POSSIBILITIES

 

 

          When I was little, why I don’t know, but my mother had me convinced that if I swallowed a watermelon seed, I would have a watermelon plant grow in my stomach.  My husband once told our son that he had a seed sack and once it got full, it would burst.  Unless that is the true nature of the appendix (no one really seems to be sure), I can tell you with relative certainty that neither is true.  You can swallow a watermelon or pumpkin seed and you will not have viney plants growing in your insides. 

          While I do know that much, there is still a lot about plants and gardening that is a wonderful lesson in humility .  I once thought that I had a black thumb and couldn’t grow anything.  Case in point, a pair of azalea bushes that I tried to plant outside our back door in one of the duplexes in Fort Worth where Ryan and I lived many years ago.  The two little bushes shriveled up and died.  That and a couple of rose bush casualties had me sworn of plants for years. 

          But then we bought our own home when we moved to Iowa and I decided to try again.  I did something different this time.  I did a little reading and learned about plants and gardening first.  I now know those poor azaleas needed to be planted in the shade instead of direct sunlight.  They also needed some acid in the soil.  I also know that azaleas are slow-growing plants and don’t landscape with them if you want instant gratification.

          It is the will and power of God far more than my knowledge or effort that makes a garden grow.  I have done everything according the best information from master gardeners and still had a plant wither and fade. In the same yard, I once threw some seeds out and wished them good luck and darned if I didn’t get zinnias and cosmos mid-summer from them!  Time and again, those plants have reminded me of my place.  I am the assistant, but I am not the gardener.  Time and again I am humbled by my own limitations and by the profound creative energy and power of God.

I think much of what happens in a garden is divine mystery.  I say this because there are few other places where the power and creativity of God are more apparent.  Who could make plants that need lots of water others that need little?  Who could make plants that produce such a plethora of blooms and in hues that can make your heart skip a beat?  I can’t - but with God - all things are possible.  Who could take a seed the size of a grain of rice and grow a flowering plant six feet tall with a center stalk that looks like a small tree and with flowers so delicate in appearance yet can survive the smog and pollution of being planted right next to where you park your car?  I know I can’t, can you?  But with God, all things are possible.

          And think of the miracle of the mustard seed, that Jesus shares in our reading this morning.  From this tiny little seed emerges a bush (or tree really) that houses birds and little animals.  From something seemingly insignificant comes a blessing and life-giving contribution to the world around it.  The possibilities of never cease to amaze me.

          I look at my own family and am reminded that life-giving is God’s and happens by his power alone.  Reproductive technology can do so much to help people trying to conceive and have a baby.  But it takes more than science to make a life.  If it were just up to  human knowledge, every attempt at in vitro fertilization would be successful - but many are not.  It is the power of God that brings forth life, even when we have given up and think it impossible.  I was tired and those seeds I casually threw out came at the end of a long day of digging and planting.  My blessed surprise pregnancy and birth of our son Joshua came several years after our own unsuccessful attempts at assisted reproduction.  We had accepted this, moved on emotionally, and sold all the baby and toddler stuff I had been storing in the basement - and we moved back to Texas and surprise!  I can relate (at least a little with Sara and Elisabeth).  I laughed out loud when I found out I was expecting too.

On our own steam, by our own plans, it was impossible.  But with God, all things are possible.

          We gather here this morning, a modest congregation.  We are no Saddleback mega-church.  We don’t have hundreds or thousands of people worshipping here each weekend.  We feel a little extra energized when we have more than 100 in a single service on Sunday because that’s a nice crowd.  WE might feel sometimes like a mustard seed - small and not very powerful.  But in the hands of the One Master Gardener - we are life-giving.  IN the hands of God, we are a Transformative power in the world around us.  When we gather in the name of God and entrust ourselves and our resources to his purposes - we are crafted into something blessed and beautiful.  We become a work of art as amazing as the blossoms of a sweet pea vine or a new born child’s skin so delicate and soft.  Who can be saved?  Who can bless the lives of their children and grandchildren so that they know and trust in the promises of God?  Who can bring life and fruit and vitality and hope and joy?  With humans it is impossible - but with God - all things are possible. 

          We are a force to be reckoned with.  A place where the gospel is shared and lives are touched.  People are comforted and blessed and the world is forever changed - because the creative power and energy of God is without limits.  WE can’t do it on our own - but with God - all things are possible.

 

What possibilities, what new hope, what new ministries are waiting to be born in this place?  In and through us?  With God in charge - the sky’s the limit.  With God - the possibilities are endless.