Day 177
Unproductive Garden Time...
My garden time has little to do with the production of vegetables and more to do with the environment it gives me to mindlessly do a task while allowing my brain time and space to think, ponder and meditate. Please someday let it be both! While digging in it last Thursday, preparing for my son Geoffrey's birthday/graduation celebration, I was thinking about my intense desire for my children to be led the by Holy Spirit and not swayed by their circumstances.
Desire for them to go deep...
And my desire kept growing like the weeds I was pulling. I want them to be filled with the Holy Spirit rather than with their life agendas. I want them to surrender to God allowing their puny adventures to pale in light of His joy ride through a barren land. I want nothing more for my dear, dear children than to know their Savior more intimately.So, as I am wishing and digging and wishing and pulling and wishing and wanting my children to go to a deeper level, a thought out of nowhere meets me. (I attribute this to God speaking-you may do with it whatever you will)
Do not waste your time...
"Do not waste your time wondering how you should of, could of, or would have. Your time is best spent praying to the only one who is able to do more than you can ever imagine in your child's life. Pray that I woo your child into a deeper relationship with Me, the God of the universe. And furthermore, what ever made you think you had so much power over your child's life? You are to pray for My power to reign in and through your child's heart and ways. Your prayers are to be an affirmation of who you know can do the job. So, Lynne, do not waste time wishing your children somewhere, pray that I, the Almighty bring them somewhere!" (note about thoughts from God: always lovingly expressed resulting in an energizing pursuit of prayer)
God's work is faith based...
God was reminding me of His work and His ways; they are faith based, not a list of "To Do's." God was gently but firmly reminding me that He is the one who provides the faith, He is the one who provides more faith, and He is the one who finishes out the faith with even greater faith. I am a bystander cheering them on in their walk of faith and He, their God, is the provider of their deeper faith. Keep it straight, Lynne. Keep it straight.
Use your angst, Lynne, to pray...
"Lynne, do not waste your time in worrying. Do not waste your time rewinding the reel of what should have or could have been. It is ME who has the power to cause your children to be followers of My Spirit. So, Lynne, pray! Pray for an increase in faith. Pray for your children's faith in me to grow deep. Pray for them to respond. Lynne, please recognize your role and do it with the same angst, passion, intense desire you have in your frustration. You are to pray in faith, through faith, by faith, and with faith. And, hey Lynne, NO DOUBTING!"
This groundwork of garden talk was laid for the trip I did not realize I was going to take. Kathryn, my daughter is a videographer. She had a job in Boston and she needed a ride. (she had an accident recently that totaled her car but not her!!!!) She asked me to take her as far as Rhode Island and from there she would take the car into Boston. Before I knew it I was on the road to New England.
Breakfast in East Greenwich with Sarah...
We took the exit off of Interstate 95 that put us on the beautiful winding Rt. 138. This would take us past the University of Rhode Island and I wanted to show Kathryn my alma mater and some of my old stomping grounds, oh the stories. We stopped in front of a professor and his wife's home. Back in the 80's I had spent a lot of time in their home bending his wife's ears. She was a significant spiritual contributor in my life during that time. She is one with whom I could share deeply and freely. Kathryn googled her number and I called and left a message. Later on that day she called back. It felt as if only two days had passed since the last time I saw her in the late 90'. The next morning we are sitting in front of each other in a quaint diner on the Main Street in East Greenwhich.
Pained mother's heart
Her mother's heart is deeply pained. She was reticent to share but was graciously curious about my family. Her five children are amazing and educated with multiple degrees. Yet she seemed defeated. She sadly shared that the majority are not believers and it pains her to even fill me in on their lives, she so wants a better report. My heart was crying.
Then all of a sudden words started to flow, garden talk words, that had been provided to me during the weed festival on Thursday. God clearly wanted her to be encouraged, filled with hope, and sustained by His faith. We spoke of the pride in assuming our children are walking with the Lord because of what we did. And we spoke of the pride in assuming the opposite, they are not walking with the Lord because of what we did. We are indeed proud parents.
In the garden, God made it so clear to me that our angst and frustration and even intense desires for our children are to be directed towards the only one who can move mountains, the only one who can truly do anything about anything! Insight from the Ancient One overflows and spills into other people's lives.
Who makes things grow?
On thursday, my garden did produce fresh, tasty bounty and on Saturday, Sarah and I were eating it. We took the bread and drank the wine together because the gardener still talks and He is the only one who can make things grow!
Garden Talk
produced by
The Ultimate Gardener of all Gardens
To whom all Gardens Grow
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