In God's Garden

I can't grow things. Really, plants come to my house to die. I think I've even managed to kill a succulent - the type of plant that people buy when they can't keep a plant alive. I've certainly never planted a seed and watched it produce fruit of any kind. (Except that one year when my grandpa let me help plant his garden, but let's be real. He did all the work.)

My sister, on the other hand, practically had a jungle growing out of a soda bottle once. Then my mom tried to repot it. (See? I come by my plant-killing ability honestly anyway.)

Do you think it's dead?

Every time I try to keep a plant alive, I think about my past failures. I compare it to my sister's successes. I look at my poor succulent and wonder if it's worth it to keep trying. The one that I've watered and kept near the window for sunlight. The one that I turned away from the sun thinking maybe it was leaning over because the sun was on that side, and turning it around would make it grow the other way. I really don't know what I did wrong this time.

I tend to do the same thing in my walk with God.

I look at the fruit everyone around me is producing. I see the number of people they are leading. I hear them talk about how the people they mentor are growing. Then I compare it to my own life. I look at my failures. I see all the times I've messed up. I hear all the unanswered prayers echoing around in my head.

And I wonder what I'm doing wrong.

A few weeks ago, I was reading the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. In that story, Jesus tells about a farmer who sowed his seeds. The seeds landed on all different kinds of ground, and as a result, each seed had a different harvest. Normally, the seed and harvest from the good soil stands out to me. After all, who doesn't want a multiplied harvest? But this time, it was the seed that landed among the thorns that caught my attention.

Jesus explained, "As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it proves unfruitful" (verse 22).

In the past, I have pretty much always equated "cares of the world" and "deceitfulness of riches." Or I've read about the cares of the world and thought about doing well in school or making sure all the errands are run or caring too much about the latest news. I've thought it meant worrying about what's going on in your relationships. It could mean stressing over a bad day.

This time, I realized that the cares of this world could be more. It could look like measuring someone else's fruit. It could sound like questioning how deep their roots go. Just because something sounds spiritual doesn't mean it's of God.

It's a slightly odd way to look at it, but I thought of a seed that's planted. If it had a mind of its own, the seed could focus on what's around it - dark, cold dirt; the strong, deep roots of the other plants - it's not going to grow. Those things are never going to bring it out of it's protective shell so it can begin to grow. Or the seed could focus on what is above it - the sunlight that helps produce it's food, the water that refreshes it.

More flowers that I didn't plant (in Monet's Garden)... But they remind
me of how beautifully things turn out when God works.

It is the same for us. If we see all the bad situations around us or if we focus on how well everyone else is doing, we'll stay trapped. We'll try to protect ourselves. But we don't need to stay protected. We need the Son of God. We need the Living Water. If we focus on Him, we begin to reach for Him. Instead of being choked by the cares of this world, our roots go deep into His Love and we grow into something beautiful and unique.

So, I still might not be able to rescue that succulent in my kitchen. But when it comes to my spiritual fruit, I'm ready to let it grow. I'm ready to focus my attention on the One who can make it grow instead of on all the people around me. And if we all focus on Him together, we'll have one amazing harvest in season.

Join the conversation: How have you allowed the cares of this world to choke your fruit? How do you remember to keep your focus on Jesus instead of others?