The Good Gardener

I have a confession. I have a brown thumb, not a green thumb. My gardening skills are never wildly successful, and my poor flowers tend to meet an untimely demise. I joke with my husband that I’m grateful my ability to keep our children healthy and thriving has no correlation to my ability to grow green things. My poor flowers. They really do deserve better.

Lately, I have discovered a newfound interest in attempting to grow herbs. I’m a few weeks in and probably not completely in the right planting season. But my mint and basil are still growing strong. (I’m pretty sure this must mean they are just hearty plants more than any reflection on my skills.)

As I was filling pots with soil and pouring seeds into the dirt, my five-year-old son wandered over to help. Sticky fingers, compliments of a melting popsicle, and his warm breath brushed the side of my face as he stood in wonder of the dirt and seeds. His little voice in my ear was asking questions and exclaiming how “little and tiny” those seeds are!

Yes, son. These basil seeds are so very tiny.

Why? Well, they are only seeds right now.

But hopefully, in a few weeks, we will see little green sprouts pushing out of this soil. And after that, little leaves will grow. And then maybe, just maybe, if mommy remembers to water them, little basil leaves will grow into bigger basil leaves. And we will actually have green plants in our pots!

My five-year-old’s sticky-fingered, tiny-voiced wonder made me pause. I looked at those tiny seeds cupped in my hand, and it brought my heart back to the faith that Jesus asks of us. “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed…” (Matt. 17:20 NIV).

A Tiny Faith

Our faith doesn’t have to be big and flashy. It doesn’t even have to be strong and mighty. Our faith can start out “little and tiny”. It can just be a seed.

And the most astounding news is that God promises to still use it. Not because of how big and grand our faith is, but because we place our faith in him. And he is FAITHful. Faithful to complete the salvation work, the faith, He has already started in us (Phil. 1:6).

The Good Gardener

Unlike us, God is the perfect Good Gardener. From Eden’s creation to the promised new heaven and new earth still to come, God is our faithful Creator, fully committed to growing a relationship with his most treasured creation: us.

When we sink the roots of our lives deep into abiding in God, the tiny seeds of faith we start with will grow. Our Good Gardener is faithful to grow our tiny seeds of faith. Faithful to nurture us with his Word, grow us with his body, strengthen us through the presence of his Spirit.

We are God’s forever. Not because our tiny seeds of faith are great, but because of God’s greatness towards us.

When we hand over our tiny seeds of faith to God, he promises to do what might seem impossible in our lives. Are there mountains that seem immovable in your life?  The fear of unknowns, provisions that need to be met, hurts that need healed?

Our lists can feel long and overwhelming, like immovable mountains we are afraid to climb. But we can trust in the One who created the mountains and stands high above them.

Our little seeds of faith, when placed in the hands of our faithful God, are never planted in vain. God himself will protect us, trim off all our ugly, sinful dead parts, and grow us strong and secure in Him (John 15:1-4). He is the Good Gardner committed to our growth.

Opportunity to Grow

With each day we sink deeper into his presence, we have the opportunity to let our seeds of faith grow.

As we pray, read his Word, and enter into worship, we will push up through the soil. Past the fear, the doubt, the sin that weighs us down. Those mountains will not feel so large anymore, because we trust the One who rules over them.

Our tiny seeds of faith will sprout. Leaves will start to grow. The more we are nourished and nurtured by our Good Gardner’s Word and presence, the bigger and stronger we will become.  “Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13, NIV).

Our seeds of faith may start little and tiny. But don’t be discouraged, friend. Instead, let wonder fill you when your faith is just a seed.

God is working in us. He is growing beautiful things out of the tiny seeds of faith we place in His loving hands.

Let’s sink the roots of our hearts and minds deep into him. Let’s allow him to change us and grow us into something beautiful we could never be on our own. God in his greatness will grow us strong and secure in him.

Our little seeds of faith grow big when we place them in the capable hands of our faithful Good Gardener God.

Beth Sickel is a simple pastor’s wife who is married to her best friend and called mama by her four favorite little people. When she’s not drinking coffee or hiking with her family, she’s trying new dishes in the kitchen or blogging about creating space for Jesus conversations in your heart and home. You can find her over at RoomforWonderful.com.

Photograph © Arūnas Naujokas, used with permission