Chaplains' Corner

Judy Pressler
State Chaplain
3011 Halfmoon Valley Road
Port Matilda, PA 16870
(814) 692-5217
jxp2@psu.edu
 

 

THE MASTER’S GARDENS

“Mary, Mary, quite contrary. How does your garden grow?” That’s the question of the day this summer. We thought ours was going to do well. It looked so lush and green with no weeds and the corn was over Lee’s head by the 4th of July! (Actually it is Lee’s garden....I just get the pleasures of tip-toeing through the greenery and picking the fresh pickles and zucchini and pickles and zucchini and pickles, etc.)

Then the dry weather set in and even though we have gotten more rain than some of our neighbors and Lee used his brand spankin' new water trailer with fire hose and high pressure pump, the tomatoes are still suffering from “dry rot”....or at least that’s what we call it....you can only get about one good bite off the top so far.

To us a garden is a place where you plant flowers and/or vegetables. Actually, I guess you can have rock gardens without flowers or vegetables, but they still usually have some vine or bushes growing in them among the rocks. Our English family calls their back yard a garden and some “city” people have a garden on their balconies or decks in a couple of pots!

Well, by now you have guessed I want to focus on gardens this month...not compare yours to ours, but to identify a couple to see how they have been used and what message there is for us.

Of course, the very first garden, the Garden of Eden was the most splendid of all gardens with every kind of fruits, berries and vegetables any “human” could want. That is the key word since there were humans living there. They enjoyed the luxury of their bountiful gifts until they became bored and lax in their devotion to their God who had provided it all. And so Eve chose not to obey God’s will and gave in to temptation to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree! She then convinced Adam to do the same because “there must be something even better, if we try it.” It was all about them, not the will of God, but their own will..

So it became a Garden where happiness and joy gave way to sin, punishment and eviction and created a chasm between man and their God.

Another important garden was the Garden of Gethsemane. I usually picture it as a peacefully quiet, rather isolated area on the Mount of Olives...a perfect place to seek solitude and pray. Once again the human element entered in. Jesus was here on earth as a “human.” He felt pain, sweat droplets of blood as he prayed and even asked that this cup pass from him. Ultimately, Jesus submitted to his Father’s will not his own.

So this garden became a Garden of despair, disappointment in and betrayal by his disciples, but also a Garden of fulfillment of His Father’s will.

So, back to Mary, Mary, quite contrary, ”How does your garden grow”?

Do we stroll through our gardens to smell the roses and make a bouquet for a shut-in, check our gardens for fresh vegetables and fruit and deliver a jar of jam to a new neighbor? Or do we lust after and long for “something bigger and better?” In our society, it seems to be all about bigger homes with BIGGER gardens. How much can we accumulate?

Can we see the consequences of such desires?

Do we stay focused on what Jesus asked his disciples to do: stay awake and resist temptation? Do we tend to “fall asleep on the job” and/or fall for false promises of big bonuses or sweepstakes that will make us rich?

Are we striving to do God's will even though we realize it might be very stressful, painful and foreign to us or do we think He has given us our talents and gifts to do with as we choose...”do it our way” and it will be all right?

Actually we are about to ask some very pertinent questions about our Grange to see what kind of Garden it will be in the future. Will it be a beautiful garden full of active, fun-loving, smiley members of all ages as one big family? Will it be an empty building with weeds choking the life out of our garden because we fell asleep on the job and failed to see that selective participation, no sense of commitment and lackadaisical attitude about the whole organization crept in and pushed the Grange into oblivion?

We have the choice to work on beautifying our Gardens here on earth until we can be taken by the hand to the one that is being planted for us in heaven. Or we can wander aimlessly through the gardens here, overlooking the beauty and goodness, concentrating on our own agendas, and never getting the chance to see the Great one in the sky.

It’s not too late to dig out some of the obnoxious weeds and plant some seeds of kindness, dedication, responsibility and enthusiasm in your garden. Some seeds sprout quickly and grow big and strong under the correct circumstances and with prayerful intercession.

How does your garden grow?

Judy Pressler

PA State Grange Chaplain