• Home
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • Authors
  • Write for Us
  • Forward Movement

Grow Christians

A community of disciples practicing faith at home

  • Parenting
  • Discipleship
  • Liturgical Year
  • Prayer
  • Archives
    • Seasons of the Year
      • Advent through Epiphany
      • Ash Wednesday, Lent & Holy Week
      • Easter & Pentecost
      • Ordinary Time
    • Seasons of Life
      • Childhood Years
      • Teen & Young Adult Years
      • Grandparenting & Godparenting
    • Saints and Feasts
      • Saints
      • Feasts
    • Discipleship
    • Making Faith Visible
    • Special Series
    • Grow Christians Updates & Giveaways
  • The Good Book Club
  • Holy Day Resources

It’s summer: time to watch for how God is growing me.

June 21, 2017 By Rachel Jones 2 Comments

But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of hosts. For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.  – Zechariah 8:11-13

Late spring/early summer is one of my favorite times of year. It’s also the time of year I struggle most with maintaining a reasonable pace and not over doing-it. There’s an urgency to wring the most out of every second of beautiful day I can, because I know that winter will be here before I know it. Our travel calendars are all set. And I’m hip-deep in deadline season at work.

And then I have to remember that this amazing season of summer isn’t meant to be consumed in giant bites and hungry gulps and rushed thanks offered before rushing off to the next oasis of rest or relaxation or recreation without really being fully present. Summer flies fast enough on her own, without our helping to go faster. Our job in summer, and anytime we are able to intentionally slow down and assess and rest, is to do just that. To be faithful to the habits of resting and relaxing and really seeing what is happening inside, around, and alongside us.

Each time I walk through the gate of our garden, I see something new. The tiny watermelon, the brave little spaghetti squash plant that has volunteered from somewhere in the compost pile, the first cobs forming on our corn plants, and the little fat carrots we are just beginning to harvest all remind me that time is real and its passage is always marked by growth. Some of that growth, we can almost see in real time. And other growth remains hidden to us until the right time comes for it to flower and fruit.

I know that I have to tend to the weeds in at least one bed a day, and not just blitz them all on the weekends, otherwise my back will scream at me for the whole next week. There just always seems to be something else to do, and it’s hard to focus on just one thing, because I don’t want to skip a bed and make a plant struggle. Struggling plants don’t produce well, and these plants mean literal food on our table. I have a vested interest in maintaining them. But I have to do it every day, for the good of the plants and the good of my body.

I think about this in terms of my heart, too. God knows the timing of my growth better than I do, and prunes and feeds me in ways that are beyond my understanding to keep me growing well. I have to tend the beds of my heart, and weed out the garbage that threatens the tender vines and leaves of my life that God has called to be fruitful. And as flower turns to fruit, I am learning to offer that first and most hard-fought harvest right back the One who has sowed the seed, whether the fruit being born is a calmer heart or the perfect tomato. Both are miracles that I am bearing witness to, and God is in the midst of both.

The prophets talk to us over and over in agricultural terms, giving us instructions for feasts and fasts for families and communities. Since we’ve been out on the farm for the last year, I have begun to understand them in a more dirt-under-my-fingernails way. Summer is so lush, so deep, and it is balm to our hearts. And in celebrating the fullness of it, we must guard against rushing through it, and instead let the long days help us stretch the time out, slow it down, and savor this sweet season with songs of praise and thanksgiving in our hearts. This is one of the ways we can partner with God in growing our hearts, our faiths, and our families. Thanks be to God for this beautiful time.

 


 

How do you see your own growth mirrored in growing things?

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Skype
  • Print

Related

Filed Under: Discipleship Tagged With: discipleship, garden, ordinary time, summer

About Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones loves Jesus, her husband, their respective families, barbecue, breakfast tacos, Bob Dylan, baseball, the Book of Jeremiah, trips to the beach, finding money in a jacket pocket, and snagging the shadiest parking spot in the lot—in that exact order. Rachel and Mr. Jones live in Cincinnati with three neurotic cats and a new kitten named Carrie Fisher. Rachel is the Associate Editor for Forward Movement. When she’s not working on Forward Day by Day, she’s usually looking for her car keys or putting up preserves, but should probably be updating her blog at https://makeshiftfarms.wordpress.com

Comments

  1. Carol Bolsover says

    June 23, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    Summer, and then harvest of autumn. The perfect time for Pentecost. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Judy Logue says

    July 15, 2017 at 11:07 am

    As the saying goes, I am closer to God in the garden than anywhere else on earth. He teaches me there.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Encouragement in your Inbox

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts.

Join 4,330 other subscribers

The Spy Series

Grow Christians is brought to you by Forward Movement, a ministry of The Episcopal Church that seeks to inspire disciples and empower evangelists. Follow on Facebook or Twitter.

Search:

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

  • Look Up
  • On the Feast of the Confession of Saint Peter, I notice his faith and his doubt.
  • That moment you realize the voice you’re hearing isn’t God – it’s Satan
  • A bright teen asked me to explain the Trinity. Here's what I said.
  • Thinking ahead to Pentecost: Five Ways to Celebrate

Copyright © 2021 — Forward Movement • All rights reserved.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.