Plant God's Hope

 Psalm 33:20-22

We wait in hope for the Lord;

    he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,

    for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

    even as we put our hope in you.

When I was young, our family planted a huge garden. 

Dad plowed the ground and created rows for us to plant corn, green beans, tomatoes, peas, and other good veggies. Down the hill from our pond, Dad plowed a plot meant just for potatoes, which seemed gigantic in my young mind. 

When it came time to harvest and put up the bounty, everyone pitched in. 

My brothers, cousin, and I grabbed baskets and plucked beans and ears of corn off those beautiful plants. When we shucked the corn, I hated finding those gross little worms that ate into the kernels, but I did my job anyway. I much preferred the relaxing rhythm of breaking beans and shelling peas. When the potatoes matured, we searched for them as if they were Easter eggs buried in the rich soil. 

I look back on those days and remember how we all worked together. Dad plowed and planted; we picked, snapped, and shucked. All the women in the family canned multiple quarts of tomatoes and beans and froze bags of corn. We ran into snags along the way, too much rain or not enough and animals and insects who feasted on the plants. Yet, we still had a full bounty of food for the winter. 

God wants me to plant spiritual nourishment along with physical nourishment. When I read or hear His word, it nurtures the hope I have in Jesus. The same hope that gets me out of bed in the morning expecting a better day. I pray for peace and store it in my heart.

When life goes through winter seasons, the hope God harvested in my heart gives me courage to face each day. 

Plant God's hope in your heart and encourage it to grow.