Beauty in the Midst of Chaos

I spent several hours the other day sitting on the floor placing teeny weeny seeds into egg cartons filled with soil.  I have been harvesting my own seeds the past few years.  Some don’t do a thing, while others sprout into incredibly vivacious plants.  Some of the seeds were so tiny, they felt more like dust particles, while others were big and chunky, unmistakably a seed.  Once this task was complete, my husband helped me carry them all out into my greenhouse.  There they will receive warm sunshine and a sprinkle of water each day.  I will walk out each morning in hopes of seeing a tidbit of green popping up through the soil.  For those who pop well, they will later be transplanted either up at our farm or over in Marshall at our new home.  Each will be eagerly anticipated and adored, nurtured and cared for.  And for what end?  Beauty.  Sheer beauty.  I am not planting any vegetables this year.  Every seed, every sprout, every journey will be taken by a plant that will eventually flower for no other reason than to add beauty to my life and others’. 

I am reading a book right now in preparation for our denomination’s Annual Conference.  It is titled “Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results” by Lovett H. Weems Jr. and Tom Berlin.  Mr. Weems will be speaking at our conference, so the book with give each of us a preview of what is to come.  It talks about the importance of bearing fruit and being fruitful, for the sake of Christ and the world.  Rather than maintaining or surviving as a church, the authors challenge us to be a church that transforms lives.  In so doing, the entire world can be transformed.  The reality is, transformation doesn’t happen all willy-nilly.  It is planned, prepared, and worked toward. 

I was thinking the same thing about my flowers.  With the crazy few months we have ahead of us, couldn’t I just toss the seeds into the ground and hope for the best?  Or now that I do have the seeds all sown, can I just leave them outside and let nature takes its course?  The answer is simple.  Sure, if I am willing to accept the outcome.  Tossed seeds will likely be blown away, eaten by birds, or will simply shrivel and die before ever taking root.  And seeds placed outdoors right now will likely do a bunch of nothing.  It’s still too cold out to assure any germination and rain will either come in buckets or won’t come at all.  Consistency of temperature or moisture will surely be hit or miss.  If beauty in the midst of chaos is something I am not willing to live without, then this farm girl has some work to do.

Fruitfulness is a result of consistent, educated care.  You have to know what to do before you know how often to do it.  I have found the temps in my greenhouse, especially on sun filled days, can reach a scorching heat if I miss even one morning of watering.  And the reality is there are evenings I must water again.  If I haphazardly meander in and out of these plants lives, the reality is, well… they probably are not going to make it.  Now, I also am not God.  I can’t save a one of them and I surely cannot determine which will bear fruit and which will not.  But I can be sure that if I do my part, the rest will be in God’s hands. 

It’s no wonder Jesus used so many agricultural metaphors in scripture.  People surely resemble plants and vice versa.  If your church isn’t growing, if the people in your church don’t seem to be living fruitful lives outside of the church walls, then you may have to look at yourself.  Are you watering others regularly?  Are you staying near enough to help protect when the scorching heat attempts to burn them until they fold in half in a parched wilt?  Do you check their soil and add a little fertilizer from time to time when they are empty and used up?  Because if not, it is no wonder the church isn’t growing, or is even dwindling.  Bearing fruit takes work… but oh the results!  There’s nothing like the first zinnia that opens or a tall grass that sways in the summer breeze.  The smell of marigolds tickle the hairs in my nose and mini Japanese Iris’ always bring a smile to my face.  And don’t even get me started on those people at church I’ve been trying to nurture… talk about beautiful!