This past Saturday was New York Cares Day. Some 4,000 New Yorkers volunteered to help revitalize schools across the city.
My sister’s company formed a volunteer team so I tagged along. Our group was tasked with sprucing up the gardens outside an elementary school on the Upper West Side. I grabbed a rake and tried pulling out the mess of weeds and roots in one of the gardens. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far.
It was hard work! The roots were too deep. There was no way I could keep digging up those roots for two more hours. So I jumped at the chance to paint the school fence instead.
I busied myself with painting. The hours passed by quickly. Soon it was time to clean up for the day. That’s when I saw the garden. I barely recognized it.
“Oh my goodness!” I said to the volunteers who’d stuck with the garden. “This looks amazing!”
The tangles and weeds had been replaced with fresh soil and plants. It was still a work in progress. But, come next spring, it’ll be a lovely little spot for teachers and students.
“The roots went around the entire thing,” one of the volunteers told my sister and me. “We had to pull it all out.”
Now, as you probably already know, I’m always on the lookout for God’s wonder, always listening for His voice. And, in this instance, I heard the message from God loud and clear.
Maybe we’re all like that garden. Our wounds and hurts deeply rooted. God must work at us, pulling and weeding. It’s hard work. Sometimes we want to give up, sometimes God enlists others to help us. But he never gives up on what he’s started.
The result? A garden transformed, brimming with possibilities.
What about you? Has God ever spoken to you through gardening or nature? Share your story below!
