What Can We Learn from The Gardener?

    

      I’ve never been a gardener, not to say I haven’t tried. But I’ve come a long way over the years. From the time I finally decided to water a plant my first roommate had only to discover the whole time, it was plastic.

     Today's scripture gives us a beautiful metaphor that I only just got today. Jesus appears in the garden after he has risen as a gardener. At first, Mary doesn’t recognize him as the Lord. How many times have I failed to see him, to recognize him? From the reflection in my Magnificat this morning:

With Mary, we may seek the Lord, weeping when he is not to be found in prayer, in worship, in our daily round of activities, only to come upon him in the most unexpected of places and discover that he has been there all along. It was we who did not recognize him. As he promised, our risen Lord is with us always.

     When we plant a garden, we plant it in hope and faith. We do the work, till the soil, ready the earth, and carefully enter our hope to the earth. And then we wait, and wait, and wait. While we may not be able to see what’s happening the Lord is growing, doing his work behind the scenes, under the earth, not visible to the eye. Just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not happening. But that also doesn’t mean we don’t do our part. We water, feed and nourish that seed to the best of our abilities. And then we wait patiently for the Lord to do his part.

     In the silence, in the waiting, it may seem as our Lord has left us. But he hasn’t. If we could look under the soil, under the surface of our hearts we would see the master gardener is at work. Working all things for good to those that love him, trust him, believe in him.

     When I was away for a week I came back to a plant on the verge of death, I had neglected to remind my husband to water it. This plant had special meaning for me because it was one of the first plants he bought for me. I nurtured and cared for that little plant as I did our relationship, as a sign of our growth. To think I might lose this plant was upsetting indeed. But I watered it and waited in hope. I trimmed back the dead leaves, ridding it of the parts that were no longer useful, stealing the very power for the plant to thrive.  Sure enough after a few days it started to perk up and much to my delight it is back stronger than ever.

     Let the lessons of the gardener fill your heart today. Be still in the process, in the unseen growth, in the silence. Do your part. Wait in hope, in love and in patience to see the growth happening right under our noses. To soon see, touch and smell the fruits of our efforts. Cocreating the beauty in our lives with the risen Lord.

Rembrandt - Jesus, Risen Gardener