It's a gift

Personal Photo: Here is our garden! I love how intricate gardening is; it seems so simple at first, but the patience it takes, the hard work it calls for to create and maintain it, and the joy of eating something that you planted yourself, that came from such a tiny seed, are all reasons that I appreciate what gardening has taught me. Some of my favorite memories are around gardening; and I love how my mom shared her love for it with me, so that I could fall in love with it too!

I absolutely love the morning; The early and mid-morning of every day is no doubt my favorite time to be awake. The world is waking up, the sunshine feels fresh, and there is a peace to bask in before the noontime hour strikes. Do you feel the same way? As I am sitting outside on the patio this morning, enjoying some warm honey lemon water, I face our backyard. When I look around at the house that Clay and I visited almost a year ago now for the first time, I consider how far we have come. With the help of dearly loved ones and a lot of patience, we are beginning to see the place we envisioned come to life; We have hanging flower baskets bursting with color that my mom and I planted together, we have herbs that are growing and thriving, the smell of petunias in the air from our table centerpiece, areas to lounge, and a garden in our yard that shows the potential to harvest what we worked so hard to plant. It is striking to me how this unfamiliar place has turned into such a home in only a few short months.

Clay and I spend most of our evenings outside now that the weather has warmed up. We are watering plants, cooking outside, weeding the garden, etc. There is no doubt that our dream together takes work, but honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. Working for something, appreciating the abilities that God has given us, and recognizing the value in each step are all gifts, which is what I really want to highlight today.

All around us, our culture tells us that we are worthy of all the good things in life, that we deserve happiness and wealth, and that we have automatically earned the right to demand from life whatever we want from it. This mindset creates ignorance, arrogance, and ingratitude. I think it is important to see the value of working hard, the ways in which God prepares us each day for the battles we encounter, and the lesson we learn from getting our hands dirty instead of watching from the sidelines. The truth is that anything worth having or enjoying or reaping the benefits of takes time and effort. However, when we reframe why we are working hard, why we are putting in effort, and so on, we have the ability to be grateful for the gift of being able to do the things we can do. We are told in Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" This verse answers this question of why quite clearly: we work hard for God because He works hard on us. He blesses us, He guides us, He works on us and with us, and we have the ability to show gratitude for everything He does and has done by putting our best foot forward every chance we get. When we do our best, God recognizes it, and He can use us to save souls, to bring more people into His arms. This is so important, my friends. It is not far-fetched to think that you or I could be silently guiding someone to Christ, without even knowing it, just by working hard for the Lord.

The time and effort it takes to always do your best can be exhausting, yes, but when we abandon the concept of work because we simply do not feel like doing it, we make excuses about how little time we have, and we complain because we do not have what we have not worked for, we really are missing the point. One of the most challenging parts about actually getting our hands dirty is that we often do not see the benefits of doing it right away, or we might not see it at all. For example, I consider the garden that we put in this year. It is June and I am staring at three rows of potato plants, rows of spinach, lettuce, beans, peas, garlic, onions, cabbage, and more. It did not happen overnight; we borrowed my parents tiller, we mapped out the size of the garden, Clay took at least three passes to get the land workable, we hoed the rows, we planted the seeds, we covered, and watered, and fenced it all. It takes weeks to get to where the garden is now, and our work is still not done. But when it is August and we have homemade french fries, salads where everything came from our own backyard, the sweetest berries and freshest food, and a summertime full of memories, it makes the process a joyful and exciting one. Galatians 6:9 states "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Here we learn that it is not up to us to recognize when our efforts will bear fruit, but that we must trust in God's timing. He will reward us, He sees the hard work we are putting in, and He is using us for His greater plan. When it comes to timing, my dad uses the analogy of a parade. You and I are bystanders, watching each parade float come in front of us, unable to see what is next and what was before the one that we currently see. God can see the whole parade; He knows where it is going, where it starts and stops, what comes before and after, why it is in that exact order, and all of the little details. When we think of the potential for our work to sprout and grow, we must remember that even if we cannot see it yet, God knows exactly what a difference we are making. Colossians 3:17 tells us "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." When we consider how having the chance to work for God is a gift, not a chore, we can find so much more joy in doing it, we can discover some of the gifts that the Lord has blessed each of us with, and we can praise and trust in His almighty plan.

I often marvel at how God has it all worked out, how the gifts He has blessed us with are perfect in His plan, and how it is such an inspiration to be able to use those gifts for Him. The Lord has gifted each one of us with talents, specially chosen for us. These gifts are things that we are good at, things that we have the ability to harness, and ways in which we can give glory to His name. For me, I like to cook and bake, garden, paint, read, and write. God gave me the love for these things, and the ability to learn about them, not so that I never use them. No, God blesses each of us with gifts so that we can use them to give Him glory! 1 Peter 4:10 reads "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." Here we are directly told how to apply our gifts. These gifts are specially chosen for us, and when we discover them, apply them to our lives, and trust in the ways God is working through us because of them, it can help us be patient for our efforts to bear fruit, trust in God's plan, and inspire us to continue working hard.

I titled this article 'It is a gift' for two reasons. One is because not only is the ability to sweat for something a gift, but also what comes from it. The other reason is that we are each gifted uniquely, and it is important that we work hard and that we apply our gifts as ways to give glory to God. Each day is a gift, our talents and passions are gifts, and the ability to work hard for the Lord is a gift. Proverbs 16:3 tells us "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." I love this verse when we consider how important it is that we do not let the gifts sit there, but instead we open them and use them. Gifts are meant to be appreciated, meant to be cherished, and meant to be used. It is no different with the gifts we receive from God; instead of disregarding them, when we are grateful and we apply them, we find joy, we find blessings, and we find a more intimate relationship with Christ. We do not need to know when our hard work will pay off, but instead trust in God's greater plan, His greater vision, and know that the time and effort we put in for His glory is always worth it, every single time.