Lesson from My Garden

Do you enjoy gardening? When I lived in Quebec, I started growing vegetables in a tiny 4-square-meter garden. I planted carrots, zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes, and quickly realized that the carrots were too crowded!

So, I decided to uproot and replant them with more space... Big mistake! At harvest, the carrots were tiny and twisted.

God spoke to me a lot during my gardening.

The kingdom of God is organic. It grows like a plant. One fundamental thing I learned is PATIENCE.

Once a seed is planted, watered, and the ground is weeded, there's nothing more you can do to make it grow faster. Some actions, like when I replanted my carrots, can even be destructive.

One day, frustrated in prayer about the church's response to my teachings, the size of my ministry's fruits, and not knowing what more I could do to speed things up, I had a vision.

I saw a field with tiny green shoots emerging from the ground. The Lord showed me it was the beginning of what was growing in hearts. I had done what He asked, and He was growing His Word in hearts.

This reminded me of Jesus' parable about the kingdom of God: "He also said, 'This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself, the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it because the harvest has come.'" (Mark 4:26-29)

If you identify with my impatience, I'll explain tomorrow how I learned to manage my frustrations.

David Théry
Practical teachings to experience God.