Hebrews 13:5

Hebrews 13:5 says, "God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

But sometimes as I work through the gardening, I have to remind myself of that. Even while I'm gardening, He's with me. And He will speak to me.

Recently in my gardening mode, I pondered how a particular relative hangs on to some long term resentment about my having "deserted" them. (I had moved from the area.) This event happened 30 years ago, and yet I'm the target of this person's recent outbursts; they are still judging my actions from when I was a young and reckless teenager!

Thank you God for Your grace: You give us what we don't deserve. You give us eternal life even as we bumble through this life, as we believe in Your Son. And thank you for Your mercy! You don't give us what we do deserve, when we've downright evil and selfish and actually deserve hell.

Then I realize that the human race doesn't behave like that; the opposite can often be true. Our human friends and loved ones might very well give us what we don't deserve, but in a bad way! They might give us grief when our actions really didn't justify that. We might by chance actually deserve some love and kindness, yet sometimes we don't get it. Ah, at least our Father in heaven gives us that.

But back to the gardening. So there I was, shoveling away, preparing the ground. After looking at a few plants that never looked quite right, I realized that one plant just didn't belong there. I transplanted it to an area where its colors complemented the other plants' colors (and vice versa). And I thought about God. I felt as if He Himself was telling me: You needed to be transplanted. Yes, you were a crazy, reckless teenager, but you needed to move from one place to another. If you'd stayed where you were, your natural colors would've continued to clash with the plants already rooted there. It would never be your proper home.

So I moved one plant and the whole garden came together. Sometimes some things have to move away. In the process, God told me, "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans for hope and a good future." (Jeremiah 29:11) Amen to that!