What does one have to do with the other?
You will absolutely understand if you are a gardener. As a gardener, you have to have faith, faith that the seeds you buy will actually grow. Faith that the sun will shine and that the rain will come and that your garden of flowers will spring forth from the dirt you pressed your seeds into and grow into the beautiful pictures on the outside of the seed envelope.
It takes faith from you that they will become what the package says they will become bountiful expressions of beauty dancing in the sun, the wind, and rain in your garden.
But is Faith enough?
Well, what do the directions say?
Some say full sun, others say full shade, water daily, water weekly, drought-tolerant, plant 6 inches, or 6 feet apart, sandy soil, acid soil…. is your head spinning yet?
As a woman of faith, I found myself so mesmerized by the heartache and devastation going on all around us now. How do we get up and move on with our lives when the world seems so out of control? Lockdown? It was as though I had a front-row seat to a train wreck and I could not make myself look away.
While listening to the latest domestic terror report I happened to look out on our porch and realized I had not yet planted the Impatiens, they sat waiting sadly in their plastic garden store pots, looking leggy as some of their leaves had begun to look sad, broken and were falling off and I made myself find a nice low sun-spot in the yard, turned on some praise and worship music and got to work.
And as I listened, and worshipped and planted I was met with the sweetest spirit of peace. Joy and Jesus were present in my garden. ~ Read Psalm 46:7 ~ It does not matter what the world is doing he is forever with me.
I Gotta Praise and I Gotta Get It Out.
I was also reminded of 3 things:
3 things you need to grow faith and flowers
- Listen
You knew the seeds were going to grow into flowers because you have heard from everyone who planted those seeds that they grew into flowers.
2. Learn
While your Great Aunt Aota is not God she appeared to be able to grow things in biblical proportions including bringing some things back from the dead. So you knew if she talked to you about how to grow your impatiens she could be trusted as hers were magnificent. The soil needs to be moist and the sun not so bright.
3. Follow the Directions
You could acquire every written direction for growing something but until you act on those directions nothing happens. if the seeds never leave the package, never reach the soil, are never fed sunshine, or watered. They will not grow.
Hebrews 11 By Faith We Understand
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Do you think God wondered if the light would come when he said “Light Be.” ?
These 3 things you need to grow faith and flowers are not complicated. Listen, Learn from a trusted source, Follow the Directions. And if I were going to add a bonus? Turn off the world, you already know how the story ends. Revelation 20:10
Now Go Grow.