Gardening for the Lazy
I noticed a tulip beginning its annual spring pop in my
front yard.
I’d planted them last year on a whim. It wasn’t quite April
when I went to Walmart looking for something tall to line up along the fence
line. I settled on some bulbs (Gladiolus I think) that didn’t stand up right. They
were too tall for their own good. Once the bud finally came out, they fell over
of their own weight. Like an awkward skinny teenager they grew fast and fell
over easy. I’m what you’d call an occasional gardener. I dig a hole in the yard once
a year, toss in some bulbs and see what grows.
Despite my unsuccessful attempts at growing, tulips remain easy
because they come up every year full of color. No matter how
cold it is they always spring to life in mid March. Something about the growth
through the snow reminded me that life pushes through despite the struggle of a
tough winter. Put another way, God’s Creation is alive and bursting with
purpose and intent even before we see the bloom.
Some plants are seasonal; when they are alive they cycle
between growth and sleep.
I’m not sure what the
lifetime limit is on most flowers and plants. In this Oklahoma soil it can’t be
very long. It’s sandy, nutrient-deprived and overcooks in the summer.
Learning to Grow
I’ve planted a number of lilies that come back bigger and
better every year. But eventually their time (7 years maybe) runs out and no
amount of water or miracle grow can bring them out of retirement. I don’t know a lot about plants but I’ve managed to grow a few and kill
a few. For some reason I can’t keep evergreens around very long. The bagworms suck them dry. I only started spraying them a
few years ago. I’m a little slow to catch on. The biggest problem for
me is maintaining on the cheap, using as little
water and effort as possible.
Not only do I not want to spend hours every week tending to
the garden, I hate paying for the extra water. In my yard there is a simple
rule for plants, if you can’t take the heat then wither on the vine. It’s a
cruel reality for any plant unfortunate enough to be dug in around my property.
Creative Genius
What was it about the tulip coming that the snow that made
me think about God’s Creative genius? All creation reflects the image of its
Creator. This is true in small and big ways. If you have a desk where you work
it’s a reflection of your character, inspiration and interests. What pictures
hang on the wall? Are they family pictures, sports teams, inspirational quotes,
mountain vistas? Do you keep folders in neat stacks with different colors and
tabs, or is does it look like the custodian rearranged it with a leaf blower?
A work space resembles its creator in the most basic ways, as do cars and homes.
In a larger way our life reflects our creativity or destructive tendencies. Creativity is a gift from God while destruction is from Satan. Both forces compete for our legacy. Figuring out what grows best in a particular reminds me of George Washington Carver. If there was ever a creative genius whose left an outsize impact on agriculture it’s Carver. He’s known for introducing the peanut as a cash crop in the South and the multitude of uses for it.
But he also showed poor farmers how to rotate crops, cotton
being a nutrient hog, and get the most out of the land. A researcher and teacher
at Tuskegee Institute, he raised the standard of living in much of the South.
He thrived despite some obvious setbacks. Blacks had few options for school and despite his genius in a variety of subjects like art, botany and chemistry he left an outsized legacy on this country.
Rest in the Promise
Creativity brings joy and inspires the next generation,
destruction brings harm and leaves bitterness in its wake. Both are easy to
spot, both come from roots left in the ground from the past. Wars are the outgrowth
of destructive tendencies. Think of the last century and the dictators who
destroyed countless lives in pursuit of power or notions of “purity”.
Plants are a small way to understand the creative genius of
our God. Trees can outlive even the most active and healthy people. Other
plants, like those sad flowers from last year, barely make a full summer before
the heat crushes their spirit. Or before the one who is supposed to care for them,
me, gets bored with it. But life in all its forms should inspire us to look to
Him for our strength. Like those hardy tulips pushing through the snow, we
should rest in the design of our Maker and not our own toughness.
It’s in His purpose that we thrive. Through cold, rain,
wind, and even oppressive heat we spring to life in His perfect timing. It’s coded
in our DNA, we grow for a time and then we wait. Trust in the gardener Who tends
to our souls. His plan of growth and renewal is just right.
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