One of my favorite seasons of the year is gardening season. I wouldn’t say I have a green thumb. Maybe, in a good year, I have a green pinky. Maybe. Nearly every year, after the first hard frost, I figure each one of my perfectly delicious tomatoes probably cost me an easy $20. And worth every penny. Ha!
There’s just something about pushing that seed into the dark soil, sprinkling it with a bit of water, and then waiting and wondering what will come of it that helps reorient my soul.
Gardening is a tangible way for me to cultivate a life where I dream, plan, work hard, fail, succeed, and learn. All while wrestling with the freedom and frustration of knowing so many things are simply out of my hands. In the end, God is in control and He alone brings life.
Our schedules, resources, and the endless information at our fingertips can give us the illusion we’re in control. We can (and should!) do all we can do to cultivate an abundant life. But just as with gardening, life has a way of reminding us that, ultimately, we’re not in control and change is inevitable. This knowledge can be terrifying.
A few weeks after sowing my garden, I saw the beginning sprout of something I didn’t recognize right along the edge of my garden bed. I knew I hadn’t planted it, so I presumed it to be a weed. But I left it alone to continue growing, partly out of curiosity, mostly because I have two little ones and sometimes the weeds just don't get pulled.
It continued to grow, getting bigger, stronger, and with larger leaves. When I was all but convinced it was nothing more than a big ugly weed needing at long last to be pulled, something caught my eye. I saw the slightest sliver of bright yellow right in the center of that ugly weed. I took a picture and could hardly wait to come out the next morning to see what would emerge.
Day by day by day that “weed” began to change and bloom into the beautiful flower it was always meant to be.
Change can feel like a big ugly weed growing bigger fears, stronger anxiety, and larger moments of sadness. But a closer look at change will reveal, right in the center, the slightest sliver of hope.
As strange as it may seem, there is such great hope found in change!
Nothing in this broken world stays the same. Yes, that mountaintop moment, the all-is-well feeling, and the clean house doesn’t last forever, but neither does this pain, this sorrow, this confusion. And that is a really hopeful thing!
When life feels most out of control. When everything around us looks like weeds. When forces outside of our control seem to thwart our plans over and over again, we can hold onto hope.
We can hold onto hope because the Lord is our hope. And His mercies are new every morning.
In an ever-changing world, we are loved and sustained by a never-changing God!
Hebrews 13:8 takes our quivering little hand and places it securely into the mighty hand of our Father.
Revelation 21:5 says, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also, he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
Change can be hard, but at the core of change is hope. Do you know Him? Trust that right now, at this moment, in this buried-deep-within-the-soil darkness, He is at work. Growing, strengthening, and producing in you fruit you’ve never known before. He is making all things new!
In Him, we can know with confidence the best is yet to come!
One day, when all is made new, we will live with Him in a perfect world. Free from sorrow, sin, and the weight of brokenness.
Until then, hold onto Hope!
We can hold onto hope because the Lord is our hope. And His mercies are new every morning.
In an ever-changing world, we are loved and sustained by a never-changing God!
Hebrews 13:8 takes our quivering little hand and places it securely into the mighty hand of our Father.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 ESV)We have a NEVER changing God and that means we have everlasting Hope.
"For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." Malachi 3:6Change is a hopeful thing in this broken world because God will NEVER change. And this same immutable, unchanging, all-powerful God is not only committed to you and to giving you life abundantly, but He is making all things new.
Revelation 21:5 says, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also, he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
Change can be hard, but at the core of change is hope. Do you know Him? Trust that right now, at this moment, in this buried-deep-within-the-soil darkness, He is at work. Growing, strengthening, and producing in you fruit you’ve never known before. He is making all things new!
In Him, we can know with confidence the best is yet to come!
One day, when all is made new, we will live with Him in a perfect world. Free from sorrow, sin, and the weight of brokenness.
Until then, hold onto Hope!
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