A Green Thumb Not Required

My son, Jamie, gave a beautiful plant to me for Mother's Day a few years ago. When my son, Chris, saw it, he said, "I give it three weeks."  I certainly wasn't offended by Chris's comment.  In fact, it was funny.  But it was also possibly … probably … very true.  He knows.  My whole family knows.  Most plants come to my house to die.  I don't kill them intentionally.  I just don't have the knack.  I either overwater them or forget about them and they die from neglect.  To say they are not high on my priority list is a gross understatement.  

Ironically, one of my responsibilities at my job at that time was watering the four beautiful plants which were added for the summer.  They were placed outside to get full sun all afternoon ... when it was not raining.  To say that I was nervous about the lifespan of those four plants was another understatement.  I checked them regularly to try to determine if they needed water, or if they were too soggy from all of the rain, and to just check their pulse to see if they were still alive. I gave them more attention than I gave my own children … or so it seemed. 

One day while I was outside being very attentive to them, the owner pulled in.  To say that I was happy to be seen "caring" for the plants is one more understatement.  And although I was very far from an exceptional gardener, I continued to do what I was instructed to do, hopeful that faithful care would produce positive results.

The idea of tending to those plants while the owner was away reminds me of some instructions Jesus gave his disciples as he was preparing to go to Heaven.  These guys had proven that they were pretty ordinary people.  They weren't big-name stars of their day.  They had actually been quite disappointing in a few situations.  They weren't particularly great "gardeners".  

But Jesus knew that their ordinary abilities were going to become exceptional because His life and power would be given to them.  He said things like, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ... Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you ... I am going to send you what my Father has promised (his Spirit) ... Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high ... Feed my sheep ... Follow me. He also told them to love one another. 

I am a disciple, more than two thousand years since Jesus left his original disciples standing on a mountain watching him ascend into heaven.  And I am a very ordinary one at that.  There is nothing exceptional on my resume.  In fact, there have been and will be times when I disappoint.  But, the promise of his life and power is also mine.  And the promise that he would be with them to the very end of the age (when he returns) is mine as well.  

In the meantime, while he is away, my responsibility is to care for those he places in my life ... to feed ... to encourage ... to build up ... to check their pulse … and to love. And I am so very thankful for those who do the same for me and tend to the garden of my heart and life. 

© 2023 Connie Caston McMaster All rights reserved

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