When I lived on Whidbey Island, I had lots of room to grow things. We lived on 2 ½ acres. The only drawback was that there had never been a house on the property, so it was not cultivated. Anything I put into the ground was new. I wasn’t an experienced gardener; I just knew I liked flowers and wanted to grow vegetables in a garden.
We lived there for over 30 years and I gradually got things planted. Some plants survived and thrived, while others didn’t do so well. By the time I sold the property after my husband passed away, I had lots and lots of flowers and flowering bushes. My vegetable garden didn’t thrive as well. I planted year after year; things like bush green beans, peas, corn, radishes, etc; things that typically grow well in the Northwest but only reaped a small harvest. It wasn’t until the year before I left there, that I discovered that because of the surrounding tree population, there were certain nutrients lacking in my soil.
Scripture speaks about us as believers being planted. Probably the most well-known verse is Psalm 1:1-3: “Blessed is the man (or woman) who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Another verse is Psalm 92:12-15: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of our God. They will bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”
We are encouraged to be planted in the house of God (nothing lacking in that soil!!) and discover the unique gifts he has given to each one, to desire the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 14:1), and to use the gifts he has bestowed upon us. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” We can thrive, planted in God’s house, then begin to produce good fruit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Gal.5:22
Naomi Brinkman
