Grow Your Faith by Shelley S. Cramm
Today’s guest blogger is Shelley S. Cramm, author of the devotions in the newly-released NIV God’s Word for Gardeners Bible, a suburban mom who has found the Word of God to be completely useful and practical in her everyday life—not to mention delightfully fun! Her background includes work in architectural and garden design, as well as involvement in local Bible study groups, Moms in Prayer and Moms of Preschoolers ministries. Inspiration to write a gardener’s Bible grew out of a routine of morning journaling and an enduring hope to finish up the laundry and get out to the garden. Shelley and her husband Topher have five children and live in Irving, Texas. For more information, go to www.gardenindelight.com .
From Bible beginnings in the Garden of Eden to the practice of daily tending our faith as a gardener gives his garden daily attention, gardening offers simple and practical metaphors for grasping the ways of God. I believe we have a marvelous opportunity to grow our faith as we grow our gardens; truly the Lord beckons us to understand him through our garden work. The following essay-excerpt draws a parallel between cultivating a garden and worshipping the Lord, thereby drawing us to deeper insight and His deep delight.
What is Cultivating? What is Worship?
He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate. Psalm 104:14
Read: Psalm 104:13 – 15
Fertilize with: Exodus 34:5 – 14; Luke 22:19; Colossians 3:22 – 23
What is cultivating, anyway? Everyone knows that gardeners cultivate their gardens, but what are they doing, exactly, when they are cultivating? In practice, it is not one action but a collection of actions, mostly anything working toward the best for the garden: Scratching the soil, usually, but also overturning the manure, stirring up leaf mold, watering plants, fertilizing, weeding, mulching, pruning, clipping, raking, deadheading, trimming, drenching out pests, remedying disease — and any other action one can categorize under the practice of “puttering in the garden.” It is whatever we do when we drift out to the yard intending to pinch back or pull a few for just five minutes, and return two and a half hours later.
And what is worship, anyway? What do the Scriptures mean when they tell of people worshiping the Lord (Exodus 34:8)? Herein lies one of the most poignant analogies in the overflowing basket of garden metaphors from God’s Word: Worship is not one action but a collection of actions, mostly anything that expresses honor and love for the Lord: Singing, usually, but also praying, reading, wondering, working, considering, writing, giving, praising his character, standing in awe, sitting in solitude to do any of these alone, gathering with others to do any of these together, serving, sacrificing, or any other action under the practice of responding gratefully, joyfully, reverently, humbly to God. It is whatever we do (Colossians 3:22 – 23) when we are remembering God (Luke 22:19), the greatness of his character, the righteousness that he stands for and the love that he has demonstrated— and moving, however meekly, toward him.
“What is worship? To worship means not to figure out, not to analyze, not to pin down like a dried butterfly on a grid, but to value. Deeply to value.”
— William Bryant Logan, Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, 199
There is a crazy love in cultivating, our hearts captivated by beautiful roses or whatever plants capture our fancy. Why did God make plants for us to cultivate? (Psalm 104:14). Perhaps so that we might gain a working knowledge of worship, understanding its value through the simple practices of our hands and heart.
Taken from NIV God’s Word for Gardeners Copyright © 2014. Use by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com
Garden Photo: © 2010 by Shelley S. Cramm ‘Peace’ rose from my garden.
Author Photo courtesy of www.charlesstaffordphotography.com