Bury

Snow is falling again and burying my flower garden, but I know that spring is coming. It will soon be time for planting and watering, waiting for sprouts to break through the soil. Most of them would be eaten by birds if not covered with a layer of dirt. If the seeds aren’t buried, how can I expect new flowers to grow? 

Seeds are funny things. Some need to be buried in deeper soil, others under just a thin layer to hide from birds’ view. Some need winter cold for several weeks in order for the spring warmth to kick-start their growth. All need time and water to begin the process of becoming something new.

So it is with planting seeds of God’s love in the hearts of those around us. They may be far from him today, but only he knows the harvest to come from seeds we sow now. We don’t know the circumstances the seeds will need to take root in their hearts. Seasons of difficulty (plowing, drought, or arctic cold)? Seasons of blessing that could only come from God (gentle breezes and rain showers)? How often will watering be needed? How much weeding and pruning will God have to do in their lives? Will we see the growth, or will that be someone else’s joy? So much is beyond our understanding, but none escapes his.

We plant seeds of God’s word and his love through our words and actions, trusting him to make the seed grow in his way and in his time. He is the master gardener!

Who needs what you have to share today?


This post is written in response to Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday link-up. These prompts are fun to respond to, and only take five minutes to compose. Today’s prompt: BURY.

Mend

Today I received a text from an unknown number. 

“Your kids keep climbing my tree, please ask them to stop.”

My first reaction was to laugh, because my kids are all in their 20s. If they’re climbing the neighbor’s tree, they’re grownups and responsible for themselves! I replied that I wished my kids were out climbing trees!

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Rhododendron Insights: Adapting to Life’s Seasons

I was worried earlier this winter when all of my smaller-leafed rhododendrons had turned burgandy and curled up tightly. Had I killed them by pruning them too deeply after they flowered last year?

Rhododendron leaves curled up and brown against a backdrop of snow

I’ve written before about senescence, in which the rhodies’ older leaves turn yellow and fall off in the autumn. Even the evergreens lose their leaves and needles sometimes!

Continue reading Rhododendron Insights: Adapting to Life’s Seasons

Broadening My Harvest Horizons

It’s only January, but I’m dreaming of pruning around my yard. I don’t know what it is about pruning, but I love it as much as weeding (which is a lot, let me tell you)!

There’s so much opportunity to put the shears and loppers to work–forsythia, tons of lilacs, and wild grapevines.

Continue reading Broadening My Harvest Horizons