How Does Your Garden Grow?

Image by Jori Samonen from Pixabay

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

You, my friend, are a plant.

“No.  I’m not.  I played that “Animal, vegetable, or mineral” game, and I eat meat.  I like meat.  I do have a vegetarian friend, but I am not a plant.”, you might respond.

True, but you and I act like plants.  Spring finds us full of new plans and possibilities, just like a plant.  Summer is a time for tremendous growth and getting things done with the long days and warm weather, just like a plant.  Fall is a time to finish those outside tasks, to save the harvest, and bring it inside for use in the long cold winter.  

Without knowing it, you and I follow the same yearly pattern as a plant.  We all respond to the sun and sunshine as plants do.  We like to “get outside” to garden, to play, to go to the beach – in the summer.  But would you do that in the winter?  (Are you crazy?  It’s cold outside…of course not.)  Winter is a time to rest, to reflect on the year just put to bed, to catch-up with friends and renew those relationships somehow left unattended all summer.  

Ok, so maybe God didn’t make you as a plant.  (I mean, that would be weird eating broccoli if he/him/himself were a family member). But God did make you with the yearly cycle of a plant.  God did make you to be more active and energetic in the Spring and Summer and more reflective, thoughtful, and maybe prayerful in the Fall and Winter.  

So this Winter,  when you feel like a sloth and doing nothing more than eating a stale Christmas cookie and reading a book in front of the fire, Thank God that you have this Winter in which to rest, reflect and renew.  Revel in your slothfulness.  (It’s a great time to pray.  All you have to do is close your eyes.  Everyone will think you’re taking a nap). Now is the time to reflect on your life as a Christian, to congratulate yourself on what you’ve accomplished, and to repent for those things you did that showed just how seldom you listened to pastor’s sermons.  Even though you’re supposed to be making resolutions for the New Year right now, take time to Thank God that you have a few months off from the business and busy-ness of Summer.  Winter is like a whole season of Sundays.

See you in church?

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Rev. Craig Ross

Senior Pastor

The vibrancy of life here at St. Peter’s makes my service on our staff a joy and privilege. Visitation, teaching and preaching are the ministries that feed my pastoral identity, as together our staff and lay members share in our missional calling … Building a community of faith by God’s grace.

2 comments

  1. Hi Everyone … again, I forgot to credit our author … Brendan Armitage was our crafter of this wonderful collection of humor and wisdom and fatih. My apologies for missing the citation of your authorship, Brendan.

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