Patience in the Process of Gardening
The garden is really coming alive out there and it has been a very busy season. There is always endless lists of tasks that need to get done. From continually sowing, transplanting, pruning, weeding, mulching, to finally reaping and preserving the harvest, there is quite a process involved. I actually do enjoy most of the process of gardening (yes even the weeding), but I do have to admit at times I can feel overwhelmed or frustrated and sometimes feel like I am not gaining any traction. When I have seeds that need to be sown (like yesterday), transplants that are screaming to get up-potted, plants that need to be pruned, fruit that needs harvested and preserved before it’s too late, and the row that I just weeded seems to need weeding yet AGAIN, I can occasionally find myself losing my patience in the process.
At times I find myself asking is this really all worth the effort? We all know ultimately we are striving for the end goal of the harvest. A time when we can enjoy the fruits of our labor even during the restful winter season, but we can easily lose sight of finding joy and peace in the process of getting there. Every weed pulled, seed planted, sucker plucked, is one step closer to reaching that end goal. If we slow down enough to be patient and appreciate the process we can find joy and peace in the seemingly mundane or frustrating moments. At times, I can feel God gently reminding me that these simple truths not only apply to gardening, but to other areas of life such as raising our children, trials we may be facing, and ultimately our faith and walk with Christ.
Patience in the Process of Parenting
I have been reading through a Christian parenting book this summer with a friend of mine called, Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family– by Paul David Tripp. A chapter I read a few weeks ago dealt with the “process” of parenting. We so often as parents are dissatisfied or frustrated with having to continually discipline or correct our children. Do you know what I mean? If only it took one time telling your child to do something, or don’t do something, but we all know that is not reality. It takes persistence, patience, and faithfulness to know that the process is good even though it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. We at times are looking for instant results, from something that was meant to be a continual process with slowly evolving change.
Patience in the Process of Our Walk With God
Isn’t this just like us and our relationship with God? After we have come to faith in Him, we enter into a process of sanctification by His Spirit. God is transforming us day-by-day closer to the likeness of His Son. The process is slow, long and sometimes it can be even frustrating or overwhelming when he is showing you the sin in your heart that needs to be uprooted or weeded out. Sometimes I feel like I’d rather skip the whole “process” part and just get to the “harvest”, but that isn’t how it works. Praise God for that! How unsatisfying would that be? To quote the author,
“Here’s what is important to understand: the Father’s work of justification is an event, but his work of transformation is literally a life-long process. When justifying you, God is fully aware that he is committing himself to a day-by-day process of illuminating, confronting, convicting, forgiving, transforming, and delivering grace.”
Paul David Tripp- Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family
It is comforting to recognize that God knows the transformation of his children doesn’t happen over night and not only is He committed to transforming us, but that He is patient with us throughout. We can trust that the process of God transforming our hearts and minds by the power of His grace and mercy is for our good and will ultimately lead to the harvest and rest that is to come of eternal life with Him.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.“
Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
By God’s strength alone, we can find patience in the the frustrating moments, the seemingly mundane, or even in the midst of hard trials we are facing. Patience is faithfully enduring through the process, whatever it may be, and I believe this is the key to finding joy and peace in the moment of any circumstance. So, whether it be gardening, parenting, trials we are enduring, or our walk with Christ, we should be patient in the process because ultimately God is patient with us.
This is something that has been on my heart lately and I hope this was encouraging to someone out there. What has God been teaching you from the garden? Please leave a comment below, I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for stopping by the homestead and God Bless.
