lessons in gardening: Feed the root.

Read John 15:1-11

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” (John 15:1 ESV)

You can say I am a frustrated gardener. I love it but have the brownest thumb you could ever see. Nevertheless, I keep trying. Anything from herbs to flowers; roses, especially. Two years ago, I needed something for my backyard that would stand out, so I planted a jasmine tree. It was not a big plant, about four feet high. I loved the little white flowers and the aroma they emitted. I must say I was pretty proud of that corner of my garden.

Then came last summer and the dreadful Texas heat, which was aggravated by an unusually grave drought. Little by little, my little jasmine started to die. Its leaves began to shrivel and dry. So dry, in fact, that you could pick one and it would become like dust in your hands. But I never lost hope that once the drought was over, my little plant would come back to life.

Not the case. The drought intensified; the heat was almost unbearable. There were water restrictions imposed. My jasmine continued to slowly die, and there was nothing we could do to avoid the dreaded decision of having to pull it out. I would water it, and water it, and water it, despite the restrictions. Everyone would tell me I was wasting my time, “Face it, it’s dead.” While I seemingly agreed, I continued watering the soil, well, just in case. Nothing. Then came the other extreme of North Texas winter weather. With its cold, below-freezing night temperatures. Okay, this was it. If it didn’t die before, it will certainly die now.

One day, come the following spring, when everyone prepares for the yearly ritual of redoing their garden, and the stores are filled once again with all kinds of flowering and non-flowering plants, we made the dreadful decision of pulling out my jasmine and decide what to plant there.

So, here we are, spade in hand, ready to dig, and lo and behold, I see one small, tiny, unassuming little green leaf at the bottom of the otherwise dead tree. “Wait! It’s coming back!” Really? My husband looked at me as if I were crazy. “It’s dead, honey, it’s dead.” But I refused to pull it out. Instead, I cut all the dried-out branches and left that one little branch at the bottom with that one little leaf. I put some feed in the soil and continued my mission of watering every day.

Parenthesis: I also have roses, and I have learned over the years that roses do not like to be watered on top except by Mother Nature. When you water, you are only supposed to water the soil, where the root lives. I don’t know if jasmines and roses are part of the same family, but that’s what I started doing. I started to just water and feed the soil at the root. Just the root.

Well, we are now well into Spring, almost Summer. My little fighter jasmine is back. It is about one foot tall now. I can’t wait to enjoy the little white flowers again and their wonderful aroma filling my garden as I come out for my morning coffee and private conversation with God on my porch. Lesson learned: Feed the root.

Your prodigal.

You may feel at times that your prodigal is dry, like my jasmine tree. You may cry and cry because you think there is nothing left to do, and eventually, it will be pulled out. Others might want to discard them. Sometimes even you. But wait! Don’t lose hope. You are not the gardener. Your Father is. He is the only one with the authority to cut and prune. Wait! Feed the root. And if you don’t know how, read 1 Corinthians 13 again for the first time. Make that your instructions manual. And when the enemy of your soul wants to discourage you, and tells you to give up, that there is nothing to be done, that it is a lost cause, remember what the Lord of your soul says to you: “Wait. Don’t listen. Feed the root. For all you know, it may just come back stronger than ever.”

Father, don’t let me forget that You are the supreme gardener. You are the gardener of my soul and the soul of my beloved prodigal. You gave them to me to plant, nourish, and grow. I know there are some dry leaves in their branches, perhaps many, perhaps it seems like the entire plant is ready to be tossed. But you are the giver of life, and I believe that you can raise that which was dead. I will not give up on what you can still do in the life of my child. Give me the wisdom and discernment to continue feeding the root like you want and expect me to do. Please, don’t let me lose hope. I trust my little jasmine to your loving hands because You are a much better gardener than I. In Jesus’ name, amen.