What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Garden Epiphany


I dig weeds out of the earth and admire the dark, rich loosened soil and only then, with dirt under fingers and sweat on my neck, do I consider the soil.

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen 2:7


Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Eccl 12:7

If we were created from dust and return to dust in the end, what then are our lives but soil to be tended? And if we must tend our lives, are we not then sowers as well?

And if we are sowers, then we have a message to hear:

Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13: 3-9


Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Matt 13:18-23

There are plenty of weeds to pull and children are good at disappearing at weeding time, so I have plenty of time to think. There is much to consider.

If I am the sower and the seeds are those whose lives I touch, then my LIFE is the soil. My life is just a patch of ground. As parents, much of that patch of ground is dedicated to a certain and select crop of seeds...our children.


If our lives consist of unimportant things, our children will fall by the wayside. Stuff to buy, places to go, people to see, the latest video games to play, the latest fashions to wear, vacations to enjoy, The latest diet trend. Cool toys, kid and grown up ones. possessions. possessions. possessions.

There must be time to be together. Time to sit together. Time to talk together. Time to 'do' together. Time to work together. Time to just be, together. One of the greatest things about being put in a family is having people to share your life with. But to do that, there must be time.

We mustn't beat down the soil running around following trends, but rather, tread carefully~ using our time wisely and watching very carefully where we walk. Us. Me.

Little eyes are watching what I spend my time doing, what things I desire and what makes me happy. Apples don't fall far from the tree.


We must pluck the rocks out of our lives and the thorns, so that our lives become fertile for growth. We must tend our lives so that our children can be nourished and strengthened. We must be in the Word, devoted to it~ learning from it~ enjoying it.


Each time we read from scripture, each time we sing Psalms, each time we bow our heads to pray we are hurling rocks, thorns and thistles from our soil and our lives, making beautiful, fertile ground. Our childrens' roots will run deep and their joy will be made full.

There is not too little time to spend moments each day in devotion. There is never too much to do. If we enjoy doing it, we FIND the time. If we WANT something, we make it work.

If we want our children to enjoy the things of God and to grow strong in Him, we need to provide the right soil~ the right teaching environment. That will mean dying to self, over and over and over again. But with every sacrifice there will be great reward.

Sometimes the worst circumstances are the greatest teaching tools. Not enough money? Draw closer to Him. Not enough peace? Draw closer to Him. Not enough time? Draw closer to Him. Stressed beyond belief? Draw closer to Him. Angry? Draw closer to Him.

In doing so, the children who notice everything and learn without prompting, will see firsthand what to do when they feel the same.

My life is the soil my children need to thrive. I must be a constant gardener. Sometimes it is so hard. I fail miserably...daily. The weeds pop up....daily. But the harvest is coming.

And now I see.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.


10 comments:

Bonnie said...

Fantastic post Rebecca, and I love that first picture of sweet Miss Adele.

Riahli said...

Beautifully written, thank you.

Anonymous said...

amen.. and thank you
-bobbi

side story... my confirmation of marriage with my hubby was that
God told me that he would treat me like a garden. my husband went through a long explanation at our DTR talk.. and ended it with... oh yeah, God told me that i am to treat you like a garden : ) (tears flowed from me with that perfectly worded confirmation!)we will be 2 years married in december, working on our spiritual and physical garden together : ) HE is Good all the time!

Anonymous said...

Usually love your soap box posts because in many ways I think like you. I love simplicity and not going after wordly things, hard work and setting a good example for our children. But where I disagree with this post and I apologize if I misunderstood was the 'places to go, people to see, vacations to be had'. Spending time with family is good, but I have seen my share of isolationists among christians and not mingle with anyone outside 'family'. I do not get the impression from your blog that you advocate that.

Rebecca said...

Ha! If you knew the in real life Rebecca, this question would never come to mind as isolationism is far from who I am.

No, not at all suggesting isolationism. Simply suggesting not to run yourself ragged going visiting, vacationing, soccer practicing, piano practicing, club here, club thering so that the important things, get shoved out the window.

Finding good by stepping out of the ratrace and the Jones' keeping. Vacationing is wonderful, visiting is WONDERFUL in their special place.

That's all.

Unknown said...

Amen.

Barb said...

Rebecca, I appreciated your sharing your heart today.Some very good thoughts for old and young alike to ponder. Thanks for being you!

Anonymous said...

this is simply one of the finest, truest posts I've ever read, anywhere. belongs in a devotional. thank you for the blessing it is to me to read and reread and dwell on these words.

b in va

Nanci said...

May your soil be rich and fertile, and may your seeds sink deep roots and drink thirstily from God's precious Word that they, too, may flourish and produce fruit!

I believe that one of the richest blessing a parent can see is that of his child (growing and grown alike) walking close to Christ Jesus; and conversely, the most heart-wrenching sadness is to see his child unattentive to the Word and to the things of Christ.

Abigail said...

Amen to this!