Joy!

I want you to consider a moment this line to the old hymn:

"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above."

I had never seriously considered this prose to be of much significance in my daily life, that is, until I started gardening...

...See the whole point of gardening is to get a plant to flower. If you want any sort of fruit, any beautiful display for a centerpiece, any realized reward for your efforts, you must entice the blooms from each plant to reveal themselves. (Of course this does not necessarily hold true in the case of herbs or root vegetables like potatoes or carrots, but bear with me). In order for this to occur however, the conditions have to be perfect. Everything I have been doing thus far in the garden at camp: giving the plants enough water, the right amount of sunlight, ensuring the provision of nutrients and soil, all has been for the flower.

When a new blossom shows up, there is the excitement of potential. What will this flower become? Will the stems on the asters be long enough for a vase? Who knew an eggplant's flower was so beautiful? And when a flower dies without being pollinated or cut in time, there is a sense of disappointment, of something lost.

All this to say...God is freaking awesome! Think about that line again:

"Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above."

Yaweh is the glorious sunlight. Jesus is the nutrients and the Living Water for our souls. The Father is the constant gardener, always trying to evoke our hearts to bloom to Him so that He can pollinate our hearts, thus bringing completeness and fruit by way of His Holy Spirit.

I think of my failures as a gardener: the irrigation system is inadequate, the tomatoes won't pollinate, the zulu prince daisies never really worked out. Then I remember that the LORD is the perfect gardener. I take great comfort in that. It makes me want to stretch open the petals of my soul to Him even further. I want to be completely presented to Him so that He can romance me and transform me into something greater. Amen.