Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
July 14, 2010
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8:22 NIV
This year I decided to subscribe to the saying, “Bloom where you are planted”. There are a few things about my life I wish I could change. Some things are within my control and some things are not. But I determined that there is good in every situation and I should not miss an ounce of it. We are seven months into the year and I have been pleased with my progress. I have tried new things, enrolled in a class that interests me, become more conscientious about taking better care of my body and losing some unwanted pounds. There is just something spiritual about watching plants and flowers grow. So we decided the tackle a backyard garden. I researched books and seed catalogs, talked to other backyard “farmers” and decided it was something I could do. Herbs, okra, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers were planted and it seemed we had enough for not only our dinner table but for the neighbors, too. What a great feeling of accomplishment and to enjoy the generosity of sharing with others! Our intentions were good and honorable but then something went terribly wrong. Downpours of summer rain flooded our garden and disease set in quickly. I couldn’t bear to watch our garden slowly die so there was only one thing to do, we pulled it all up. We may be inexperienced but we are not quitters! Hopefully our persistence will pay off. We were able to find a few remaining vegetable plants still healthy at the garden center that needed a home. We planted them in large well draining containers where we can move the tender plants in and out of the intense sun and any more deluges of rain when necessary. We are calling this our “Second Chance Garden”. What is the lesson? To keep trying. Not to give up. Go for another chance at success. If we don’t cultivate there is no harvest. If we planted absolutely nothing, we would have nothing in the end. It is that way in life.
It is biblical about the parable of sowing and reaping. It isn’t enough to want something and simply pray for it and expect God to do all the work. He gives us time, talents, skills, abilities, wisdom and common sense. Those are our tools. He also gives us desires and wants. We can take the tools He gives us and we work our life like it was soil. We should be careful about the seeds we let take root in our life. Meaning, keep things in our life good and pure, honest and with good intentions. If we water our seed regularly which translates into daily prayer, then we can expect, no, we should expect to see sprouts coming out of the ground and before long a true harvest springs forth. Whatever we are hoping for, we should search our heart and seek God’s direction and make sure we are doing our part to plant the seeds for the abundant harvest we desire. If whatever we have been doing is unsuccessful or has failed, we must find another way. There is an old proverb that says, “I dreamed a thousand new paths... I woke and walked my old one.” That doesn’t have to be us. God will bring us ideas and creativity so we can truly “bloom where we are planted”… even if it takes a second planting to get it just right!!
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