May 26th, 2007
My Green Thumb
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
If you know me you know that I love trying new things, having new experiences and challenging myself. Unfortunately, when I challenge myself I often come in last! LOL This year I thought I would expand my gardening skills (that started out at near zero!) and begin tomato and cucumber seeds indoors. Wanting to expand my children’s gardening knowledge (which also began at near zero), I let them each choose one type of seed to plant. One chose watermelon, one pumpkin and one carrots. Well, all of the watermelon plants died indoors, but some pumpkin survived. So, yesterday we went outside and planted our cucumber, tomato and pumpkin plants. Last week we planted new watermelon seeds, carrots, beans and sugar snaps. Want today’s update?
The pumpkin looks pathetic, the cucumbers are shrunk and some of the tomato plants have died. None of the seeds have come up, but plenty of grass sprouted up where we had planted the seeds. AHHHH!!!
I am laughing!! I guess some have green thumbs. Some thumbs are probably some shade of blue or yellow. Mine is definitely bright red – absolutely no possibility of ever becoming green!!
I am so glad God has a bright green thumb. Today I read the illustration Jesus gives of Him as the vine and we as the branches. He even compares God the Father to a gardener. As a gardener, he cuts away the dead branches that do not bear fruit and prunes those that do bear fruit so their productivity increases. So, how does a branch die? It is severed from the vine. In fact, a branch that assumes it can survive without the vine fools itself as each branch needs the nutrients from the vine to flourish. That should challenge us.
How often do we ask God to guide our actions and thoughts throughout the day? Remember: He is the vine, the support, the sustainer. It is so easy to make decisions, talk with friends and even go to the store without admitting our connection to the vine. When we live life as though we are independent, slowly we break the ties with our support. Remember: He is the vine, the support, the sustainer. As we take pride in our own accomplishments and forget that all talent and opportunities come from God, we rip ourselves away from our sustainer. Remember: He is the vine, the support, the sustainer.
Isn’t it wise for the branches to cling to the vine, realizing that without that strong dependable stem there is no support or sustenance? Wouldn’t it also be wise for the branches to put themselves under the Master Gardener’s loving care? I said I like to challenge myself. Perhaps a good challenge for each of us is to make a goal of living today like we are a branch connected to The Vine. Every thought, every action, every opportunity that comes up today we pray about, realizing that we ARE dependent on the support and sustenance of God. And I’m not just talking about the big decisions. Let’s thank God for the money to buy that spaghetti at the store, ask God if there is a specific route you should take while walking the dog, pray for wisdom as you open each piece of mail. Admit to God that we are dependant upon him for everything. Now that’s a challenge!