In 2020 we sent out packets of seeds for people to plant flowers in their gardens. It seemed an odd thing to do during a pandemic, but we were reminded by Jeremiah 32 that God’s ‘long view’ goes beyond what we can see naturally. God told Jeremiah to buy a field in Israel when the people of Israel were about to be forcefully exiled from that land for 70 years. It probably seemed a futile gesture to buy a field, but it reflected Jeremiah’s conviction that the people would return and God would again be worshipped in that place. We gave out seeds to remind ourselves that the pandemic and the enforced isolation we were suffering asa result of government policies would not last forever, that the miracle of growth would continue in life even as all the news spoke of was death.
‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow’, the adage goes. Gardening is not for the fainthearted. It requires us to sow in faith and teaches us to wait patiently for growth to come.
Dearne Churches Together are now planning to plant on a corporate scale now that we can meet together again. On Wednesday 13th April, as part of our Easter activities, we are looking to plant flowers in both Thurnscoe Park and at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment. Some may think this is a frivolous, futile thing to do with little spiritual value. We believe, however, that God who gave us all things to enjoy is interested in beauty, that the beauty of flowers is a testimony to His goodness and that as we sow beauty into our area (‘beauty for ashes’), we will reap a harvest of righteousness.
Join us in our planting at Thurnscoe Park on 13th April at 10 a.m. or at Goldthorpe Railway Embankment at 11.30 a.m. as we love where we live and seek to remind everyone of the beauty of God’s creation.
