The Moment of True Independence
Genesis 3:17-18 “Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall [a]bring forth for you,18 Both thorns and thistles it shall [a]bring forth for you, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow now is the day of salvation” (Proverbs 27:1)
Matthew 6:34 is “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Jeff and I have spent the Fourth of July weekend celebrating freedom and independence by submitting to the slavery of our garden. Jeff and I are excitedly looking to the future. His retirement approaches now in a measurable countdown way. Our future plan is to transition fully to Kingston and to sell our home in Green Bay. We have been spending more time, energy, and resources at Kingston "preparing the way." Our garden in Green Bay has suffered the sin of looking too heavily to the future. As I stooped/squatted and pulled out hundreds of raspberry plants (admittedly earlier this week, a precursor) I recalled my warning to Jeff years ago to perhaps not plant something that is so invasive. Ten quickly become twenty, twenty become forty, and years later they are everywhere. I pulled raspberries from under the apple tree, the path, the vegetable garden, the rose garden (which was more raspberry than rose), the main perennial beds, and even the front of the house. 😠 Jeff and I battled far worse thorns as we tackled the rugosa roses and their die back limbs. Jeff cut down the magnolia that did not return this year after 20 years of beauty. I cut down the sumac, oak, black walnut, and walking stick tree; all self seeded where I deemed them an eyesore. The remains of the daffodils were removed, the iris cut back, along with the early daisies. Don't even get me started on the sundrops even though I have indeed started on the sundrops (the lesson of the raspberry applies here, this time I am the guilty one). Jeff set to replacing 2/7 broken fence posts which gave me the opportunity to thank the Lord again for answering the prayers of a desperate disciple who prayed, arms outstretched, in the midst of a gathering storm to please spare the fence; we didn't have time to fix it yet. This morning I started my prayer time in the garden. I had been choosing to pray inside most of this year as the sight of my garden discouraged me and made me feel trapped. As I walk and pray in my garden with the Lord, He points out to me that I have been neglecting the present moment for the future moments. We must remember that our future, down to our next breath is simply a figment of our imagination, truly out of our hands. The future is in God's hands and no matter how we expend time, energy, and resources, we do not control it. While our future is in his hands,
“'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '” — Jeremiah 29:11
our ability to encounter the Lord and fully enter into His plans for us, lies in the present moment. Walking in my newly tended garden, my spirit blooms with the appreciation not of where I think I am heading, but the blessed moment of where I am. Being present to the present helps to release us from future slavery. This moment, with Him, is where true freedom and independence lie. The garden of our souls must be tended day by day. We do not have the luxury of kicking it down the road to tomorrow.
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
Now if you will excuse me, the untrimmed hedges and remaining sundrops beckon. May you live this Independence Day dependent upon the love and provision of the Father, Amen.