Not only was my mother elegant and beautiful, but she was also an avid gardener. She truly loved flowers and grew them in great abundance. They were like kaleidoscopes of flora surrounding my childhood home. She could grow flowers from a stone, I thought teasingly. I didn’t care for gardening. I was a city boy. Chaos was my trade as a youth, not silly little flowers.
Now, many decades later, here I am, standing above all this dirt with soiled hands, shaking my head with disappointment. It’s harvest time, and after many months of backbreaking work, all is not well. I am shrouded by crop failure. Carrots, zero. Rotten potatoes, yes. Our peppers have more holes in the leaves than fruit on the stems; and our tomato plant looks more like a cactus. And then there are the ants. Oh the ants!
Thoroughly disheartened, here I am, standing over a mound of dirt with my hands on my hips and sweat on my brow, contemplating. Then mercifully, a few thoughts of redemption pass through my mind:
I think life’s bests lessons are more about our failures than our achievements.
Imagine, if you succeeded at everything the first time, what would you ever learn?
There is nothing wrong with failing, because ‘our failures build character, while our successes build confidence.’ They each have an important purpose.
Having thoroughly pondered these thoughts, I am feeling just a tad better about my circumstances, so I decide to do a little research on failure—just to really cheer myself up!
A wonderful author once wrote that even Elijah the prophet failed: “His faith had failed. The work he had begun he was not to complete. God bade him anoint another to be prophet in his stead.”
Wow! Elijah came up short and was relieved of his duty, yet the Lord took him to Heaven in a chariot of fire! God promoted and loved him with a compassion that only a loving parent could have!
I think God judges us by our efforts and not by the results, because sometimes our spirit is truly willing, but our flesh is just too weak (Matthew 26:41).
We’ve all failed, at times.
So along with humility, I’ve learned that the early development of a plant plays an important role towards a fruitful yield. But being inexperienced in such things, my crude transplant of our peppers and tomatoes from indoors to outside made them wilt, and stunted their growth. Fortunately, even though I overwatered our potatoes to near ruin, I was able to nurture our peppers to eventually bear some fruit. Our tomato plant, on the other hand, was lost along the way, a victim of my poor parenting.
But all was not lost. In an effort to save what was left of the garden and my pride, I learned some very interesting things. One was that the worse it smells, the better it is for gardening! Compost and fish emulsion can be used to rejuvenate the life of a plant. It’s as if loss and even failure, nurtured by grace, can be beneficial to our growth, no matter how foul or uncomfortable it seems at first!
And then there are my poor, rotten potatoes. As I hold one, my mind drifts back decades to that silly teenager in Brooklyn, New York, who had asked, “Why do all these horrible things keep happening to me?” Then, after reading my first Bible, I had realized that most of my problems were caused by me! In a moment of teenage inspiration, I made a long list of all the problems I’d had over the years; and next to each problem, I wrote down the commandment I’d broken that had caused it. I instantly gained an understanding that keeping the Ten Commandments must mean greater peace for my soul and my life. The gospel had fertilized my mind, and that is when my growth truly began.
But while time heals all wounds, the scars remain forever. And what could I do with so many painful scars?
Zechariah 13:6 says, “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms? Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’” I believe these scars are the fruits of our testimony. Break the rules in the garden and there are consequences.
But fortunately, we have a Master Gardener and a mighty Risen Savior! I know this because I broke the rules. I was a poor, rebellious student up against a patient, loving God. I received many Fs on my report card, but praise God, as we grow in grace, He does not hold our past failures against us.
Moses fled from Egypt after committing a terrible crime, then got angry and disobeyed God. Failure?
Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, then sent to prison. Failure?
Peter betrayed Christ, our Lord. Failure?
Jonah fled from God and was swallowed by a sea creature. Failure?
David betrayed and slew a friend, a mighty man and faithful servant. Failure?
Noah got drunk and shamed himself before his sons. Failure?
Abraham lost faith and had an inappropriate relationship, and a child. Failure?
Ok, I’m feeling even better about my failures in the garden.
Now imagine if, like the stories of old, your failures could save a thousand souls. Imagine if the scars of your testimony were the fertilizer for a thousand saints. That’s the only reason I write this blog.
As I toss these rotten potatoes back into the dirt to fertilize the future, all I can say is, “Bear fruit. Minister to the lost. Nurture the needy. Be faithful to your friends and your family. Give glory to Almighty God. And as a consequence, He will turn what seems like a defeat into an absolute victory—and you will flourish.”
As my wife and I enjoy the fruits of our labor—the spiciness of our poblano peppers, our succulent cucumbers, our one bell pepper, and what is left of our potatoes—I am convinced that next year’s garden will be twice as large. I’m quite sure of it, because I know exactly where I went wrong.
I won’t make the same mistakes again. And neither will you. Because God’s love can grow flowers from stone!
“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10–11.
