Hope from the Garden

If it is possible for a man to love a tree, I do.

The tree I’m referring to is the great red maple that covers the backyard like a grand canopy. It shades our patio from the hot summer sun with leaves that are as big as my hand. It is a playground for countless squirrels and has been a home to many a feathered creature. Sadly, the tree doctor gave a grim report a few years back that has me praying that I outlive my arboreal friend.

Each fall, we shred many, many leaves into a mulch that will feed the soil throughout the yard. Others are raked over the plantings to provide some protection from the biting winter cold. One of the spring jobs, then, is to take up the dead leaves from the garden so that it will receive full sun.

I was at this task a couple of weeks ago, thinking that my garden was some days away from emerging. I was wrong. When I raked the blanket of the leaves from the garden, I found hastas shooting out of the ground. Tiny green leaves were popping out of the branches of the rose bushes. Tender peony shoots were pushing aside last year’s dead stalks.

Growth was happening like crazy; I just couldn’t see it yet.

It has made me wonder if that is not sometimes the case with you and me. Day after day, we do the things we do to grow. We pursue our spiritual disciplines, spend time in the Word, and worship each Sunday. We work toward a healthy gender identity by pushing ourselves to do what men do and overcoming obstacles that held us back.

During the process, however, we might not see any real change in our hearts or in our identities. We feel like the same men we were a decade ago, falling into the same sins and setbacks. It is tempting to believe that nothing is changing in our hearts and that our efforts are producing nothing at all.

But it isn’t so, fellow believer! Though it might not meet the eye, you are changing. The nutrients that are being drawn into your heart and your masculine soul cannot help but be making you strong. Don’t be tempted to give up when you can’t yet see it! Who knows that there aren’t strong branches just below the surface, ready to be displayed in glory!

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 1 Cor 3:6