Outside my back door next to the chicken coop is my small garden. There’s a large metal cattle fence that makes a hoop like a half moon. Up one side of the fence, cucumber plants weave their way up. On the other side, watermelon plants are growing until the two meet together at the peak of the hoop.
Beneath the hoop, there are a few rows of Zinnias reaching to the sky with bright purple, pink, red, and yellow flowers. I began planting them to attract bees after receiving free seeds, but now they have become a “must” in the garden after my wife fell in love with their beauty. A quick trip to the garden with a pair of scissors can lead to a gorgeous bouquet that serves as a great gift.
There are two rows of tomato plants climbing their way up strings that are suspended eight feet high. Many of them have made their way to the top. All throughout, there are large tomatoes, some still green, some pink, and some bright red ready for picking and enjoying (if I can keep the chickens from getting to them).
The last row grows mammoth sunflowers a bright shade of yellow so beautiful it seems to be straight from heaven. Though planted to attract pollinators, they are enjoyed by my family simply for their beauty.
My little garden won’t be seen by many people outside my family. It won’t make any news, and even if it did, few would really care. It doesn’t solve hunger problems in this world or provide answers to raging, national debates. It seems pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of history.
However, it’s a blessing to my family and a perhaps a few others who receive extra fruit or a bouquet of Zinnias. Though nobody else will know, I’ll put in hours of sweat and labor throughout the year to keep my garden strong and healthy. I’ll tend my garden though it will go mostly unnoticed.
Faithful With Your Ground
In an age where anyone can gain a large following online, we tend to look down on those with few followers. In our mega-church era, we can frown upon small churches in rural areas. Such thinking can lead us to despise the small things, even though the vast majority of us will never make the history books.
We won’t all be Martin Luther or Billy Graham, but we have been given our plot of land that God has called us to be faithful with. Few may see your garden, admire your fruit, or enjoy the beauty of your Zinnias, but you can bless those immediately around you with what God has given you.
Rather than growing discouraged and giving up altogether, be faithful to put the work in your little square of ground God has called you to. When you are sweating in the sun pulling weeds and picking off insects, you may be tempted to think it’s all in vain. But, when you are tempted to quit, remember that “all things are naked and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give an account” (Heb. 4:13).
The One we are serving sees all. Be faithful to tend your garden!
