Gardener

Hosea 14:2-10

Donna Kiffe

Over the past several years, the Pastors and Church Council have allowed my sons to landscape the Church grounds by creating gardens as Eagle Scout projects to beautify the area. One of these was envisioned to be a meditation garden, with plants and flowers specifically noted in the Bible. To do this, Geoff took his Confirmation Bible and made a list of all the trees, plants and flowers he could find in its pages. He shared this with the landscape architect who was advising him on the design. She helped him place these plants and choose others from the same family, if those plants weren't available or wouldn't do well in this climate. You can see the small placards for "lily," "rose," "cypress," "myrtle," etc. that now dot the garden between the rear church doors.

Over the years, my sons and I have spent a lot of time as gardeners, helping all of these plants to grow and thrive. We have noticed the calming effect of working in the gardens and the serenity of listening to the birds serenade us as the sun sinks beneath the roofline. Sometimes there is a bonus…songs from the organ inside the Church drifting over the grounds while we work. Even when deer eat the buds, it cannot outweigh the joy of watching perennials bloom magically, year after year in the spring.

Plants and people are good for each other. Geoff just finished a college biology class, and we were talking over his break about how respiration in humans and photosynthesis in plant life are opposites, so as to support each other. We need the oxygen and energy that plants create. Humans then transform these products into carbon dioxide and water, which plants need to survive. This relationship is captured in stories throughout the Bible. It is not surprising that, in this passage, the discord throughout the rest of Hosea "dissolves into a series of serene images" (an analysis from his Confirmation Bible) of what Israel can become. These images are filled with trees and flowers…the very plant life to which mankind has been interconnected since the Garden of Eden.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, We don't always show it, but we appreciate the unbelievable beauty of everything green around us. Your world is so meticulously planned and perfectly executed that all living things rely on all other living things to survive. You have left us in charge of the stewardship of this planet we call home, our "Garden of Eden." Give us your guidance to do what we can, whether it is discovering fuel alternatives or planting a backyard garden. The sum of all our deeds will make a difference.