CHURCH GARDENS

 

CHURCH GARDENS

I have discovered some interesting similarities between the principles at work in nature and those that occur in the church.­ It helped me on more than one occasion to put things into perspective when problems in the church arose.

Every year there are those problems that vary from previous years. After pulling weeds in my yard for over 40 years now, I have come to realize that each year a different kind of weed invades the yard and tries to take over.­ Sometimes it is tricky to pull the weeds without hurting the flowers.­ Other times it is impossible.

I always think of weeds as the tares or chaff in the parables Jesus taught. ­Some were left to grow with the wheat, then were harvested along with the wheat, but were separated from the wheat by the wind.­ Others were thrown into the fire.­ The weeds in the parables represent the anti-Christ, or the unbelievers.­ Like the weeds in my flower garden, the "weeds" in the church are the problems caused by divisive people, people who are using the church for their own gain, those who are trying to lure people away from the church, etc. ­Every year we must deal with a different kind­ of problem.­ Weeds never go away; each year just brings a new variety of problems. Like the weeds, the problems will never leave us.­ When one is resolved, another will take its place.­ We must never grow weary in getting "to the root" of the problems so that they are eradicated, never to return, because we sure don't need those problems in addition to the next batch that is sure to come.

Quite often I find among my beautiful flowers a weed pretending to be one of the flowers. Its leaves look the same but it eventually outgrows the plants. That's when I realize it needs to be pulled. The church is also scattered with those who are pretenders or fakers. They fake being a devout Christian but may have ulterior motives or may use their label to gain prestige. The Bible instructs us to expel that person. I Corinthians 5:11-13 says: But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

I once had a flower garden in the shape of a square. In the center was a birdbath.­ Around the birdbath I planted a row of silver-colored, non-blooming plants called Dusty Millers, then a row of burgundy and white striped petunias, then another row of Dusty Millers, then in the outside row I planted a row of solid burgundy petunias.­ While the heavy rains that caused the Mississippi to flood were wreaking havoc an hour away from us, the abundance of rain was making my flowers grow bigger and more plush than they had been for many years.­ But among the beautiful burgundy-colored petunias sprang some moss rose that came up volunteer.­ I had planted moss rose in that spot the year before, but the blossoms didn't stay open throughout the day, so I had limited enjoyment from them.­ Nevertheless, there was something about those flowers having the fortitude to make a comeback.­ The colors -- orange, yellow, and red -- clashed with the burgundy petunias, they looked out of place, and their beauty was limited to short periods of time, but I didn't have the heart to pull them up.­ I mean, who can complain about a volunteer. It is so hard to get volunteers in the church, and sometimes the help comes from some of the most unlikely people.

A problem I that has arisen in recent years is that the deer and squirrels have been eating my blossoming plants. The deer favor my yellow blooming Hibiscus. It's more rare than the red and orange Hibiscus plants, but that's the one the deer pick on. Recently, I got to enjoy the first bloom only before it was eaten. Satan likes to destroy any plans we may have to introduce people to Jesus. He picks on the rare one doing the most to build the church as a congregation and to keep the building presentable and functional. That may be the pastor himself, an elder or deacon or even a member of the congregation. Or a whole family. So, that person(s) deals with all kinds of hardships. Back to the deer and the yellow Hibiscus, what the deer doesn't realize and doesn't really care is that he is pruning the plant, which will make it fuller and more "fruitful" or high-yielding. I put out solar lights that appear to be flaming hoping that would scare the deer away but deer - 1, me - 0. But I refuse to give up. Hopefully the church's hardest workers, both in the "harvest" and in the building, won't give up either.

Following is a poem I wrote about the harvest, which in the Bible refers to edible plants like wheat and not blossoming flowers, but the moral to the story is the same. Some people will thrive in the church, some will give up, some just don't "get it," some get overtaken by doubt as a result of problems that arise in their lives.

HARVEST  TIME

(Based on Matt. 13:3-7, 18-29)

A sower planted the gospel seed,

In the minds of several men.

When his work was done, he waited,

To see what would happen then.

The seed in the mind of the first man,

Was eaten by a bird.

The buzzard’s name was Satan,

And the seed he ate was God’s Word.

The seed in the mind of the second man,

Sprouted, but soon was dead.

No wonder the gospel seed withered;

For the man had rocks in his head.

The seed in the mind of the third man,

Also began to sprout,

But troubles and trials came on him,

And the seed was choked by doubt.

On that day when the reaper comes,

Will fruit be on my vine?

Or will I be treated like chaff?

Which harvest will be mine?

Becky Wall

Epilogue: The deer and I challenged each other all summer. I live in the middle of town. The deer comes through the alley late at night. The deer kept winning, no matter what I tried: solar lights, then flaming solar lights, then a stare-down, then a dust around the plants that was supposed to keep the deer away. But then it rained that night washing the dust away. Finally I put a trellis on the side of the biggest pot, facing the deer so he couldn't get to the plant. My son happened to be at my house mowing my lawn when I exclaimed "I won, I won." I outsmarted the deer. He said, "Mom, the deer pooped on your front sidewalk." I didn't solve the problem this year but I'm ready for next year.