A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


March 14, 2012

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

     The words of this old nursery rhyme are certainly applicable to today's lay of the land.  I am still amazed at how many people in this country do not see the writing on the wall.  I hear the same old excuses....."Nothing will happen to the United States.  We've always been strong";  "The economy has turned the corner";  "You're just a scare-monger";  and "We've seen hard times before, and we'll rebound this time, too."
     So like our Mary in the children's poem, people continue to be contrary and defiant, while remaining ignorant of the state of their garden.  Perhaps it is the busyness of our lives--- we are so occupied with cramming as much activity into our daily lives as we can.  Kids have soccer practice, baseball games, dance lessons, karate lessons, summer camps; Parents have business meetings, business trips, social clubs, gym memberships, hair and nail appointments.  And everyone is plugged into an iPhone, iPod, or some other electronic device.  Meanwhile, the weeds are taking over the garden and their world is slowly and subtly disintegrating; and they aren't even aware of it.
     Maybe it's because I've chosen a slower lifestyle that I can see things more clearly.  My life isn't so rushed that I rely on some talking head to give me a 15-minute, biased and propagandized summary of the day's headlines.  I have learned that I can rely on no one but myself to research the truth.....my future is too tenuous to hand it over to the mouthpiece for any political party or social agenda.  And I've definitely learned to be less trusting.  No longer will I sit back and let leaders go unchallenged.  I will no longer follow blindly, without scrutinizing the consequences of our elected leaders' decisions.
     I guess I just don't understand how the masses cannot see it.  How do you cultivate a land as rich in freedom and liberty as what we've inherited, and then not make the effort to keep it fertilized with the truth about our history, watered with the Word of God, and adequately weeded of the seeds of tyranny and oppression?
the beginnings of a great harvest
     If rising food prices, exploding gas prices, continued unemployment, a decimated housing market, the weak dollar, threats of war around the globe, and mounting tension and violence here at home aren't enough to divert your attention from the latest viral video, then I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but you deserve to get hit by the tsunami that's coming our way.  But for the sake of your children and grandchildren, I beg you to get in the game!
     We are perilously close to being overrun by a swarm of locusts, and there will be nothing left in our garden with which we can replant. So please stop chasing the next superficial thing to occupy your limited attention span.  Step out of the rat race for just a day, and observe.  Can you honestly say you are producing a harvest that will feed your family in hard times?  Will the big car, bigger house, multiple credit cards, and name-brand jeans be enough to see you through?
     I admit that growing a successful garden is hard work; it's no picnic, and it's a slow process.  But when the harvest depends on your careful attention to each plant, you tend to see value in what you've planted, and you are zealous about protecting the garden from any and all unwanted infiltrators.  
     So won't you consider trading your contrary habits for more attentive ones?  Take notice of the state of our American garden, and help keep watch over her, and let's weed out the destructive roots of apathy and indifference before it's too late.
   
Isaiah 37:27     "Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame.  They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up."  

1 comment:

  1. Wonderful post, BelleRinger.
    I have slowed down for quite a few years, simply on the fact that I am disabled, and I cannot do what I used to do, but I can garden, and it has been a wonderful journey. Now, my life depends on it, my family and it is urgent that I really get a foot hold on better ways to do things in my tiny space, with more production. And by purchasing a pressure canner last year, it really improved my production and two dehydrators, my food stores, for long term.
    I am amazed that the people I live with around my neighborhood are oblivious of what is going on around them, they just keep buying booze, dope and party-ing. And I go about just being the freak in the neighborhood...
    Have a wonderful week Belle Ringer, keep on ringing.

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