Farmyard Wisdom

     I couldn't believe it.  All of my hard work from the morning had vanished and I could only stop and stare.  I had planted seeds for my garden.  The freshly turned up dirt had attracted our chickens to the insect life.  As they scratched for food, the seeds were unearthed and eaten.  Now what?  How bad was it?  Would anything grow?
     I can say, two months later, a very scarce group of plants have emerged, but the  quality of the plants makes up for the small numbers.  I was checking on the beans, peas, and squash this weekend and found myself smiling at the overwhelming number of flowers.  A far cry from my hopeless feelings when the chickens attacked. 
     There are times in our lives we feel like our work has been sabotaged.  We desperately want answers or reassurance things will be ok.  God seems distant or nonexistent as we wrestle and struggle with our pain.  Where are You?  How could this happen?  Now what?
     While gardening is a far cry from the growing pains and bumps in our journey, they both require hope.  I don't think there is a more hopeful bunch than farmers and home gardeners.  They are placing seeds into the ground with the hope something beautiful, useful, and delicious will come along.  It doesn't always work out well.  Life is like that, too.  We pour ourselves into relationships, our jobs, families, and callings - but it doesn't always turn out the way we envisioned. 
     In times where circumstances are dark, we hear different types of Christian platitudes that don't really help us with our pain or frustration.  I often think of Job and how, in his misery, friends visit -  but they don't seem very comforting.  Job faces a full on attack by evil and the people around him attempt to explain the cause of his grief without realizing the actual cause!  In the end it is God who shifts Job's perspective. 
     When the dark moments come, lean into God.  Nothing is beyond him and he can handle our weakness and pain as no one else can.  He still speaks through his Word and the Bible tells us he will fight for us (Exodus 14:14), his purpose can be accomplished in ANY circumstance (Romans 8:28, Romans 8:31), but most importantly:  "...Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is" (Ephesians 3:17b-18).   
     Remember that deep love when someone rips up the seeds you've sown.  Hold on to the hope that even though your plans may not look as you originally thought, what blooms out of a difficult situation may be more abundant and beautiful than you could have imagined.