Garden. What does that word bring to mind for you? Is your first thought about the work involved in planting, weeding, cultivating? Is it a weight hanging over you because time is short and the chores are plentiful?

Does the word bring you a sense of satisfaction as you envision your favorite vegetables standing tall and shining in the sun, fruit hanging from every limb of the tree? Perhaps it stirs you to breathe in the aroma and observe the beauty of the flowers and butterflies as a warm gentle breeze tickles the petals.

If you’ve ever had a garden, you know the first thing to do is work the soil. Then plant seed, and water with nutrients if you want bigger crops. Things begin to grow, new life pops up out of the dirt. Along with the seed you planted weeds burst through sometimes growing better than the good seed. But weeds are a part of gardening, so you continue to prune and water until harvest time.

Did you know that God loves to garden? “ADONAI [the Lord], God, planted a garden toward the east, in `Eden, and there he put the person he had formed.” (Genesis 2:8) But, He didn’t stop with putting the man in the garden, He also placed a garden in the man and called it a heart. He is constantly turning over land and planting new seed. He knows exactly how to fertilize each plant and uses His willing workers to help get the job done. He waters from pure living streams and sometimes storm-clouds to strengthen resistance and clean the bugs off the plants. He prunes them and watches them grow.

In the still of the evening and the dew of the morning, He walks through the garden with joyful anticipation of the harvest. He pictures the garden already finished, lush and overflowing, regardless of what it looks like to others. While many good plants may be hidden by weeds, God sees and knows each one. He knows exactly how much sun, water, fertilizer and time each plant will need and he patiently provides for it.