Monday, August 27, 2012
Pumpkin Journey 4
On Saturday, I returned to the patch after several days of not having to water. The rain had been a blessing!! As I started to water, I noticed there were new little pumpkins (about a week old). We had given up watering the "empty" holes after several weeks of daily watering. We thought there was "no hope." God had a different message and plan. He boldly spoke to my heart that He NEVER gives up on us. We may give up, but HE never does. We are not in control. We do not know when a seed that we plant make take root and grow. We need to always remember to faithfully plant, water, and BELIEVE that God will cause the miracle of life. He truly has a plan for our life! Never give up!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Pumpkin Patch 3
02Aug12
Tonight at the pumpkin patch, I arrived angry. I asked myself “What’s up with this?” It had been a rough day at work. I was disappointed, saddened, hurt and
responding with anger. When I arrived, I
was thankful to be alone. I didn’t have
to “face” anyone and put on a smile. I could
just spend time pouring out my heart to God, as I poured out the water onto the
pumpkins.
Isn’t God like that? He allows us to pour out our anger, and
then he tenderly pours his love into our hearts. He gives us the Living Water; heals and
restores our souls.
It wasn’t long that I was alone. I was soon joined by Doug. Doug is faithful and always brings a smile
and a thoughtful word of encouragement.
Today’s word for me to ponder was “dwelling.”
Soon, Mike appeared, jumped out of his car, cheerfully
grabbed a five gallon bucket and started watering the plants. As we watered, Mike talked about the blessing
of the drought. He shared how grateful
he was for it bringing us together and uniting us in fellowship. He talked about the blessing that it is to
tenderly take care of God’s precious “seeds” and “plants.”
Truly, we are not alone.
God is providing. Although, we
have had little to no rain, He gave us the gift of an amazing sky tonight. It
was filled with shades of blues and reds that streaked across the sky
stretching for, what seemed like endless miles, among scattered puffy white
clouds. I stood in awe. Then, as dusk turned to dark, I drove home
viewing the most amazing orange full moon just rising on the horizon. It was beautiful. God was romancing my heart, showing me his
love.
Yes, the pumpkin patch is filled with blessings. Many are growing and beginning to vine. The bigger blessing is the way God is
knitting our hearts together, giving us common purpose and goals. As the pumpkins vine out, God is opening new
areas for us to pursue along the journey of life. Life begins as a seed in the patch. Press on towards the goal….Harvest is
coming. Are we ready?
This is the poem God dropped into my heart tonight.
Tonight the plants drooped from heat
They were wilted, looked sad as if to say ‘I’m beat.’
I felt that way, as my energy drained
From the stress of the day I really waned.
As the water poured on the dry earth
It was like watching the miracle of birth
The plants seemed to perk up and spring
To life-what a glorious thing!
Every day it is a chore,
W e need to water so much more.
But we will be faithful to the end
Tenderly caring and loving like a faithful friend.
Press on toward the goal to win the prize.
When we are home we will not close our eyes.
Until that day,
We will press forward; come what may.
Pumpkin Patch day 2
As we (Jeff, Doug,
Kenzie, Peyton, Nick,me) finished the nightly task of watering Wednesday
evening, we gathered at the end of the patch, held hands and prayed. We thanked God for water in the well, for his
continued strength, and asked Him to provide a nice ground soaking rain.
On Thursday evening, I called Jeff to ask if I had left my
watering buckets. My plan was to go
earlier than usual to try and finish before night fall. Jeff sounded exhausted. I told him it sounded like he needed to take
a break. I told him “I’ll take this one
tonight. You rest.” He confirmed my
buckets were at the patch. I hopped in
the car. As I headed down the road, the
clouds became darker, thicker. I turned
off of 36 and received a text that I was missing the rain at the patch. I hurried.
I flew down the hill to the patch and hit a puddle of water. How long has it been since we had an actual
puddle of water? Thank you God for answered prayer!
I stood in the rain, by the patch, crying, praising and
thanking God! At that moment, God
“dropped into my heart” ‘I’ve got this one tonight.’ As I watched the patch, a fog began to lift
and float across the rows. It was like
the Spirit of God was present, drifting, moving across the ground. There was a freshness in the air; a
delightful scent of rain! There was
peace, yet joy, as the birds sang their hallelujah chorus chirps. How does one put into words God’s
presence? It is a feeling, a knowing, and
an understanding. My heart knows. When I was a young mother, I memorized my
baby’s tiny features, discerned her cries.
She was my child and I knew her through and through. As God’s child, He knows me. As I spend time with Him, I know him, as
well.
I walked the patch marveling at how wonderful the rainfall
was. God does a much better job when He
waters! Soon, I was joined by Doug. We walked the family plot and together
celebrated the newest “family” members that were beginning to “poke”
through. The night prior I had shared
with the group how excited I felt when the new pumpkins popped up. I related it to how God must feel when a
sinner first comes home; the prodigal returns.
There is much rejoicing!
Tonight, Doug and I stood at the end of the field and did a
Bible study on Mark chapter 4. God is
continually reminding us of being seed sowers.
He is using the pumpkin patch to teach us of our larger mission and
vision. Daily we are called to sow
seeds, water, replant, weed, dig, pray, pray, and pray. We never know when a seed we have sown is going
to “pop” up, but we must NEVER give up.
We have to keep persevering through the heat, long evenings, short water
supply, because at the right time, we will reap the harvest if we don’t give
up. One day there will be great
rejoicing. God is preparing us for
greater things to come. He has a purpose
and a plan for each one of us. I feel
blessed to be part of the Nehemiah Ranch family.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Pumpkin Patch 2012
My story with the
pumpkin patch began in October 2011 when Jeff asked if I would like to help at
Nehemiah ranch (the ranch as I now call it). He needed someone to assist with
registering and welcoming guests to the first weekend give away of “free”
pumpkins. It is a strange concept in
today’s culture to “give away” anything for “free”. As he told me about the ranch and the
outreach to youth, I became excited and signed up to help. He began sharing his vision to reach troubled
youth, restore hope and lives through sharing the love of Christ.
The first night
people came from all over the countryside. One couple drove over 50 miles to get free
pumpkins for their five children. The
parents cried as they watched their kids “squeal” with delight over picking
their own huge pumpkins from the patch.
The husband had just lost his job.
The wife was unemployed and expecting another baby. They had no money, but were grateful for the
“gift”.
I watched kids
faces light up. I watched as parents
enjoyed the evening. There was a large
fire pit blazing; the smell of burning wood and roasting hotdogs in the
air. There was a hayride and a “one of a
kind” lighted pumpkin patch. The scene
was surreal. After the first evening, I
enjoyed the event so much that I came back to register and welcome guests the
next two weekend events.
Why? What drew me? Seeing the happiness in the
eyes of the parents and children warmed my heart. It had been a difficult year for me
personally. After 13 years of marriage,
I found myself, once again, divorced.
These events offered healing to my heart. To be able to “give” away something and watch
the delight on the faces, took me away from my pain and self centeredness and
refocused my heart on Christ. Through
the pumpkins, I realized, again, the gift of salvation; the free gift Christ
gives to us. We have to “show up” and
choose to accept it.
Christ paid the
price. Christ did the work. Now it is planting season. I get to “feel the pain.” On June 30th, several volunteers
showed up to the ranch. Some set up and
ran a garage sale to raise funds. Some
went to work in the patch, to ready the field for planting. I had never planted pumpkins. As a little girl, I had worked with my mother
and grandfather in the family garden.
But, I never had planted pumpkins.
Jeff has the process down to a science.
This is the third year for the pumpkin patch. Each year, the vision and patch grows a
little.
Jeff had spent
hours plowing and disking the very hard earth.
No rain makes the ground very hard!
The process begins by measuring the rows and laying the black “special”
pumpkin paper. Then you have to bury the
sides of the paper to keep it from blowing away with a gust of wind. Next, at pre-defined intervals you place a
hole and two seeds, cover with dirt, water, and pray that God will grow the
pumpkin. At this point, I was probably
better at praying, than planting. It
seemed like every time I watered the seed would come out of the ground because
the ground was so dry. There was
absolutely no moisture.
God has reminded
me that all I am called to do is sow seeds.
Sometimes, I am to water, but He will cause it to grow. He also reminds me, as I am pulling the 50th
2 gallon can of water from the tank, that “His strength is made perfect in my
weakness.” Continually, as I walk the
rows, He whispers “you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.” I call these times “life lessons.” He is teaching me to keep the faith, trust in
Him, patience, that life is a journey and not a destination.
The past two
weeks, I have spent several hours watering and praying in the pumpkin patch,
re-planting many seeds. Each evening, I
get excited, like the little kids last fall, to see a new plant “pop” up. I am thankful. God is good.
Tonight, I was
tired. My son went with me to the ranch
to do the nightly watering. This effort
is a team effort and a “labor of love” by so many. The next door neighbor is letting us use
water from his well to give Jeff’s a rest.
One board member loaned his truck so we could fill the horse tank and
drive to the edge of the field. Some
come and fill the tank. Others come and
water in the evening. It is the way the
body of Christ is supposed to operate; a spirit of unity and community
exists. We are all united in purpose and
love; the love of Jesus.
As I was watering
the “new” section (I call it the family plot).
This is the section where people were invited to “plant their own seeds”;
grow their own pumpkin for harvest.
There are approximately 30 hills.
It takes longer to water the hills than the rows. For weeks, there has only been one hill with
plants. But, tonight, almost every hill
has a plant. As I watered, I wept. God knew just what I needed today.
The pumpkin patch
is teaching me about hope, healing, restoration, sowing, reaping and
perseverance, to name a few lessons. How
many times has God provided someone to sow a seed into my life? How many times has He had to replant the
seed? I have to have daily watering
because the seasons of life are sometimes stormy with too much wind and rain,
or vice versa and I go through seasons of drought. As the pumpkins begin to grow and vine, they
have to stay attached to the vine to grow.
We have to stay attached to Christ.
If our relationship is severed, we wither and die. Working at the patch is hard physical labor,
but it is worth every second. Walking with
Christ is also, sometimes, hard work.
But, it too, is worth every second.
I hear his voice whisper to my heart “you will reap a harvest, if you do
not give up.”
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