Just last Saturday, the time seemed right to turn the garden.  My spirit was excited within me, and I even voiced to a sister how it had been so long since I had planted a garden.  She reminded me how it had only been a year (since my last garden).

TIME FELT MUCH LONGER THAN THAT!

As my husband aired up the tiller tires and walked behind the slow-moving machine, I dressed myself in clothes fit for the garden:  old tennis shoes, a long-sleeve shirt, a pullover, and old jogging pants.

The calendar recorded the 1^st day of March, and the chilly wind blowing declared it so.

My internal hope spoke of the coming produce, and the seed remained inside the garden store, not even yet purchased or planted.  However, my hope remained, for step one of planting a garden was the preparation of the soil.  Then, we gardeners wait.  Yes, we wait for the growth of the turned soil to die.  This takes time.  Last Saturday, there was a “bite” in the air because day one of March was quite chilly; yet we knew that the ground needed to be broken and turned for the seed we hoped to plant in the coming days.

We walked behind our slow-moving tiller, placing it back inside the back of the garage, for all that could occur on this day was the turning of the soil.  A gardener cannot get in a hurry, he cannot plant too early, before the soil is ready.  A gardener must wait.

Today, a full-week past the turning, we still wait, and in fact, as I left the house earlier this week, I found myself looking out toward the garden, seeing the freshly, turned soil, and excitement filled my heart.

TURNED SOIL BRINGS SUCH HOPE!

I am not a patient person, and maybe you too are NOT patient, but when gardening, we cannot hurry, for if we do, then the produce will not grow and the harvest in the late summer will not come.  So, we gardeners speak with one another, EXCITED and we swap gardening tips of HOW BEST TO WORK THE LAND WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN.  As March moves to April, then as Easter approaches, many will choose Good Friday as the day to plant the DEEP-ROOTED vegetables, on the same day we recall the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, even on Good Friday, gardeners will say:  “Don’t plant the entire garden but only those vegetables that must grow much deeper within the soil.”

DO NOT GET IN A HURRY TO PLANT THE ENTIRE GARDEN BUT PATIENTLY WAIT FOR THE LORD TO TURN THE CALENDAR AND WARM THE SOIL.

Before you know it, the garden-planting day of Spring will come.  Then we will grab our gloves and purchased BEST SEEDS and we will lay off the rows and place the seeds into the READY SOIL.

Then after we have gently covered the seeds with a thin layer of soil, we will wait.  Days.  Weeks. Time will pass, and with perfectly-timed rains and a plethora of sunshine, the plants will peek up through the ground. 

EVEN THEN, WHEN WE SEE THE TINY ROWS OF PLANTS, WE MUST NOT BE IN A HURRY BUT PATIENTLY WAIT FOR THE LORD TO GROW THE PLANTS.

As I wrote these words, a beautiful melody played, one worth pausing to listen to, even now before we finish reading.  “Campfire (That Very Love)” by TobyMac includes this lyric:  “That very love is holding you.”

If you are like me, then you are not a totally-patient person, but patiently-waiting does not mean we are to NOT be working.  That’s right.  To patiently wait is to be busy doing those tasks the LORD commands and the HOLY SPIRIT leads us to do—as we wait patiently for the harvest.

Be Intentional—

• Be Serious about our walk with God.
• Be Focused about our Bible study.
• Be Faithful to share our testimony.
• Be the Hands and Feel of Jesus, serving others with gratitude—As we Wait!

After the crucifixion of Jesus, the apostles were in anguish, thinking all hope was gone.  However, three days later, everything changed!  When the first Christians preached and testified, they never got over the fact that when they went to the tomb—the LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS GONE!