‘How do you know where they are?’ nearly-4-year-old Gregor
asked as we stepped into the garden with a fork and a tray.
‘Look for the brown stalks which are dead and collapsing
onto the ground. I’ll put in the fork and let’s see what’s hiding under the
soil.’
The clean white skin of new potatoes was revealed; and the
clean red skin of other new tatties, too.
‘Dad! Dad!’ he called excitedly to his father balancing on
the roof of our house, trying to work out the best place to put receivers to
boost our internet reception. ‘Look! I’ve found potatoes! Red ones that you
love!’
Things are not always as they seem. A lifeless appearance
does not necessarily mean there is nothing beautiful beneath the surface. Something
wholesome and nutritious. Something worth waiting for; something worth
expending energy to dig out.
‘I have to be careful not to stab one of the big potatoes,
because I can’t see where they are,’ I explained, easing the fork deep. Gregor
was delighted when a giant potato was revealed, and then we were on to the
carrots. Their leaves are still green; they are still growing; they are oh, so
sweet.
God sees exactly what’s growing in each of us. Our Father is
the gardener, and even when we are beginning to die back, to weaken and sink
onto a chair much sooner than we used to, he knows what lies beneath the
surface. I pray today that there is something nutritious inside me which can help
sustain a weary soul, flagging in this weary world.
Jesus came so we might have abundant life, and even joy in
the midst of tribulation.
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