A Lesson From the Garden

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-29

I had a frustrating day working in my garden yesterday. Last night I was so discouraged I was wondering how much it would cost to rent a backhoe and get a big load of rock delivered.

The garden bed I was working on is surrounded by a sea of Bermuda grass. Bermuda grass covers bare ground quickly which makes it a good lawn grass. That same quality also makes it invasive. It travels by runners, called stolons, that are root-stems and which advance forward, putting down new roots. Once it has crossed over into a flower bed it can very difficult to get rid of. Over the years, I have pulled a lot of Bermuda grass and have made some progress. But in this particular area of the garden, there are several thick, tenacious patches of this grass where the runners just won’t let go. My hands and wrists were aching from trying to pull them out.

Today I went back out and worked some more, but my perspective was changed. The difference today was I chose to think more about the goodness of God than the scope of my problem. There is a wonderful song by Matt Redman called "You Never Let Go". I haven’t heard it for a long time, but I think God called it to my mind today. It just kept running though my head as I worked at pulling out more of that Bermuda grass. Here are the lyrics of the chorus:

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Oh no, You never let go, through the calm and through the storm.

Oh no, You never let go in every high and every low.
Oh no, You never let go; Lord, You never let go of me.

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God’s hold on His children is somewhat like the grip of the Bermuda grass on the ground. He loves us so much that He holds on tight; He will not let go. Just as that grass cannot be separated from the ground, nothing can separate us from the love of God.

I will continue to wage my war on the Bermuda grass. But as I do so, I will have plenty of opportunity to remember and dwell on the lesson from the Garden.