Our home has two raised flower beds in the front yard. The flower bed to the left is fairly consistent with what we originally planted; we have three small trees that have flourished in their spot and bloom year after year. Our flower bed to the right notoriously has to be changed out year after year because what started in life seems to always end in death at the end of a season. We buy flowers or bushes that are supposed to come back every year but they never return and the year 2021 did not prove to be different.
For Mother’s Day 2021 my girls brought home marigold seeds from their first grade teacher. Receiving this packet of seeds terrified me. I am in no way considered a gardner. I can keep a few house plants alive but that is about it. I said, “thank you,” tucked the seeds aside in hopes they would be forgotten.
We typically buy plants that are already flourishing and then dig a hole in the ground, plant it, occasionally weed around it and enjoy its beauty while sipping coffee from the front porch. “Live simple to experience extravagance” is my motto.
My kids being the children that they are did not forget about these seeds as I had hoped. Finally, after much prompting we all went outside with the marigold seeds and sprinkled them around in the flower bed. We did not even bury them. I do not know if you are supposed to dig a hole to plant seeds but that is not what we did. I gave each child a pinch of seeds and just told them to scatter them around, almost like a cook would sprinkle a pinch of salt into their dish. They looked at the flower beds wide-eyed after sprinkling the seeds, waiting, as if the seeds would spring up into a plant immediately but I told them it would be awhile…I hoped after awhile something would come of this scattering of seeds.
The summer weeks went by and my right flower bed remained barren. The kids kept asking me, “Mom, when will it happen? When will the flowers grow?” I kept thinking to myself, “hmmmm….maybe never.” I would faithfully go out and pick the weeds and pull out the rocks. Week after week I faithfully went out and week after week there remained a barren flower bed.
One hot and humid summer day, I set out again to pick the weeds and pull the rocks, and as I sweat I began to feel embarrassment. I wondered if my neighbors saw me out there sweating, picking and tending to this barren flower bed and thought that they may wonder what I was even doing. They may think, “if she cares so much, then why does she not just plant something already?” I pushed through the embarrassment and sweat and continued plucking and pulling even in the barrenness because I was doing it for my kids. The thing is my neighbors, nor I, could see what was happening below the surface. There was something going on down below that the human eye could not see. Those seeds were digging deep into the soil and growing roots.
We left for vacation and when we came home those marigold seeds were starting to bloom. What once had been barren and embarrassing was full, lush, flourishing and a sight to behold. I had never seen marigolds grow so big. They were about 2-3 feet in height and had stretched the length of my flower bed. Our family stood in astonishment as we gazed at those beautiful orange and yellow flowers. All the work and waiting was worth it. As I stared at those flowers I knew the Lord was teaching me a lesson. If I remain faithful in my barren seasons then God will provide the increase.
Often times, we put in the work and take all the steps that are required of us but our season of barrenness becomes too cumbersome to continue in our faith journey. It is hard when we do not visibly see an increase. We start to get embarrassed by what others may think or say of us if we continue to be faithful.
I want to encourage us today just as these marigolds encouraged me that we cannot see what is going on beneath the surface. The human eye cannot see the work that has been done on our hearts, our spirits, our attitudes. The human eye cannot see all the ways we have been faithful, the way we have toiled and worked. The human eye does not always understand why we would persist and pull the weeds of bitterness, regret and doubt out of our lives. Why sweat and do all of this work if all that keeps showing up is the weeds? I am here to remind us today that as we are faithful to keep following Jesus, soon those weeds that we have allowed Jesus to pluck out will no longer be barren but will begin to show an increase in beautiful flourishing flowers. Remain faithful. Remain persistent. Keep showing up and God will show off.
May it be so! May we remain faithful in the barren seasons and allow God to produce the increase; not for our glory, fame or promotion but to become an oak of righteousness, a planting of the LORD to display his glory.
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