Living all the seasons of life
My Father the Gardener
I was reading an article recently on "10 TO-DO’S IN YOUR GARDEN IN AUTUMN”. I don’t consider myself a big gardener but I do love the visual and sensory impact of gardens. Gardens have that subtle ability to change us if we let them. Autumn, preceding winter, can appear to be a season of, well nothingness. The colour has diminished, the deciduous trees are losing their leaves and growth has been slowed. Yet despite nature's slowing down this is an important season and it is easy to miss its importance in the rush and bustle of life.
Those deciduous trees don’t enter the autumnal season quietly. No! They burst ablaze with a cacophony of colour heralding the fact that yes, this season is over but there is hope. They have shed their seeds in preparation for a new season of growth, life and fruit.
As I reflect on the season of Autumn, I am reminded of the passage in John 15 where Jesus speaks of himself as being the “true vine, and my Father the vine grower.” Here in this passage Jesus refers to his Father being a gardener, and the role of a gardener is to tend and care for the garden. Part of the tending is pruning and preparing plants for a season of fruitfulness. When you think of it, pruning is not done in the summer when the vine is full and bursting with fruit; rather it is performed in winter when the temperature is at its coolest. Dr. Peter May says, "One of the main jobs of pruning is to tell the vine how many bunches of grapes you want it to produce and to ripen in the year”. (https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/pruning-grapevines/9428852)
He speaks of the importance of pruning a vine early so to set its future for producing fruit. How true this is of us as followers of Jesus. But can we trust the Father when it comes to pruning? We can become comfortable with the way we are and see no need to change or lose a part of who we are. We may even feel we are productive enough. But this is where we come to our theme of Autumn and Winter. They are seasons of preparation. Most plants are not designed to produce all year round. There has to be a period of down time, of rest and preparation. Seasonally we are in this phase and I am wondering if God, the caring gardener, is inviting us to participate in the activities of the season: pruning, preparing, planning.
Nature has so much to teach us and Jesus used it many times in his stories and illustrations. May we enter this season thoughtfully and prayerfully, allowing God the great Gardener to do his best work in and through us.