The Garden

When I was a child, I lived in a small town in Indiana and my grandparents lived nearby. They had a large garden.

I remember roaming around the garden, trying to help a little bit here and there. Simple things like pulling heads of lettuce or snapping green beans. I remember being amazed how a stem poking up from the ground could hold things like carrots, potatoes, and beets underneath. I can picture my grandparents tending to the soil, carefully harvesting, and then eventually canning to have food for the winter. Gardens are an incredible amount of work. You have to prepare the soil, plant seeds, water the seeds, and all to wait and see how it turns out. This picture came to mind when I was reading 1 Corinthians 3:5-7. Paul talks about himself and Apollos and that they may be planting the seeds and watering them but it is God that makes the seeds grow.

In the past, I have been guilty of trying to manage results through my own efforts, when I really just need to be planting the seeds and/or watering and leaving the rest up to God. It is much easier to follow the Holy Spirit promptings toward various actions when I am leaving room for God to work. Otherwise, I am more inclined to hesitate, second guess myself or talk myself out of action all together because I know I can’t control the result.

Do you ever talk yourself out of doing things because of overthinking?

Do you ever take responsibility for the outcome of things that are out of your control?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7