Lessons From The Garden: Time To Grow

Ephesians 3 vs 20 – 21 (The Message) 
God can do anything, you know — far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.  

Last Autumn, in my quest to have more spring flowers in my garden, I planted some bulbs - crocuses, daffodils and snowdrops. I waited with eager anticipation to see their beauty this Spring. However, the snowdrops did not appear, and only about 40% of the other bulbs grew and blossomed. Disappointing. I don’t know why that happened, but I am hopeful that they appear next Spring. Maybe they just need a little longer. 

Having recently gone through the 'Scatter' (taking the good news to where we are) series at Gas Street church, it made me reflect on the conversations I have had with friends, colleagues, or random strangers about faith. We don’t know what impact our interactions with people will have. We may see results straight away, others may take time, or we may never know. We just need to be faithful in being intentional about sharing Jesus and loving those around us, and the Holy Spirit will do the rest.  God makes beautiful things happen – in his time. 

Working for Safe Families, I visit families who need to know the love of Jesus. Safe Families is a Christian charity and is part of Love your Neighbour at Gas Street. Although I may not directly tell the families about Jesus, my interaction brings his love into their lives. For some families we journey with, we see an amazing transformation, but not always. When I first meet a family, I really cannot tell where their journey will take them, how well they will engage or what might happen through the support they receive; however, I pray for each one of them and entrust them to Jesus. 

Like planting bulbs, we have to be faithful in doing our part, and trust God to do the rest.

Prayer - Help me to show the love of Jesus, share the love of Jesus, speak the love of Jesus today and every day, and to trust you to do the rest.