Love, Time, Tending
When we returned from spending Memorial Day in Wilmington, NC, we were met by tremendous growth in both gardens, with the bees out in force. We were gone for only five days - but what a difference!
As soon as we pulled in the driveway, I struck out to look over everything.
First, the bees: the hive busy and buzzing, foragers in and out.
Next, the prayer garden: new heights and buds and leaves.
Finally, the vegetable garden: an abundance of tomatoes and squash and herbs.
The bees, the prayer garden, the veggies. Every day, I check on them.
And I often find problems.
The rose bush has black spot and needs treatment. The tomato plants need pruning. The marigolds need deadheading. The herbs need trimming. The squash needs fertilizing. The bees need fresh sugar water, a new pollen patty and traps for those pesky beetles.
The good results and the problematic issues. It all needs love, time and tending.
If I didn’t really care about the plants and the bees, I’d just let them struggle on their own. But I do care and so I will constantly check in, assess needs, and give them the best possible chance to thrive.
I think our Father looks at us in much the same way.
He loves us. He offers unlimited time in His presence. And He constantly tends our hearts.
He cares when our lives are going well. He rejoices in our new growth. He’s joyful when we bear good fruit.
He also cares when things aren’t going so well. He directs us to better paths. He prunes us when needed - not because He’s angry, but because He knows we need to move in a new direction to fulfill His purpose.
His love is the constant we count on. Forever.
Nothing startles our heavenly Father; He’s never taken by surprise.
He doesn’t go away or take a vacation and return to reacquaint Himself with our messy lives. Instead, He intimately involves Himself in our everyday moments. And He always cultivates from His position of never-changing love.
He is the Master beekeeper, gardener, farmer and heart-tender.
Think about your life…
Are there places you’re finding joy? Are there parts that need His help?
Rest assured, beloved, that He sees all the good and all the challenges. He knows your victories and your shortcomings.
And He loves you still with an unbounded, relentless love that sees your every complexity and circumstance.
He watches over you with an infinite amount of love and time and tending.
Always.
Forever.
No exceptions.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV
Amen.
Today is a GOOD day,
~Natalie