Our Urban Garden: The Water of the Word

 

                      Late yesterday afternoon, I noticed the lush bright pink flowers on my hydrangea plant had dropped considerably. Thinking that perhaps the flower head had reached its full life expectancy, I didn’t think too much about it. However, later in the evening, the entire bush had shriveled. The leaves were wilted, the flowers droopy, and the entire bush looked weak and sick. I then noticed the other hydrangea bush was starting to show some of the same signs of weariness. At this point, I was concerned about my new little “babies,” so Jeff and I took them inside for some extra care.

          We spent half an hour researching problem care for container hydrangeas and couldn’t quite figure out what had made them so sick. The day was chilly, but the air wasn’t too frigid to kill them. There was plenty of sunshine on the balcony, and they had just gotten a showering of water from the rainstorm on Saturday. What was the problem?

          During our reading, both Jeff and I discovered that hydrangeas are extra thirsty plants. I’ve been a little wary to overwater my plants, because books and experts alike have warned me that many houseplants die from overwatering as much as under-watering. But when I looked at the pictures in my gardening manual depicting an under-watered plant, I saw the same overall withered look in my hydrangeas. After finger testing the soil, I decided that maybe my hydrangeas needed some extra water after all. So, for better or worse, I took my pink spritz bottle, filled it up, and gently watered the soil of my sad hydrangeas. For extra measure, I even spritzed some of the leaves in hopes of reviving these poor bushes that so bravely entered the home of a newbie gardener.

          To my surprise, when I woke up this morning, my pink hydrangeas had revived completely! The flower heads were tall and stately, their soft pink petals alive and perky. The leaves had unfurled, and the bush had an overall healthy, vibrant appearance. Imagine, all that life came back with just a little bit of water!
 

          As I was pondering this miracle of life, I was reminded of the necessity of water in our own spiritual lives. Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

          Many times in scripture, the Word is symbolized as water. And just like my hydrangea plants, if we don’t adequately water ourselves with the water of the Word, we will shrivel and die. The Word is our strength, our cleansing agent, our food, and our sustenance. Without it, we cannot grow, we cannot produce fruit, we lose our luster and brilliance, and we shrink back from living in our full potential. The Word is the power source behind every brilliant, steadfast Christian!

          Sadly, many Christians take for granted the watering process of the Word. We think if we hear the Word once or even twice that we are guaranteed to grow and produce fruit. But that is not the case. Like all living things, we need constant and continual watering.

          For the past several months, I have been meditating on the power, authority, and value of God’s Word. During this time, my love of God’s Word has been rekindled into a burning fire. I have rediscovered a grateful reverence for my Bible and have awakened a deep desire for the feeding of the Word. And in this time of reflection, study, thinking, probing, and meditating, my spiritual life has taken on a whole new growth pattern. My leaves are shiny and bright, my fruit is strong and beautiful, and my life is strong and upright. The Word has rejuvenated me, brought me life, and stimulated new growth. I am different because of the watering of the Word!

          Sometime last fall, as I was studying on the benefits of staying in the Word, I came across a text book we had read while in Bible school at Rhema, called How to Study the Word: Taking the Bible from the Pages to the Heart by Terry Lawson. I began incorporating that book into my own devotional time and was inspired by the multitude of scriptures listed that dealt with the topic of God’s Word. It’s phenomenal how much God’s Word speaks about itself!

          From this renewed appreciation and pursuit of God’s Word, I’ve changed some priorities in my life. I don’t see things the same way as I did a year ago, nor do I think the same way. Why? Because I’ve grabbed a hold of the Word of God with every ounce of my being. I’ve always been a student of the Word, and I’ve always cherished my daily devotional times. Now more so than ever, I am hungry for the life in the Word. I desire it, I long for it, I need it. Just like my pink hydrangeas, I am tall and sprightly because of the water of the Word.

          The Psalmist wrote: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:2-3). In the book of Joshua, God gave the following instructions to His children: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8) In both scriptures, success came as a result of meditating in God’s Word.

          In John 15, Jesus even talked about the importance of a branch continually abiding in the Vine. And guess what? He said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). The secret to a prevailing prayer life and a successful Christian walk is found in the faithful hearing and daily application of God’s Word.

          Let me leave you with a few additional insights from Psalm 119. As you may recall, Psalm 119 is almost entirely dedicated to honoring God’s Word. If you haven’t read it in a while, I encourage you to go back through that chapter and see for yourself how awesome God’s Word really is! In this chapter, we find a plethora of benefits of spending time in God’s Word:

• God’s blessing is upon us if we observe and do His Word (verse 1-5)
• Treasuring God’s Word in our hearts keeps us from sin (verse 9-11)

• God’s Word gives us counsel (verse 24)
• Spending time in God’s Word produces reverence for God (verse 38)
• God’s Word keeps us from shame (verse 46)
• God’s Word comforts and revives us (verse 50)
• God’s Word causes us to give thanks (verse 61-62)
• God’s Word teaches us discernment and knowledge (verse 66)
• God’s Word preserves us from destruction (verse 87)
• God’s Word keeps us spiritually recharged (verse 93)
• God’s Word gives us wisdom and understanding (verse 88-100)
• God’s Word gives joy to our hearts (verse 111)
• God’s Word sustains us and gives us life (verse 116)
• God’s Word keeps sin from having dominion over us (verse 133)
• God’s Word is our delight in the face of trouble (verse 143)
• God’s Word pleads our cause and rescues us (verse 153-154)
• God’s Word fills us with peace and keeps us from stumbling (verse 165)
• God’s Word brings us back when we stray (verse 176)

        
      If you are feeling a little discouraged or dull, I encourage you to take a spiritual bubble bath. Soak in God’s Word, and let the faucet of the supernatural, life-transforming power in God’s Word run its rejuvenating water all over you. If you’re weary, anxious, sad, and troubled, go get your Bible and start reading God’s promises to you. If you’re facing trouble, or if you need wisdom on how to deal with family or marriage situations, God’s Word has the counsel you need! If you’re tempted to sin, if you’re stressed on the job, if you’re worried about tomorrow, go soak in God’s Word.

God’s Word has the ability to revive you, the truth to correct you, and the wisdom to guide you. And even when you think you’ve already had enough Bible time, go back and soak some more. God’s Word is your secret to life!

 

Our Urban Garden: The Birth of a New Adventure

 

      About six weeks ago, my husband and I ventured into the whole new world of gardening. I’ve never grown anything green by myself, and I always reticently agreed to housesitting my friends’ plants. God forbid, anything should die at my hand! But as newlywed bliss settled over our souls, the nurturing aspect of life kicked into high gear. Maybe we are preparing for parenthood, maybe spring is calling to our hearts, or maybe we just needed a new little adventure in life. Or perhaps, our new love was so plenteous and bountiful that it needed a joint expression of its overflowing joy. Whatever the reason behind this new endeavor, we launched full-force into gardening.

          As a missionary kid, I was exposed to some of Europe’s most beautiful gardens and flowers: the lush rose trellis in our neighbors’ yards, the austere jardin at the Chateau de Versailles, the ancient Lombardy poplars along the French country roads, and the blazing yellow mustard bushes in the nearby fields. It seemed almost every French person I met was born with a green thumb. While all our neighbors grew a gorgeous assortment of roses and lavender, our little American backyard was sadly lacking in spring array…except for a tiny handful of dainty yellow daffodils that grew every spring. We assumed the previous tenant had planted them, and they faithfully, albeit mysteriously, appeared every year we lived in that house.

          When we lived in Sweden, half the year was buried in an avalanche of snow from about October to May. But when spring finally came, so did the pretty little flowers. In fact, I remember walking to a neighborhood market about a mile away from our house and often bringing home a fresh bouquet of flowers just to remind myself that spring was near.

          Years later when I moved to Tulsa to attend Oral Roberts University, I fell deeply in love with the Prayer Gardens, a romance with nature that still lingers today. In fact, there’s no place of outdoor solace I’d rather be in than the ORU Prayer Gardens. The multitude of colorful flowers, the hovering canopy of strong trees, and the lush Elephant Ears guarding the Prayer Tower doors create the most amazing peaceful effect. Combined with the constant peace lingering on the campus and the soft trickle of water fountains, the gardens really are a solace for the soul. To this day, if ever I am need of a quiet place to pray or reflect, I immediately head over to the Prayer Gardens. It is my favorite place in the whole wide world!

          This love of flowers, once born from a missionary girl’s heart, continued to grow all through my single years in my 20s and 30s. Not married until age 32 and never a huge advocate of dating, I didn’t have a special someone to bring me flowers for no reason. So, I began a tradition of occasionally buying myself flowers…just because. The bouquets were inexpensive and didn’t last long, but they brought simple joy to my heart during their week of life in my home. And now with a wonderful husband in my life, I enjoy the special bouquets he often brings home as a surprise. (Life is pretty grand with a husband, I admit!)

          Despite this lovely appreciation of flowers, bouquets, and gardens, I’ve not yet attempted to grow anything from seed, bulb, or pot in all my 33 years. So when Jeff and I embarked upon this new journey, it began as an experiment and a learning process. Through the last six weeks, this endeavor has blossomed into a full-blown obsession, nature adventure, and a deeply spiritually enriching lesson.

We began our little venture with a few lily bulbs and a couple containers. As our curiosity grew, so did our purchasing weakness. Added to the collection were a variety of lilies, calla lilies, dahlias, a purple clematis, a yellow Carolina Jessamine, and two other exotic looking plants with gorgeous green leaves. We’ve endeavored to maintain a color scheme of pink, orange, yellow, and purple and have organized our plants in color-matching or neutral pots around our balcony. Since we live in an upstairs apartment, we call this “urban gardening,” our own terminology used to describe the more accurate term “container gardening.” I’ve lost count how many containers are now out on our balcony--the number is quickly approaching 30, give or take a pot.

    The potting process was an additional experiment to the gardening adventure. Most retailers sell pretty little pots at a pretty little penny, so Jeff and I opted for the ugly orange terracotta pots, which we brilliantly decided to paint ivory or purple. The painting idea turned out to be a smart way to provide a beautiful container at low cost. (Now we just have to figure out how to remove the paint spots from our balcony floor!)

Since most of our flowers are just now beginning to show tiny sprouts above the soil, I decided we needed to add some full blossoms to our seedling garden. So on Thursday, I took a little break from writing and headed to the Southwood Nursery on 91^st and Lewis to purchase a couple brightly colored gerbera daisies.

I’ve always loved gerbera daisies, but since June of last year, these big blossoms have taken on a special significance for me as they were my wedding flower. In fact, the wedding detail I remember most from our June 23^rd wedding is my bouquet of turquoise hydrangeas and orange and pink gerbera daisies. Amidst all the blur, activity, people, emotions, and life-altering moments, I vividly recall the happiness personified by my wedding bouquet. Gerbera daisies are such fun, happy little flowers, don’t you think?

To my heightened delight, I not only found a lovely group of brightly colored daisies last week at the nursery, but I even found them in orange and pink, our wedding colors. Giddy with excitement, I grabbed six of the happy little flowers and put them in my shopping basket. But oh, the beauty of spring that surrounded me at that moment, calling to me, beckoning me, luring me into the bounty of the greenhouse! All around were pink petunias, purple and yellow pansies, orange impatients, vivid orange and red bromeliads, soft pink geraniums, blue hydrangeas, white lilies, and an assortment of green plants, succulents, vines, and ivies. Overcome with spring fever, my newly found obsession kicked into high gear. I walked out of the store with my six gerbera daisies, two pink hydrangeas, a salmon colored geranium, a hot pink geranium, and a hanging basket of lovely tangerine impatients.

 

          Being the sweet husband that he is, Jeff was ever so patient and understanding when he arrived home and saw the balcony decked out in eleven new flower plants! Over the weekend, we made a trip to Garden Ridge to pick out some more containers for the new members of our urban garden. Deciding to break away from the terracotta method, we opted for some round purple porcelain containers for the hydrangeas and several decorated tin containers for the others.

During our research on gardening, we’ve discovered that all potted flowers must have a good drainage system. So if a pot doesn’t have holes in the bottom, we drill the holes ourselves. Apparently, the drainage holes allow the water to properly escape the soil, thus preventing root-rot.

After repotting our plants and buying some additional plant stands, we are beginning to see the lovely rewards of our hard work and patience. Almost every bulb we planted has exhibited at least some sign of growth, while the previously blooming flowers are continuing to blossom. What an exciting adventure for a newly married couple!

On the warmer afternoons, I’ve enjoyed sitting on my balcony drinking a cappuccino and working on freelance projects while soaking in the elegance of our infant urban garden. I may not hear the eloquent strands of French or the sing-song cacophony of Swedish, but I am living in the midst of my own personal Prayer Garden, right outside my own front door.