Category Archives: In My Garden with God

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Make Room

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This gingko tree has such a vibrant color each fall. The leaves are such a pure yellow and, as many Asian artists throughout the centuries have painted, they have a unique and pleasing shape.

The shape of this tree is also lovely. That is thanks in large part to my father’s recommendation that we remove a poplar tree that was growing behind it. The gingko tree was very small then, only about 3 feet tall. My father knew that the poplar would grow much faster than the ginkgo and the shade from the larger tree would cause the gingko to grow crooked. So, to make room, Phil cut down the poplar tree.

Now that decision was not automatic. Phil pointed out that the poplar tree was healthy, provided shade, and was also a desirable tree. Yet a choice had to be made – make room for the gingko – the only one we have on our property, or leave the trees to compete for sunlight.

We literally have hundreds of poplars on our mountain property so the decision was made to cut that poplar down. Yet it was not easy to remove a healthy tree that wouldn’t impact the smaller tree for several years to come. The issue was to make room for the future well being of the gingko tree. Something good was being removed to allow the growth of something better.

How like the decisions we make daily! I can easily fill my day with “good” things to do – but am I making room for the BEST things? We all know about the tyranny of the urgent. The pressure we feel to do the thing that seems most critical at that moment. Yet when I stop and consider what really matters – what is a priority for me as a follower of Jesus – my decision may change.

The real issue for me is not choosing between making a meal for a recovering friend or taking a walk on the Greenway. (I can take walk on the Greenway after I take the meal 🙂 The issue for me is recognizing the seemingly unimportant activities I engage in day to day that don’t make room for responding to the Holy Spirit. For me – these may include –

  • checking Facebook – (for me a bottomless pit)
  • checking my 1300 unread emails
  • finishing the zig saw puzzle
  • watching TV

None of the above activities are inherently wrong. Seeing grandchildren’s pictures on Facebook, catching up with old classmates, or reconnecting with friends from the past are all a blessing. I use Facebook to post this blog. I also need to check emails – ok – I can hear the AMEN now from several of you. Watching TV is a pleasure that can make us laugh, inform us, and entertain us when used thoughtfully. Yet all these things also use time, time that squeezes out room for the “better things.”

Luke 10:38-40 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Now making meals is important. We have responsibilities to our families, jobs, churches, and community that God has called us to. Jesus was admonishing Martha because she had not made room to listen to Him, and was worried and unset at her sister. Mary had a heart that desired to hear Jesus.

As with the tree, I need to choose what to cut out so that I make room for the Holy Spirit to lead me and speak to me. Then I will continue to grow in my walk with Jesus, making room to sit at His feet. Then we can become “like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 1:2-3

#In My Garden with God

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I Need Your Help – Really?

“Phil, I need your help. I want to move the gardenia bush from the pot it has been growing in. It’s root bound and needs more space.”

Phil obligingly gets a shovel and a wheelbarrow and says – “Where do you want the hole?”

“Right here.” I reply. I am standing next to an especially favorite hydrangea between a calla lily and a yellow daylily. I have positioned my self to “protect” these plants from the shovel. So I say to Phil –

“Don’t step there!”

“Dig from this side.”

“Watch out for the lily poking through.”

“Don’t pile the dirt there!!”

Phil stops digging and asks – “Do you want my help or not?”

The realization of my request for help sets in. I want Phil to dig the hole because I am not able. YET – I have made it impossible for Phil to help me with the limitations I have put on him. He has to stand somewhere, and the dirt he digs to make a hole has to go somewhere. I am not really asking Phil for “help”, I am telling him what to do.

This realization got me thinking about my cries of help to God. I may be facing a crisis and cry out to God “Help me” yet in the next breath I am telling God what to do, when to do it, and the outcome I expect.

I am giving the God of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, creator and sustainer of all things – advice. Really?

Proverbs 3: 5-6 says –

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

Do not depend on my own understanding…

How often I think I know what is best… for myself, my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my friends, my acquaintances, my enemies, even random people I don’t know – “That person should just…”, my grandchild’s coach, the referees or umpires, my pastor, the worship leader?

The list could go on and on couldn’t it?

How totally presumptuous of me!! Is God thinking – “Do you really want my help or not?”

The answer is TRUST. I must trust in the Lord with all my heart. I must surrender my will to God’s will. God knows the big picture as well as each small detail of my life, i.e. the number of hairs on my head. Scripture is very clear on the fact that God has a plan for all of creation and a plan for how I, as an individual, fit into that bigger, glorious plan. He will direct my path.

To finish the above story about transplanting, I left to get water to soak the newly transplanted gardenia since Phil did not need me telling him HOW, after I told him where I wanted it planted. When I returned, Phil had placed it in the newly dug hole and the surrounding plants were just fine.

Trust.

# In My Garden with God

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Diversity of Color

These are all hydrangeas that grew in our yard this summer and into the fall. We had a very dry fall and these blooms started drying while they were still attached to the plant. Notice the color!

I have never had such a variety of color from dried blooms – and I have been drying blooms for years!

In 1986 we stayed with long time family friends – the Scattergoods – who had a lovely home on Lake Norman. Phil, myself, and our four children were guests for a night coming and going from the airport in Charlotte. I remember commenting on the lovely dried hydrangeas Mrs. Scattergood had on her table. She shared with me the following steps that I have used ever since to have beautiful dried blooms throughout the winter.

  • cut blooms in the fall after a few cool nights
  • place stems in about 2 inches of water in a vase that supports blooms
  • let the water evaporate
  • blooms will remain intact and have color depending on original color, type of hydrangea, and weather conditions during bloom season

The diversity of the color has been a special enjoyment for me this year. I have had all light caramel color blooms in the past, many blue blooms that kept their color for a month or so, but not the variety of this year. How lovely of our Creator to bless us with such diversity of color!

This situation has caused me to think of the amazing diversity we have throughout creation. The variety of plants, animals, and all living things – especially humans – points to God’s plan for uniqueness from the very start. That list from the first garden in Genesis sets the stage for the glorious array encompassing creation. This diversity is something to celebrate as we acknowledge God as creator. This variety is not chance – but God’s intention from the beginning. Think of how much difference there is in our families, our communities, and our churches.

How boring our world would be if all flowers were the same color?

How boring our world would be if all people looked and thought alike?

How blessed we are to know the Author of Creation – the Author of our salvation!

I recently listened to scholar and Bible teacher Dr. Rebecca McLaughlin in this podcast recommended by our daughter, Abigail. I have attached it so that if you are interested you can listen. I was blessed by the way Dr. McLaughlin celebrates the diversity in the Body of Christ and how we are all blessed by that diversity. God’s plan from the beginning….

#In my Garden with God