The Divine Gardener Knows

 I am NOT a gardener.  But I do appreciate the countless life-lessons that derive from gardening.  God's creation is a hands-on classroom, indeed. So, every summer I make, rather pathetic attempts at planting stuff.  Most of my efforts yield disappointing results...probably due to the fact that I have no clue what I'm doing.  This year, though, I did a bit of research before I decided what to plant.  In doing so, however, I found out information that helped me with an earlier effort that had also ended up in catastrophe. 

A year ago, I decided to be brave and resolved to make a friend who needed cheering up, a planter with succulents.  Rather than just doing what I usually do, which is buy an arrangement made by expert hands, I figured I wanted it to be special, so I made it myself.  I found this really colorful and pretty clay planter which I thought would be perfect! Then, I bought a couple of species of succulents and planted them.  How hard could it be, right? After all, some of them are cacti.  If the desert doesn't kill them, how could I, right? WRONG! 

I thought I was so smart.  It turns out I wasn't.  Soon after I planted them, they started to rot and die.  Soon, the whole thing was a miserable mess and I didn't know what I was doing wrong.  I put them outside...that didn't work.  I kept them inside, that seemed to be a bit better, but no real improvement.  I water them.  Gave them light...even talked to them.  I asked them, "whatup"?  But they didn't answer...so I gave up.  Fast forward to this year, as I was researching about my current endeavors, I saw the beautiful planter, sad reminder of my previous failures, and almost without thinking, I googled "how to grow succulents." Well, the first thing I read was:  "DO NOT OVER WATER or they will ROT!  Only water when the soil is bone-dry."

Well, needless to say, I felt so dumb.  Of course they can't be over-watered...they are desert creatures.  So I went and got a couple more which looked just exquisite.  Pulled out the sorry-looking skeletons of what once was something beautiful, and planted the new ones.  I'm happy to say that my diligence has paid off.  It's been over a month and they are looking radiant! I found a perfect spot where they get plenty of sunlight and I wait until the soil is dry before I water.  I keep moving them so they grow straight as they turn toward the sun, and I tell them how gorgeous they are.  I believe I might even be able to actually present them to my friend as a worthy gift after all.

All I needed to do was to familiarized myself with the plants.  I needed to know them, find out about their needs, so I could provide for them in a manner that would make them grow and thrive.  It is very difficult to nurture that which we don't know.  What seems right for some, is completely wrong for others, and if we don't care enough to know...we end up doing more damage than good.  No water? What do you mean, a plant doesn't need much water?! In my amateur gardening skills, that was completely counter-intuitive.  But I didn't know what the right conditions needed to be for these plants to prosper...

Good thing God knows us inside and out.  He knows what we need and what we don't need way better than we know ourselves.  We complain and reject our circumstances, but God is a Divine Gardener who is fully knowledgeable on the subject of us...and what seems wrong to us, is exactly what we need so we can eventually grow and bloom.  He plants us where He wants us, because He knows that's where we need to be.  It's just that simple.  

I pray that next time we feel unseen, unknown, un-cared for, unloved, we remember that we are in the hands of the Gardener Who not only planted us, but designed us, and that He knows exactly what He is doing in our lives for our benefit and prosperity.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!

 

Bible Verses on Being Known By God*

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. Psalm 139:1

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Psalm 139:3

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. Psalm 139:4

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

(*From https://www.estherdorotik.net/blog/31-bible-verses-about-god-knowing-us-and-unconditional-love/)

I Love You Because...

 It has become a silly little tradition of ours to watch the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days on the last day of school every year.  We started the tradition since the movie came out in 2012. Dylan and I continue to watch it after Grant graduated, and we truly enjoy it.  It's the official start of summer break for us.  

At any rate, in that movie, there is a scene where they are playing a game called "I love you because..." It is a really funny scene which is now imprinted in our interactions as a family.  We laugh and make fun of it every time we watch that part.  

Today, I was listening to one of the short devotional podcasts that I try to listen to every day, and the minister said something that I thought was really simple, but profound.  He said: "we don't obey God so God would love us.  We obey Him because He loves us."

Our acts of obedience and of service to the Kingdom should not be meant to gain the proverbial "step" to heaven.  We can't do that.  If we could, Jesus' work on the cross would have been for nothing.  His love for us is not based on our performance, and Praise the Lord for that!  Otherwise, we would be lost without any hope of redemption.  As Paul reminds us:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.” Romans 3: 10-12

Therefore, doing "good deeds" to earn God's love is futile.  It's all the way around.  We do our "good deeds" because He loves us and that is what a beloved child of God does.  Our acts of righteousness and obedience are all based on Love...on God who is Love!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3

Our motivation should always be love, but not so much to gain it, but to demonstrate it and share it...for we already have it.

The silly game in the movie we watch is all about performance.  It goes something like:  "I love you because...you cook for me/buy me nice things/help me keep my body clean..."  It is conditional love, based on what the other does for us or what we do for others.  God's love...real love...is unconditional...solely based on the One Who Is Love...it is based on His sacrifice...it is based on the cross.  We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4: 19).  There is no way we would know what love is without Him. May we always remember that.  In Jesus' Precious Name.  Amen!

Thank You, Lord!

 As I'm wrapping up the semester, I feel infinitively grateful to Our Lord for holding me, helping me, guiding me, sustaining me and giving me wisdom during the last 3 years I served as Chair of our department.  I can say without a doubt, that there is NO WAY I could have done this without Him going before me every step of the way.  I want to give Him ALL Praise and ALL Glory for accomplishing this duty, which I deeply doubted I could have performed at any level of acceptable quality without Him.

He knows me and He knows how inadequate I am for a job like this one, but He put me in it because He wanted me to experience His guiding hand along every turn, twist and hurdle on the road.  He wanted me to experience how total dependence in Him makes the impossible possible.  He wanted me to taste the richness of His sustaining love when I felt all alone.  He wanted me to stand by His strength when I could not go any further.  And so He did!

Three years ago at this time I was in agony, dreading what was ahead...immersed in the middle of a horrible battle with co-workers which didn't seem to have a resolution in sight...feeling the weight of a crumbling organization being placed on my shoulders to carry on my own...praying without ceasing for wisdom and guidance.  Today, I'm beginning to breathe again...and it is all because of God's Grace!

So, I just want to say, thank You, Lord for walking with me always, not just these last 3 years, but every day. Thank You for the gift of Your Presence, the Only source of true comfort and strength. I offer what is left of my life to You.  May I continue to find evidence of the reality of Your indwelling in my soul and in my heart for the rest of my days.  Amen!

The Abundant Life of Christ in Us

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10: 10

I usually do not feel led to the King James translation of Scripture, but for this verse, I prefer it because of the word "abundantly."  The NIV version uses the word "full" instead, and whereas the connotations of this term are great, indeed, the "richness" of the word "abundantly" seems more fitting to Jesus, at least in my humble opinion.  

I might be entirely wrong, but "full" gives me the sense of something very practical and material.  Full makes me think of having no room left (as in my stomach after dinner) or of something that is comprehensive and thorough.  It has a very spatial sense to me, like I can almost see it.  It is as if it is full to the measure of the space that it is filling.  "Abundant" on the other hand, seems more ethereal, more abstract.  It does not have a measure.  It transcends.  It's ample, profuse.  It is plentiful and lavish...like Jesus' love.

This life that Jesus comes to give to us is a life without limits because it is the life that we live with Him and it goes beyond the container.  And, again, in my humble opinion, Jesus is not referring here to the material aspects of life.  I believe, Jesus is pointing to the life we live when He is in us.  That is the miracle of such inexhaustible abundance: Christ in me.  That is the hope of glory like Paul tells us in Colossians 1: 27.  And glory cannot be contained in spatial parameters.  Just like Jesus whom the grave could not keep, the life lived with Him in us surpasses even us.

This abundant life is not about a richness that can be touched or even about a sense of happiness or satisfaction or stability as the world understand such concepts.  This abundant life is the one that showers us with the assurance of His Presence...because it is His Presence the element that produces the abundance that Jesus is telling us about.  No endless amount of the stuff of this world could ever give us this abundant life.  Only His Presence in us can.  

Today, as I look out the window, complaining about yet another dreary day in May...I pray that I'm reminded that even in the darkest and most depressing of times, we can hang on to Jesus' promise of abundance, because His love and His presence have no limits, and as long as we can count on Him, we can get through everything.  May the Holy Spirit give us a keen awareness of Jesus in us, the only hope of glory.  Amen!

Eye-Roll Code

 "Your eyes are going to get stuck like that!"  This was a warning I used to hear from Rosa all throughout my childhood.  Actually, she would say it to my sister way more than to me...but I can't pretend the admonition wasn't meant for me too.  

The thing is that my sister and I are major eye-rollers.  It's like our second language.  We have it coded:  One eye-roll=UGH.  Two eye-rolls + one sigh="you idiot."  Two eye-rolls + shaking the head = "your stupidity has no limits." Two eye-rolls + shaking the head + a deep sigh = "you're not dead because God is Good."  One eye-roll followed by a long, long blink + a sigh = "you've better be gone when I open my eyes or not even the Power of the Blood could save you."

Yep...patience has not been a fruit easily grown neither cultivated in abundance in the garden of my soul.  It's one of those things I really struggle with.  My sinful nature and the old me conspire to keep me trapped in this stronghold, causing me to stumble over and over again.

I read Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 3, and I can't help but wonder: how in the world am I going to "put to death, ..., whatever belongs to my earthly nature"? (Colossians 3: 5a)

I know Paul lists things such as sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, and things that lead to idolatry.  But he also mentions, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language...and my behavior is bordering this territory.  My eye-rolling is a sign of my impatience, which in turn is derived from my pride, and when this one is wounded, it quickly flows into anger, rage and even malice, and all the other stuff that keep my earthly nature alive and well, rather than dead and in the grave.

The remedy is to "put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3: 10)  My problem is: I don't think I know how to do that?

When I don't know how to do something, I need to read the instructions over and over again, until a single sentence is broken down in my head into smaller portions or single steps.  In this sentence, we have that the first fragment says: put on the new self.  OK, what's that? Well, that's my earthly sinful nature which I'm supposed to have killed.  But, did I really kill it? The truth is, I would not know the first thing about killing my earthly and sinful nature.  Jesus had to do that for me.  Only by His death and resurrection this could be accomplished! So, by His wounds I have been healed! PTL, AMEN! But then, what?

Well, Jesus' also imputed His righteousness in me as a result of His sacrifice on the cross.  He took my sin and gave me His righteousness.  He put a new self in me.  Alleluia!!  So by His work and sacrifice, and by dwelling in me, He has taken care of this part because there's no way I could do it on my own.  I believe Him and I receive His grace and He cleanses me and gives me a new me.

"Which is being renewed," and here we see an action that is progressive, meaning, it is still on going.  I'm being renewed.  So, there's no need to panic, for I believe this is the work of sanctification which takes place for as long as we are still walking on this earth.

And how does that sanctification happen? I believe Paul is saying that it is accomplished by the constant seeking of the knowledge of Jesus so we can become closer and closer to being what we were meant to be since the beginning: the image of our Creator.

I don't know if I'm even close to being right, but I have to keep the hope that God's mercy includes covering me with the providence of His patience.  For when I am weak, He is strong, and when I am prideful and impatient, He is loving and compassionate...and I put my hope on that...praying that I can stop the eye-roll as a sign of obedience and that I'm am still on the road to sanctification.  In the Precious Name of Jesus, My Redeemer and Friend.  Amen!

Retail Therapy, I Think Not

I like shopping.  I can't deny it.  I enjoy all those memes about Amazon because I can relate. It's not just online shopping, though.  I don't discriminate.  Old-fashioned shopping trips/sprees give me butterflies in my tummy too.  It's terrible.  I know.  Dan keeps reminding me of this character flaw ALL.THE.TIME.

sigh...

And he is right, in a way.  If it weren't for his ability to hit the breaks on my purchasing train, we'd probably be homeless.  But boy, is it hard to pass up a sale, or what?

I mean, I have gotten way better over time.  I have become more controlled and smarter too. But still...sigh.

The big issue here, though, is that I use shopping as an escape.  When I'm stressed out and need a break, shopping is always there to lift me up. There are many things wrong with this scenario.  Worst of all is the fact that my default involves diving into the material world for comfort, when answers and true respite can only come from the spiritual realm.  My ties to this world are too tight.  I forget that I don't belong to this place.  I forget Paul's words when he tells us:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3: 1-2

It is not just Jesus who rose from the grave.  He raised me too!  He raised all of us.  He descended to the pit of filth where we were, grabbed hold of us and brought us to life! He lifted us.  He gave us a new birth.  This new life, this new us comes together with a new view of things.  We are not immersed in the darkness of a life void of righteousness anymore.  Jesus gave us His righteousness, and with that comes a perspective that looks up at things above, instead of down to what we left behind.  This new life is the life in the Spirit, the Spirit of God who guides us and leads us and comforts us and helps us find our way to Him...to Christ seating at the right hand of God.  Therefore, our minds are set on Him, not on earthly things.  But we forget...I forget...and that is why Scripture is such a divine gift, because it is through Scripture that the Holy Spirit helps us remember and leads us back.  

I know I won't be canceling my subscription to Amazon Prime anytime soon.  But I know I'm not a slave to its lure.  I know where my help and my light comes from, and it is not from retail therapy.  It is from Him:

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 2

 

Extending Mercy

 "Please, Mom...have mercy on me.  Remember.  Jesus says to have mercy..."

Insert big eye-roll and deep sigh...

Kids are really good at manipulation.  I don't know how many times Dylan has pulled this one on me.  My students do this all the time as well. Of course they don't invoke Jesus, but they do play on the sob stories to get away with missing due dates.  I get really tired of it.  When they do this, they want to take advantage of me, and it infuriates me.  I don't give in easily.  I mean, really...the least they can do is grovel, right?

However, Dylan is right.  Jesus did say: Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6: 36)

I have to admit, though, I struggle with that.  I'm so full of pride that when I sense someone is taking advantage of me or when I feel like people think I'm an idiot, I react rather harshly.  I tend to not give others the benefit of the doubt or so I've been told...mostly by Dan.  He tells me things like: "You always assume the worst!" or "We need to extend a little bit of grace to others." He reminds me about it...constantly...ugh...

And...he is right...sigh...

We are called to extend grace and mercy to others...just as we have received it from Our Heavenly Father in abundance.  Colossians 3: 1-17 is a comprehensive explanation of how as Christians, we have been made new by Jesus, and as such, we ought to live lives that reflect the mercy of Our Lord.  We are supposed to do everything, "in word or deed" in the name of Jesus.  As His ambassadors, we need to reflect who He is, and He is Mercy!

Today has brought plenty of opportunities for me to extend grace to students...just as I was extended grace and mercy in the speedy delivery of good medical test results.  As I examine my responses to students...I am ashamed to say I haven't been as merciful and prompt in my responses as the Lord was to deliver me from my anguished wait.  Now that I look back...I better take another good look at Colossians 3: 1-17 so I allow the Holy Spirit to work these words in me all the way to the core of my soul.

May we receive the mercy of understanding so we can learn how to walk on the way of Jesus.  In His Precious Name.  Amen!