I have always had a desire to be the kind of person that can plant flowers, and fruits, and vegetables, and have them actually grow well! My very first garden was ambitious for a newbie. I planted corn, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, strawberries, and cantaloupe. I was very excited. Until the strawberries died before I could plant them; the squirrels ate my corn…twice; the green beans rotted on the stalks because I didn’t realize they were ready; the carrots were stunted because of the container I planted them in. But I did get three beautiful, tasty tomatoes, and three small, sweet cantaloupes. Realistically it was a disaster. But it has never stopped me from trying.
A decade later, I tried to grow sponge squash, the plant that you get loofas from. And they grew wonderfully! They grew fast and strong up the lattice work and onto the roof of my house (oops). They flowered, they grew squash, and I was able to harvest almost 20 pieces which worked out to be like 60 sponge pieces. I was so excited! But I missed an important step and they rotted while they were drying out.
But I am determined to be a plant person! So this year, in addition to purchasing flowers (which have stopped flowering because they seeded while I was on vacation) and two lovely plants I was gifted, I decided to plant some blue “forget-me-nots” which were a gift from a former church member. Well, I put the seeds in the pot and a few of them sprouted and I was happy, but skeptical. They grew and grew and were beginning to take over the pot! I kept watering them and then realized that something wasn’t right, and that what was growing looked awfully familiar… like something from the grocery store.
There is a “forget-me-not” in the pot, but it is mostly cabbage! Turns out that somehow, there was a different kind of seed mixed into my packet or some birds decided to assist me. It got me thinking to our exploration a few weeks ago during worship about how God answers prayers in unexpected ways…
Scripture talks a lot about planting, sowing, and harvesting. Jesus talks about spreading the gospel in these terms, how some people will hear and be transformed and others will take some time (Mark 4). Paul talks about planting seeds of faith and letting others water them so that God can grow in the hearts of others (1 Corinthians 3). Sometimes, we are the planter. Sometimes, we are the waterer. Sometimes, we do both. And sometimes that seed that we planted shows up in ways we did not expect.
God the Creator spoke, and the world as we know it came to be. God is the one who does all the growing here. There are times when we plant a seed to get someone to come to church and they go somewhere else. There are times when we plant a seed to talk about Jesus and they wind up talking to someone else. There are times when we plant a seed and see nothing at all.
I can think of a few times when I have said something from the pulpit, expecting a certain response from those listening, and they hear something entirely different than what I was trying to say! It happens, and it is going to happen because God works in ways that we cannot fathom.
I wonder where you have seen God work in strange and unusual ways in your life?
Comment your thoughts below!
Blessings friends,
Pastor Nicole