Reaping What We Sow

It's almost time to plant the garlic. I love growing garlic. In autumn, put a single clove about four inches into the ground and in late summer reap a whole bulb of garlic.

All I need is a small area of soil. Once planted, the clove grows by itself with no help from me.

Obviously, when I plant a clove of garlic, I won't reap potatoes or onions... I'll reap several cloves of garlic contained in one bulb.

Yesterday I received a prayer ministry manual from friends. At the very begining of the study it speaks of "reaping what we sow." When we sow goodness, "we set in motion forces" that cause goodness to grow and expand. If we sow evil thoughts or deeds, however, the result is evil. That is how God's laws work.

So today I am trying to be more aware of good thoughts I have about others, and of even very small things I do to "plant goodness" wherever I go.

I also know that there is no evil that is insignificant. Like the small clove of garlic that is planted in the soil and is hidden where no one sees it, it is growing. It is growing like the clove that naturally multiplies into several cloves. Even the smallest unkindness towards others has consequences.

Lord God,
Thank you for all of creation,
even for the smallest of garlic cloves
that multiply for harvest.
By your Holy Spirit
please inspire me to think good thoughts today.
Inspire me to do good works -
even a simple smile, kindness, respect, a prayer.
Please multiply all the goodness that I sow,
that your Kingdom come, your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven, for your glory.
Amen.

Put Down the Bucket

We have had a lot of rain, so much that our state has had major flooding. The ground is super-saturated. It was during this time that I was driving and I actually saw a woman with a hose who appeared to be watering her garden! I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

This reminds me of a teaching I heard about prayer - "put down the bucket."

The teaching was that growing in our relationship with God is like watering the garden. At first "the garden" may seem far away and it takes a lot of effort to tend to it. It's like we have to fill our bucket with water and and carry it all the way to water the garden. This means finding the time for prayer and being disciplined to being faithful to that time. We may use prayer books to read our prayers. We use inspirational books to guide our prayer. It means avoiding distractions to keep focused on the Lord. Prayer seems like work. But then...

we discover a stream of God's grace close to the garden. We dip our bucket into the stream and we do not have to carry the bucket quite so far. God seems so much closer to us. And then...

it begins to rain! We are in the garden and the rains come. It may be gentle, or it may be a downpour. We begin to experience the mercies, the favor, the blessings, the healing, the grace of being in God's divine presence. We experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We are refreshed. Let the rains come. It's time to put down the bucket and just be in God's presence soaking up all His love. However...

the drought may come again. It seems that the rain has stopped, the stream has dried up, and it takes a lot of effort to faithfully pick up that bucket to keep the garden watered. That's okay. It's the work of prayer. And the result is a healthy garden, a fruitful relationship with our Lord. His grace makes it possible.

free photo from Unsplash

O Lord, you are the faithful one. You are continually calling us to a closer relationship with you. Please keep us faithful in prayer, that we may grow in our relationship. Thank you for all of your mercies, favors, and blessings. Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen.