A devotional for women:
Lessons from a Garden
Recently I’ve been enjoying watching the garden on the
south side of the parking lot at Grace Church. Spring is always such an encouraging time as the early
flowers bloom and the leaves come out, covering the world with a blanket of
green dotted with color. My
garden watching brought to mind a day last fall when our Women in the
Church group held a work day to weed the garden and plant the bulbs. We are a small church and our
members lead busy lives so only four women had time to come. What a sorry group we were! Kay was there. She suffers from serious
asthma. Woman number one - bad
lungs. Kathy was there. She was recovering from a viral
infection that attacked her heart muscle. Woman number two - bad heart. Janet was there.
She suffers from type 1 diabetes. Woman number three - bad pancreas. I was there. My knees barely work and I’ve had
back surgery. Woman number
four - bad bones. The four of
us together barely made one person!
In spite of our deficiencies though, we made great progress getting
the weeds under control (and had quite a bit of fun doing it). If any of us had been there alone
we would have given up long before the task was complete. I am frequently reminded that God
did not create us to be “Lone Ranger Christians”. We are meant to function as a community and each one of
us is an important part of that community. Our roles are not all the same but they are all
important. We should find
strength and encouragement as together we serve our loving God using the
gifts he has given us. Don’t
shortchange yourself by trying to do everything yourself. Don’t shortchange the Church by
keeping your gifts at home! I
love these verses from Ecclesiastes 4: “Also, if two lie down together,
they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be
overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not
quickly broken.” We are
stronger together than we are alone.
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he
who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another
on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some
are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the
more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV
m 2008
Patty Wheeler
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