Redemption

Winter is upon us. For us that means a lot of rain, a lot of mud, a lot of gray dreary days. Did I mention the mud? On a particularly warm and sunny day recently, I decided to get outside in the warmth of the sun and soak it up. I am not one for sitting when I’m outside, so I decided to tackle a much-neglected area: one of our vegetable garden plots. As one of my sons and I worked to pull up seemingly dead plants from the earth and to pull seemingly dead vines from the fencing, I was struck by the beauty of the brown and gray tones that I fail to notice from afar. I was also struck by the seeds we discovered. Did you know God Himself refers to His children, the nation of Israel, as seed, specifically when He spoke to Abraham.

Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” Genesis 22:17-18

I often look out the kitchen window and see a spent garden and I think there is nothing redeeming about it. But it struck me as I pulled up the plants and saw rich earth tumble out that the spent plants serve a purpose too. They help to restore the soil to a state fit for planting again in the spring. It struck me as I uprooted these dead plants that strong roots still remain months after the fruit has stopped being produced, and these roots clung tightly and held strong as we heaved and pulled the dead okra stalks from the earth and pulled cucumber vines from the ground and fencing. I recalled what God’s Word tells us about roots and seeds. And I realized most of all this garden that I saw as spent and done is full of hope and promise and LIFE still.