Gardening the World Together

I just went to our season's first garden meeting. Eight perfectly sane adults plotting plots for their community garden. Like children on Christmas eve, visions of planting, hoeing, watering and harvesting were dancing in our heads. Hope springs eternal.

Leadership
We named a "crop director" to assure proper produce volumes for our local soup kitchen. We offered the position of "flower child," in hopes of beautifying the garden. We looked like adoring parents at pictures of last year's harvest. And we ate chips and salsa...the latter which produce of such meetings last year.

Cooperation
We agreed that each person with a plot, should assist with the community portion of the garden. This is the part that serves the soup kitchen. I remember last year a crop of green beans came on quickly, and I took an hour or so in the noon time heat to gather them. Later that afternoon another member snapped and delivered them to a food pantry.

Kingdom Realities
It seems to me these garden realities are a microcosm of larger dreams. We people of God's kingdom have this crazy idea that the world can change; not only are we "saving souls," we are a part of the Creator saving the world. We believe he wants to set all things right. We are gardening the world together.

There are so many things in life that happen best in community; so many blessings we miss by being lone rangers. If you aren't into gardening, find your niche and chip in with a community to accomplish something. There are things we can do together which just won't happen solo. And so it is with the Kingdom of God and the church.

Gardening: For the Sake of Others

Question: What stings, makes people cry, messes up your hair, puts a smile on your face and will feed nearly one hundred and fifty people, and about thirty chickens fresh produce today?

Answer: A morning like I had!

Early this morning I picked-up a new friend from our Brown County Garden Community (CLICK HERE to see us on facebook!), we rode in my jeep with its top down (big smile on my face and messed-up hair) to a rendezvous point then on to a field of sweet corn. Once there we picked over twelve dozen ears of corn (being stung by a couple of nettles and a few deer flies), then rushed it back to a home for shucking. We cut out a couple of worms and ugly spots to give the chickens at the shucking house, and an hour after arriving at the field, I was on my way home for a shower before performing a baptism at the church at ten A.M. where I saw more than one set of eyes glistening with tears of joy. And tonight, 144 ears of fresh corn will be served at our local soup kitchen.

When a volunteer took me up on a sermonic dare to start a community garden on our church property, I had no idea the joys that were ahead for me and so many others. Yesterday our first harvest of green beans were delivered to the soup kitchen, and today it is corn that one of our garden and church members grew to share with others. Tomatoes are standing in line to become an offering once they blush properly, and peppers are working on their own magic.

Our church defines spiritual formation as: Being transformed into the image of Jesus, for the sake of others. I don't know how well we pull all of that off, but this gardening for the sake of others, is sure doing a lot for the sake of me!