The Gardener
7,670 days ago a Gardener decided to plant a new garden. He had planned this garden out many years before but it was finally time to bring it into existence. After much planning and creative thinking, the Gardener picked a small section of land under a shaded tree right next to an abandon house. Many people told the Gardener that trying to start a garden on this land was useless, everything that was ever planted there failed to grow. But the Gardener was determined to change that. He collected his tools and began to work. First he broke up the uneven ground, taking out all of the dead roots and dry soil. He spent the next few hours removing the old foundation and replacing it with a new one, laying down new soil and fertilizing the ground. After breaking up the ground and laying down a new foundation he begun to water it. This section of land had not gotten enough water to flourish, so the Gardener made sure to carefully attend to it and give the fresh soil plenty of water. After his long and hard day of work he stood back to admire what he had just created, he was so pleased with what he had done and took delight in the garden even though only the foundation had been laid. The next day the Gardener returned to begin to plant. He strategically put certain seeds in certain sections. He grouped seeds together and divided other ones. He saw that the tree covering the garden blocked a lot of the sunlight, so he climbed into the tree and cut back some of its branches that would prevent the garden from growing. People laughed at the Gardener, they thought he was foolish for putting so much time and work into a spot that they knew to have only failed. But the Gardener was not bothered by what the people thought, he had determined in his heart that he would do this long ago. Weeks passed and the tiny seeds began to sprout. Every single day the Gardener attended to the sprouting seeds. He would water and fertilize, water and fertilize, and again water and fertilize. He spent so much time with these sprouts that he knew how many there were and exactly what each one of them looked like. As the garden grew and the sprouts began to bloom, new troubles came. First there was a big storm that threatened to destroy the garden. The Gardener spent the day setting up a tent to shield the garden from the harsh elements. During the storm a lot of the soil in the garden got tossed around and some debris from the outside got in. But the damage was very minor and reparable because the tent protected the garden. After the storm passed The Gardener took down the tent and began to repair the broken things. He put down new and fresh soil and replanted some of the plants that were uprooted. He picked up all of the debris and trash that had got in and made everything new again. It was interesting that the garden grew tremendously after the storm. New flowers bloomed and plants grew taller. Other troubles the garden faced included drought, cold, weeds, animals, and thieves. But the Gardener was so skilled and cared very much for this garden that he was able to protect it from all of these things. He provided the garden with water during the drought and with shelter during the cold. He fought off the animals that tried eating the plants and watched for the thieves that tried to steal the special things. He tended to each plant that was being suffocated by weeds and took special care of them until the weeds were gone. As the years passed, the garden had grown so big that it completely took over the abandon home it was next to. The home came to life with flowers and plants of all different kinds. The people were amazed, they had never seen this land flourish and could not believe that this Gardener had brought it to life. The Gardener had many gardens and treated all of them as if it were his only one. He greatly valued his handiwork and wanted it to bring joy to others. When asked why he said this “All of my gardens are special and unique, so I care for them all individually like it’s all I have. My gardens bring me joy because they never start off promising, but when I just spend time with them they turn into something so beautiful and breathtaking. Yes they take work and commitment, but I see what they will become and that makes it worth it.”
Today on my 7,670 days of living and 21st year of life I praise God for not giving up on me. When people saw a quiet and fragile girl, He saw a glorious and beautiful woman who would not be defined by her scars. I thank Him for protecting me, forgiving me, fighting for me, and loving the broken parts of my heart. He has been so patient with me and so kind. I have been on this journey with Him for some time now and have not seen Him forsake me, even in the hard things. He is my Gardener, the keeper of my heart and offers this promise to all of us, no matter what the ground of our hearts may look like. “And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.” – Jeremiah 32:39-41
