today.  We are just like Adam and Eve.  We continue to dabble in the first taste of sin that leads to more.  It is then our conversation goes like Adam and Eve’s to God in Genesis 3:10,13   Adam -  “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ..And the Lord God said unto the woman, ‘What is this that thou has done?’  And the woman said, ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’ ”