This week, I saw God show up in some very tangible ways, including witnessing a medical emergency where God had medical staff in multiple areas, show up minutes before the first police car arrived. It was such a powerful reminder that before we even call, and yet while we are still speaking, He can answer.
This week, I’ve also continued to learn my gardening lessons, and it somehow coincides with a devotion I started reading about Abiding.
On the North East coast, the beginning of the week was a scorcher, with temperatures hitting over 100 degrees.
In the past, I’ve noticed that one particular tomato plant always seemed to need a bit extra TLC and water when the weather warmed up. I decided to put it in a somewhat shaded area and provide extra water ahead of the expected temperatures.
Later in the day when I looked out, I noticed that all the plants of that type in that area were in bad shape – except one. I started picking them up to also offer some extra shade and water.
It was then that I realized a few things. The one tomato plant that was on the front line that I had moved before, had likely been protecting the others and getting the full brunt of the sun – add in a relatively shallow pot, and it always let me know it had had too much sun – and wilted down. I jokingly said this plant had known what to ask for, and so that was the only one that I’d even thought of moving. (Much bigger lessons here)
The others were in bad shape, and I picked them up and prayed that they’d come back, especially as they’d had a lot of blooms prior to the heat wave.
However, remember the one I said looked relatively good compared to the others? When I tried to pick it up, I realized that the pot was tethered to the ground. The roots had extended through the pot and gone into the grown – and was firmly rooted, so that when the extreme heat came (pressures of life), it did not wither like the others, it simply dug deeper into the soil, getting the water it needed.
As I observed, the plants that were planted directly into the soil and were well established, did not have this wiltering problem. They went through the same heat conditions, but those that access to water by digging their roots a little deeper, fared far better.
When I decided to plant at the beginning of the season, I was doing it more for the lessons than the harvest. And I can’t tell you how plentiful the lessons have been. And, I’m glad that a harvest will come too.
Dear Heavenly Father, I’m so grateful for your love and care. That you take time to teach us lessons simply by observing your creations. Would you help me to learn these lessons and remain firmly rooted in you so that I can drink of the everlasting water, no matter what the pressures of life are around me.