During dark rainy winter days the garden sits waiting. Waiting. A lot of life is used up and spent waiting. Waiting to grow up, waiting for a husband or a baby, waiting for a package or letter, waiting for the red light to change, waiting, waiting, waiting. I remember one of the main things I learned in college was how to wait in lines. Waiting in grocery lines. Waiting at the doctor’s office.
I love spending time in my cottage. I’m learning watercolor painting and it is fun learning to paint along with our cherubs. Painting flowers and gardens is another way to enjoy gardening. I also wait for spring to arrive as I study seed and garden catalogs. You can even see Emmy, our dog, waiting at the window. Waiting is a faith venture. God assures us in Genesis 8:22 that “as long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Although I am waiting for spring, I count on God’s Word that He will bring each season in time. Isaiah 40:31 has a wonderful word picture. “But they that WAIT upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The Hebrew root meaning for the word “wait” is that of twisting or winding a strand of cord or rope. It sounds like braiding some cord together. What cords are being braided? As I wait I am being bound together with my Lord. We are entwined together in a way that cannot be broken. This kind of waiting is totally different, one that makes it a cherished experience with God.
The cherubs helped me plant some peas and sweet peas the other day. More waiting as we anticipate crunchy peas to eat and smell the sweetness of the flowers. We will sing praises to God when we see the tiny seedlings pop out of the ground. God gives us so many things to wait for. Let’s not waste waiting. Let’s use waiting to experience the presence of Jesus.
K.C.
