Read: 2 Timothy 4

Don’t give up!

Like many gardeners, I’m not a big fan of the current British weather. I seem to spend endless amounts of time nurturing and watering, and watching my plants struggle or give up altogether.

Earlier this year I had a sabbatical from work, and spent much of my time planning and digging and planting. This was going to be a particularly good year in the garden. It is somewhat disappointing to watch while so much effort seems to be going to waste.

It is easy to think of giving up.

In 2 Timothy 4, Paul is encouraging Timothy to keep on sharing the gospel, no matter how it is received. To be cheerful, patient, calm, willing to suffer, and most of all to work hard to share the good news of Jesus. Can I apply these words of encouragement to my gardening? Or, more importantly, to my own sharing of the good news?

I can think of many times when the effort has almost seemed to be too much. Yet, Paul, after a ministry that included stoning, shipwreck and imprisonment, can say: ‘I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful’.

He didn’t give up.

Sitting in the garden, looking at what at first sight I think of as the spoiling of my plans, I realise that it is not all a disaster. There are some stalwarts, like the lavender, that keep going almost whatever the weather.

And then there is a petunia in full bloom, growing up from under a stone.

Now, I didn’t plant any petunias this year. Usually, they are my bedding plant of choice for pots (not least because they can tolerate a fair amount of neglect!), but not this time. So this one must have grown from last year’s already forgotten efforts, watered by stray drops from the hose.

As I struggle to share the good news of Jesus, I believe it’s important to remember that I will never know when the seed I have sown will germinate, or what my efforts at watering might cause to bloom.