Trust Issues I guess I have some trust issues. This became evident last Sunday in the simple planting of our vegetable garden. There are only a few veggies that we plant because we (I) either don’t like the others or have failed miserably at growing them in the past. Okra is one we always plant!…
Trust Issues
I guess I have some trust issues. This became evident last Sunday in the simple planting of our vegetable garden.
There are only a few veggies that we plant because we (I) either don’t like the others or have failed miserably at growing them in the past. Okra is one we always plant! (In case you aren’t from around here and don’t know what okra is, go here.) Tomatoes, on the other hand…I’ll just buy them at Sam’s!
I love okra just about any way you can cook it…except boiled. There is just something that is not appetizing about a boiled pod of boogies and snot. (Sorry to be so graphic, but seriously! If you’ve never had it, you don’t know the horror!)
Anyway, I had made sure to purchase some plants I wanted to include as well as some seeds, but somehow neglected to buy the okra seeds. Oh, calamity! It almost wrecked my plans, until…
Found Some!
As I was digging around in my random places I put things (I’m a bit of a packrat), I found some okra pods from our garden two years ago! I began breaking them open to harvest the seeds, only to discover that some of them had grown fur (mold). Many were good, though, so I continued with the task.
These are the remnants of the okra seeds we harvested.
Even though I took them outside and started planting them in the rows the Mailman had so lovingly and painstakingly pulled up for me, I had serious doubts about whether they would sprout. I even considered just tossing them in the trash and going to the store to purchase new ones.
But the Mailman, in all his wisdom, said, “Just go ahead and plant them, and if they don’t come up, we can get some more later.”
Oh, Ye of Little Faith!
The Bible says if we have faith the size of a mustard seed (that’s tiny, folks), we can move mountains (see Matthew 17:20). I hate to admit it, but my faith wasn’t even that big.
Oh, I planted those little seeds, but I had so much doubt, I made Thomas look like the most trusting disciple of all! I think I fully expected those seeds to fail!
Beneath the Surface
For the past week, the fate of those little seeds has been hidden by the soil with which they are covered. Without digging them up, there was no way of knowing if they were germinating or just molding some more.
So we waited…
The black-eyed peas popped up!
Can’t wait to snap some black-eyed peas!
And so did the sweet potatoes!
Sweet potato vines!
There are even some tiny weeds sprouting in the soil. But still no okra.
When We Learn to Trust the Process
Underneath the surface of that soil, God was busy doing what He does best.
It’s a little like when He plants a dream in our hearts.
On the surface, it may not seem like a whole lot is going on. The soil of our lives appears to lie dormant, but trust me, friend! It is anything but dormant!
The God of the universe who knew you before you were even formed in your mother’s womb (See Jeremiah 1:5) is breathing life into that dream, preparing it to sprout and grow and produce fruit (or okra)!
We must simply trust in the process, cultivating and nurturing the dream, as it germinates and takes root deep within us!
If we lose faith, though…if we stop trusting the process and allow the weeds of the world to overtake the little seed, or if we stop watering and nurturing it, our dreams will wither and die, often before they even break through the surface of our hearts.
And Then There Was Life
When I went out to check on my little garden this morning, you will never believe what I found…right there in the okra row!
It’s a baby okra plant!
After little more than one week, a little okra seedling poked its lovely little head through the crusted surface of the soil and turned its face to the sun.
God planted a dream seed in my heart several years ago. (Read more about that here.) The dream to write and speak of His grace, mercy, and unending love. For too many years, I have doubted that dream could ever grow to break through the surface, but this morning, on launch day for this new website and blog, the seedling broke through the surface!
By trusting in the process, I am seeing the dream come to life! If I just trust in the Master Gardener to cultivate it, prune it, and fertilize it, that tiny seed will become a magnificent tree, deeply rooted and bearing fruit for the glory of its Creator!
Be Blessed!
