God's Garden

In a book I’m currently reading, Joy for Beginners, by Erica Bauermeister, one of the characters, made an interesting observation while looking at a garden planted with primarily white flowers.  She said ’You can tell so much about a person by the garden they plant.’

It made me wonder what my garden says about me. In my garden you will find lots of blue, purple, red and pink flowers but never a white one. Anything white is a weed and pulled out or given away as in the case of a white rose planted by the previous owner that used to be in the garden. When we moved in, we also rooted out the white agapanthus but kept and added to the blue.

Last week my husband and I had a few days away in what is known in Australia as the Sapphire Coast.  Here are some photos and you will see how it got its name.

 

We stayed at a place appropriately called Eden. All of the photos on this page are taken in and around Eden.

 

 

As I looked at the beauty surrounding us in God’s garden of earth I thought not just about how beautiful it was but what it reveals about its creator. Creation reveals God’s infinite majesty, his love of colour and infinite variety. What a loving God and Father we have, who created this stunning world in which we live. Who could ever doubt He has the best interests of his people at heart.  He is a giving and generous God with an eye for beauty. All of these scenes have their own unique beauty.

 

As writers each of us will write something different but we are all adding to the garden of literature and words. Some of us will write devotionals while others will write fiction whether Christian or mainstream. Some will write poetry, others children’s books or books on specialised topics like music or theology or landscaping. We may even cross over from one genre to another.

Whatever we write we need to remember that we are all different and have a different place and role in the God’s garden of life. Some plants are grown for their perfume. At this current time the scent of sweet peas, which always signifies Spring to me, waft through our house. Think sweet peas, jasmine or lilacs. Others are grown for their spectacular flowers, think orchids, dahlias and roses. It would be boring if there was only one kind of flower. Or only flowers of one colour.

Just as creation testifies to the majesty of God, each one of us is a living testimony to God. Each of us reflects the culture where we live and the experiences life has handed us. By our lives and by what we write, we are showing people the difference God can make in a life. You may be able to reach people with your life and writing in a way which I cannot. The reverse is also true. It is up to each of us to use the gifts God has given us to the best of our ability.  

 

Dale writes fiction and poetry and had recently submitted a 365 day devotional /commentary  tentatively titled A Day at a Time to a publisher. Now she's working on another novel. You can find out more about Dale at www.daleharcombe.com and you might like to follow her blog at Write and Read with Dale http://orangedale.livejournal.com/