Keep watering…

Recently, we had some landscaping done in our yard. New bushes, some flowering plants, and small trees were planted.

Once again, I find myself watering plants.

Watering can be grueling and time consuming. Standing over these bushes with a hose, making sure to get all of the ground around them wet and making sure not to miss one.

I have never been much of a gardener or plant person, but this job has to be done or the plants will die. My husband tells me that “first thing in the morning” is the best time to water. So, here I am.

As i watch the water come out of the hose and pour onto the ground, I think about my children.

I remember back to when they were very little and the care and attention they needed.

Day in and day out, from sun up to sun down, I felt like I was constantly watering their little hearts. Not just spiritually, but physically with food and drinks.

Early motherhood is tiring. It is a lot of work. At the end of the day, I would throw myself in bed. Mentally and physically drained.

As they got older, the watering was still taking place, but their little roots had grown deeper, and there were others to help water them. Like, teachers, and sunday school leaders, and grandparents.

Standing in my yard, I see the mature plants around me. They do not require the same attention as these small plants do at the moment.

Their roots are deep, reaching to the deepest water sources.

They also have been watered by rain year after year. They are strong, and well nourished.

My kids are now 22 and 19.

Daily, my prayer is that God will put others in their lives to fill the holes we may have missed. To water their little hearts when I am not their to do it.

As kids grow up they are surrounded my many other influences and voices.

I pray their roots are deep and strong and are able to withstand tough heat and dry seasons.

As their mom, I still water them. Any chance I get, I sprinkle them with scripture and encouragement. Sometimes, I wonder, “Are they absorbing any of this?”

Then, I think back to this ground I am watering. I don’t see the water hitting the roots, but I trust that it is.

I trust that God is using every ounce of water I sprinkle on my kids to fortify their faith. To grow their spiritual roots deeper.

It can be frustrating and tiresome at times when I don’t immediately see results.

However, I am learning that deep growth takes time. It takes patience. It takes trusting God to sure up the work that was started in their little hearts.

If you have a child that has fallen away, do not stop watering them.

Continue to pray for them diligently. Ask God to send others to fill the holes while you are not with them.

I remember a plant I received for my birthday years ago. I faithfully watered it and it lasted for longer than I ever thought it would.

Then, we went out of town for a week. I came back to a dried up and dead plant.

Great.

I decided to water it for a few days to see if anything would happen .

To my utter surprise, the plant came back to life!

The water had revived its little leaves and it was the most beautiful plant! Even prettier than it had been before.

God can bring dead things back to life.

God can bring His lost sheep back into the sheep pen.

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:7

still watering,

jill