Jack Lindsey is the current “Past-President” at Bethany. He has graciously agreed to share some of his past devotional writings on this site.
“The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” – (Isaiah 58:11)
Volumes have been written about the joys of gardening. As a wellness activity, it is hard to beat, and you don’t even need acreage to participate. Many have found that just tending potted flowers or herbs in a window garden can have health benefits. Gardening allows you to …
1) Exercise. Gardening increases joint flexibility and strength, and uses all the major muscle groups. One hour of gardening has been shown to burn the same amount of calories as a brisk 3-½ mile walk (I’m sure this involves doing more than sitting in the shade and picking at the weeds).
2) Improve your diet. As our First Lady has modeled, gardening is one way to increase nutrition. Vegetables and fruits that are grown from your own garden taste better so you and your kids will be more likely to eat them. And if you are growing more than a single plant your neighbors and friends become beneficiaries to the extra nutrition as well. As a side benefit, being in the sun increases vitamin D production (don’t overdo it, use your sunscreen!).
3) Be creative. Planning a flower bed, or deciding which vegetable seeds you will use, where you will plant them, and how you want your garden to look exercises your imagination and can give you a nice sense of control in a generally uncontrollable world. And what better way than to participate in an act of creation!
4) Calm your mind. Gardening gets you outside and away from the more artificial stimulants of life (like television). Gardening can be very meditative and calms your spirit. Watching and tending your garden as it grows brings a sense of the perspective of time and can foster patience.
5) Connect with the earth. Humans have a deep need to connect with nature. Even with our beautiful Colorado mountains and urban parks many of us have jobs that require more of a connection with technology than God’s earth. Even a few minutes spent in our small or large patch of nature can remind us that we are God’s creatures, and of the earth.
6) Participate with your family. To teach our children of the miracles found in God’s creation is an opportunity we are given. And what better activity to share with your spouse than creating beauty or sustenance? It sends a strong message that we believe in the value of a future harvest.
7) Connect with your childhood. Many of us have agricultural roots – it has not been that many generations since the dominant landscape of America was rural. At the very least, working in the dirt connects us with our childhoods, when staying clean was the least of our concerns.
And finally, gardening is good practice for the future. As Isaiah says in his vision of the Glorious New Creation, “They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands.” (Isaiah 65:21-22)
Peace and health – JL
© 2010 Jack Lindsey, Denver, Colorado – Used with permission
