Happy Old Year 2019

Happy New Year! Finishing up one year and moving into the next stirs a bit of bound-to-happen categorizing, considering, and reflecting—for a moment or two, at least—before daily life continues churning once again. A quick search of God’s Word on “reflection,” however, twists the meaning slightly to Paul’s marvelous reminder that the God-glimpses we see from time to time are like reflections in a mirror; one day, we will see God face-to-face, a picture of full embrace.

…Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV

And I get to thinking…forget the mirror…how delightful are God’s reflections in our gardens?! The little flashes, the chance sightings, the subtle, even smirky peeks of His Word, His genius, His play. Not yet face-to-face—as most glimpses are disguised as flowers blooming or branches budding or finally friable dirt—yet encounters nonetheless. Wouldn’t this be His whole intent in the flabbergastful scene at the garden tomb, the Word that leads us from gardener to the endearing cry, “Rabboni!?!!”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
John 20:15-16 NIV

What if every venture to the garden was a pursuit of His reflection, a brush with His mystery, a hope to hear from Rabboni? Along with a morsel of His Word, that soothing directive which moves through our working hands, twining itself up through heart and mind…Aha! The movement that prompts Christ to call himself the True Vine!?! In such meetings, what is cultivated is garden AND gardener: fruitful land and satisfied soul. We finish up the work full—care-full, wonder-full, mercy-full, purpose-full, mind-full and beauty-full.

…Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV

…which is [Christ’s] body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:23 NIV
…that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19 NIV
…attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:13 NIV

Happy Old Year!

In case you missed them or want to revisit, find this list of Devotions Blogs from the year, all kinds of ways from featured plants to poetry that nurture the pursuit of the Lord in the landscape:

Garden Moments: A Winter Letter, “Surely” Poppies, Garden Details, Autumn Garden Glorifies, Gather Us, Tell Time by Your Garden, A Garden’s Gifts

Garden Design Ideas: Blue Wheat in Time for Feast of Weeks, Water-Colored Plants for Your Garden, Discover a Hidden Rose, A Patio Romance: ‘Little Miss Figgy’ Meets Peppy Le Pom™

Garden Visits: In Praise of Public Gardens, Sacred Gardens of DC, God’s Word in the Gardens of Salt Lake City

Lenten Series: A Lenten Dig Into Prayer – Prayers in Gold, Working Turned to Praying, Prayers that Bring Them Back, Garden Prayers for Persecutors, Pinnacle of Garden Prayers, United in Prayer

More Garden Prayers: July 4th Prayer to Ponder

Garden Recipes: Monica’s Mint Mocktails (not a big year of cooking, my poor family!)

Book Reviews: All the Presidents’ Gardens

New Plants to the Plant Guide: Mint, Poppy, Rockrose, Star of Bethlehem

Poems for A-to-Z Primer of Plants from God’s Word: R is for Rockrose, S is for Star of Bethlehem

New in 2020

Take the month of January for homework—clean up, clear out, put the household in order. Check in on my Instagram page @shelleycramm for snippets of #Godswordforgardeners. Come February, we will be ready to go outside and play! The Devotions Blog returns February 6th, 2020 with more God and gardening, more garden visits and poetry, and a special Lenten Series on Bible Garden Design that is sure to delight.

The New Year’s Word? Pursue. Keep growing, pursuing the Lord Jesus, our Yeshua and Rabboni.

Grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1 Peter 2:3 NIV

Photo Credits: ©2019 Shelley S. Cramm