Plant a Seed
- Abbey Parsley
- Aug 19, 2024
- 3 min read
“I forget to go to God about my husband, talk to Him about the state of my marriage, and boy does it show!”
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 NIV
I have a little garden I tend to. It is quaint and charming, with raised beds and a white gate. My fur babes join me while I’m gardening, which creates an atmosphere of coziness. It’s become quite a happy, peaceful place for me as I watch things I placed there myself thrive and grow. Often, I talk to God there in that place that He also thrives in, well, because these are His creations.
Each spring I start small, tiny, plants, some of which don’t look like they’ll survive. I get choosy as I shop for what I want to flourish here because it’s important to me. I choose things that my family loves (not wanting anything to go to waste) and plants that are practical. I research what plants do well together to best suit the garden as a whole so that one part isn’t flourishing while another part dies away. After all, not all good things are meant to be together, for each other. This garden has to be loved by being watered, fertilized, weeded, tended.
But occasionally, I get busy. I get distracted. I get overwhelmed. The importance of it and care get put on the back burner. And the garden gets neglected. Things take over, weeds grow, stabilizers get knocked over, bugs infiltrate. I don’t spend as much time there talking to God.
And this is marriage, right? I work so hard to pick out what I allow to “go into” my marriage, who I allow to influence it, what I do to care for it. I get choosy about how to “fertilize it”. Like gardens, marriages also need to be loved by being tended to.
But, then… I get tired, I get busy, I forget who’s team I’m on. I forget to go to God about my husband, talk to Him about the state of my marriage, and boy does it show! We plant, we tend, we water, but we need God to make it grow. Outside things will distract us.
And I just love that my kids see this all. They see the seeds of a healthy marriage planted. They see that we go to God when we argue (gasp, yes, we argue).
Whew, the whole lot of it – planting a healthy marriage seed with God, allowing Him to “tend”, watching what He does, the kids watching what He does – it’s all so beautiful amiright?
Action Steps:
Today do something in your spouse or significant others’ love language. Something that makes them perk with joy.
Ask God how you can help tend. After all, if we don’t do our part, then how does this whole thing flourish?
Prayer: Whew, Father! When the days are weary, and we feel like things we’ve “planted” aren’t growing, give us a glimpse of what’s to come. Just a glimmer will do. Because hope can ride on just a planted seed by trusting You, by remembering what You’ve done in the past. Thank You for the people, with all their imperfections (me included), that are in our lives to help us flourish along the way. Amen.
Written by Abbey, a green thumb wannabe