I'm on vacation, so special thanks to my childhood friend Cindi (Goldfuss) Florit for letting me re-post her blog for the verse to memorize this week!
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Ephesians 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."
Ephesians 5:6-11
Galatians 5:19-25
Have you ever heard of the nursery rhyme that says:
"Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row."
I am amazed at how often I have recited little rhymes like this, never knowing their origins. The Mary that this little poem was about was Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VIII, also known as Bloody Mary. The garden was the graveyards that grew in number due to her instruments of torture, the silver bells and cockle shells. The pretty maids were not little bridesmaids nor maids who waited on her. They were guillotines. Lovely. Just exactly what I want my children to learn about. :-)
But you know, friends, this little rhyme with dark origins has one glaring truth: our actions "grow" something. That something may be good, and it may be bad, but it will grow. So, the obvious question is, how is MY garden growing? What am I sowing? For we know that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7) We sow with our words, our actions, even our thoughts. Are we sowing seeds that will result in the fruit of the Spirit? Are we sowing seeds of obedience, submission, love for our Almighty God and Savior? Or are we sowing discord among the brethren? Are we sowing true humility that can actually hurt us when we practice it but honor our Father most of all, or are we sowing pride and dissension? Seeds of humility in asking forgiveness when we truly need to, if for no other reason than to promote unity, or seeds of pride in ignoring situations in which we can technically say we are not wrong but which destroy those around us?
I am greatly intrigued by the similarities of this little poem that seems so innocent to us today but that originated in such horrible circumstances. Then again, I ask, if someone were to make a little ditty about me, what would it say? Would the words be "quite contrary, one who puts people in the graveyard (literally or figuratively or spiritually)? Or would it be "you could tell her God was real because there's no way she could have talked the way she talked, forgave the way she forgave, made right the things that needed to be made right, encouraged in Christ the way she encouraged if the very God of heaven and earth hadn't been there working in her." Would the poem be about my failings as a human being or about my Awesome God? What is the fruit that comes from MY garden? How is Cindi's garden growing?
How does YOUR garden grow? Can you honestly face the question? I challenge us all today to check out our gardens. We can pull the weeds and thorns and thistles, even if they have a hefty root system because they've been around too long. It may take some work. We may get poked. We may get hurt, but it is worth it to get the weeds out. Bloody Mary's garden consisted of her instruments of torture. Ignoring our sins of the past won't make them go away. Do we have the character to honor our Heavenly Father and make things right the way He has said to do so?
We can water in the fruit of the Spirit and choose to think about the things that are "true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8
Having had the privilege and responsibility of working a 1-acre garden every summer as a child and teenager, I know a lot about weeds. :-P I know that real gardening is a lot of work. It is an unending process until the snow comes. It is easier to pull weeds when they are small and tender, and in Ohio's clay soil, it can be a nightmare to pull them when they've grown in and established a significant root system. But if you want good fruit, you have to get the weeds out. You have to break up the hard soil so that the vegetables can get air and water. You have to feed them. You have to find ways to keep out the animals and bugs. You have to put a lot of effort, time, sweat, thought into a garden. We have to do the same for our spiritual gardens. How's it growing today?
---A Coffee Conversation, from Cindi Florit
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