Singing in the Garden

 "The LORD thy God...will rejoice over thee with joy...

he will joy over thee with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17 

I hear singing among the leaves in the garden.

Cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, okra, fresh herbs and flowers...oh! how I love the sights and smells of things growing.

Every morning, I meander outside onto my back porch to have a walk-about through my "pot garden". Before you shake your head in disgust, let me clarify: I don't like to get "dirty" more than I have to and I don't like to worry about snakes or other critters, so I am the proud keeper of a thriving container garden...right outside my back door.

As I begin to water each day, I think along these lines: I know that pepper plants don't need as much water as cucumbers do. I water accordingly. I'm also aware that each container needs to be situated so that it gets the correct amount of sunlight to thrive. There are so many variable when it comes to different plants...it's more than just air, sunlight and water. Some plants are more prone to disease than others.There are many details to take into account.

As I'm walking around, taking it all in, I often think about how God knows every detail about us. Yes, we're all humans, but we each have our own characteristics, personalities, talents, strengths and weaknesses. He knows each of us in a detailed way! 

He knows what makes us tick. He knows how many strands of hair we left behind in our hair brush this morning. He keeps inventory of the number of hairs on our head. Imagine that! Isn't it glorious to know that we're so well-looked after? I mean, do you keep up with how many hairs are on your head? I don't think about it much. (OK, maybe I did start counting when the "grays" started poking through...until I lost count.)

I get so excited when I finally get to snip a cucumber or perhaps a sprig of basil from my garden to add to a recipe. It's amazing to watch new blooms and shoots form and then blossom into mature herbs or veggies. I love it when I'm able to help revive a dying plant or recognize a pesky problem before it's too late. What delight!

I stop. I wonder how excited God must get when He sees something growing within us as we walk daily with Him? Does He smile when we overcome a bad habit, or maybe we extend a bit of extra grace to someone when we'd normally fly off the handle? My friend, I don't imagine He misses a thing. He's aware of our every move. That is amazing.

While I'm working with my garden, I often find myself singing or humming. To me, gardening is good therapy and a start to a great day. Isn't it wonderful that God has given us the opportunity to experience the feelings of rejoicing over something so simple? A plant. Growth. Maturity. I guess we kind of take after our Heavenly Father, don't we? 

Yes, He rejoices and sings over us...how's that for gardening extra-curricula? Let's all hum along together we gracefully grow into what He wants us to be. Thriving. Abundantly living. Lights - in a dark & evil world. Sing. Rejoice, something is growing~