Welcome back to the Garden in Delight blog, happy 2015! New possibilities seem especially bright at the beginning of the year, so best to get Mustard in the Plant Guide, the plant marking faith in God’s possibilities. As promised, enjoy a poem to make it
all the sweeter
by adding plants in rhyme and meter.
Before long I hope to have an alphabet’s worth of botanicals for delighting in God’s Word in the garden, entering into the Lord’s poetic dimension that resounds in the land.
is for mustard,
seeds made famous in God’s Word.
Mentioned many times by Jesus,
their message must be heard.
Wake up! The smallest will grow and become
the largest and renowned;
even offspring of minute faith
scattered to the ground,
will multiply with madness,
moving past anticipation.
After all, it is God’s aim
to bless all the nations.
Laugh, laugh at such delight,
miraculous, full of glory!
God will not be mocked,
but he will write a story
with hyperbole, a literary device
used to exaggerate with humor.
Abraham went and Sarah laughed,
unwavering in the rumor:
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
though their seed was infertile.
In old age, Sarah bore a son!
Will I believe at every hurdle?
The outrageous and seemingly odd:
What is impossible with man
is possible with God.
Descending from this faith, a young couple
wondered what this might be…
And then to them—to us—a son was given
resounding God’s possibilities.
Will I walk by faith? Will I taste and see,
and plant mustard seeds in my garden?
Easily they will sprout and grow,
reminding of His pardon.
Mustard yields greens with a peppery bite,
and when weather warms, bolts to flower.
Each blossom bears four cross-patterned petals,
broadcasting the Son’s crushing hour—
and victory! O, that my faith would be bold
like mustard’s flavor embrace.
Hear the Savior’s Words in these small seeds:
NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE. Have faith!
Seeds show us how to believe in something we don’t yet understand or see — mini-faith factories, forging the habit in us to trust, be confident and assured of what will come. Seeds bring into being plants that did not previously exist (Romans 4:17); by doing so, they teach us that something as good as dead can be raised to life (Hebrews 11:12,19), paralleling the realities of faith in the Lord.
– from “Becoming Abraham’s Seed,” NIV G0d’s Word for Gardeners Bible, page 1282
“M” also stand for Miracles, a marvelous book by Eric Metaxas who spoke last Thursday down the street from me at Irving
Bible Church. I am certain that the coinciding of Metaxas’ appearance and my writing on mustard’s signpost to possibilities is no coincidence. Miracles is a deliberate, intense, often humorous (in person, he is hilarious!) inquiry into stories and occurrences on the possibilities of God. No, it’s not a gardening book. But the stories will grip you as they have me; how a gardener loves a good story! Let Metaxas’ work persuade you from another direction with forthright realizations and an engaging writing style. Meanwhile, sow those mustard seeds.
Photo Credits:
© 2015 Shelley S. Cramm Mustard greens in a winter garden, sown from Renee’s Garden Mild Mustard Mix.
© 2015 Shelley S. Cramm “M is for Mustard” botanical drop cap sketch
Thank you to the Metaxas crew who snapped the picture at book signing, January 29, 2015
