A well watered garden grows by leaps and bounds. If we take care of our garden faithfully and keep it watered along with fertilizing it, our flowers, vegetables, bushes and trees flourish with life. If we don't tend to our garden, it will become barren and die. I love my flower garden, I love flowers. They brighten my day and lift my spirits. There is something about flowers. Maybe it's their vivid colors or their fragrance, maybe it's the combination of both those ingredients that brings a smile to my face, I'm not sure but flowers and a well watered garden just speak life. On the other hand a garden that has been neglected, never watered, never fertilized and never weeded, speaks death. The hard, cracked clay in an unattended garden says "No one cares about me."
We are gardens. When we are complimented and encouraged, we flourish with life. The fruit, the flowers we produce when we are well watered, are magnified and they multiply like a wild fire. We all need to know that we are important to someone. We all need to know we are cherished and special. We all need to hear compliments and encouragement from others. Yes we can get a lot from the Bible, but we also need it from other human beings. There are so many times that God lifts us up with His words, but it is also nice to hear it from family and friends. The sad thing is that we just take for granted that people know how we feel about them. We take them for granted assuming they will be there tomorrow. We always make sure we correct someone when they're wrong, but do we tell them when they are doing right?
Yesterday a man at our church buried his wife. She was not old by any means, but she had battled cancer and finally lost the battle and her life. I'm sure he does not think of the corrections he should have told her about, or the things that she did that drove him crazy. I'm sure he doesn't think about all the times she should have done this or should have done that. I'm sure he doesn't think about the why she seemed so sad at times, after all she should have been happy. No, those things are not running through his mind. His thoughts are probably filled with all the memories and all the compliments he was able to give her in her last few days. I am sure he watered the garden of his wife's heart, because he knew she was dying.
If we knew that today was going to be the last day on earth for one of our loved ones, would we change the way we talk to them? Would we change the way we treat them? Would we water their garden with compliments and encouragements? Or would we point out all the issues and problems we have with them? Would we shut off the TV and spend time with them? Would we just sit and listen with open ears and open hearts? Or would we just sit and complain about the way they are acting? Would we say "I'm sorry if I hurt you." Or would we blame them for what happened? I don't know about you guys and gals, but I am tired of finding fault with others. I am tired of seeing what is wrong with others. I want to be a master gardener who takes care of the gardens of other peoples spirits.
Isaiah 58:11 (AMP) And
the Lord shall guide you continually and satisfy you in drought and in
dry places and make strong your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden
and like a spring of water whose waters fail not.
People fail us. God never will! He waters our gardens with water that is everlasting. His water will never run dry and our garden will always flourish when God is our gardener. His words lift us up and encourage us when others do not. The fruit from my garden multiples and magnifies my God, not me! The fragrant beauty of a flower from my garden brings joy and peace to a troubled world, or at least I hope so. Listen, God is always the master gardener who tends to our gardens, if we allow Him, but it's always nice to have our gardens watered by our loved ones also. So don't take for granted that someone will be there tomorrow, tell them today how important they are to you. Let them know how special they are and continue treating them the way Jesus treats you!
May we all learn to become master gardeners who water and tend to the gardens of others. may we never take others for granted and may we stop waiting for tomorrow to tell people how much they mean to us, in Jesus name I pray, amen!
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