My title is the title of a long ago comedy series that kept us in stitches. The problem is that my best friend is now living in a place called Emerald Gardens, and every time I’m asked where she lives, the name ‘Green Acres” surfaces…such is the mystery of the mind and the association of words.
I don’t have any ‘green acres’ surrounding me, but I do live in a townhouse complex surrounded by grass, trees and flowers. It is a delight to the eye and a beautiful background to the house I live in.
But alas, all is not perfect, for winter’s cold ravage the lawns, and last winter was a dandy. The sump pump water froze several times on the grass before I could straddle the snow and get the long, plastic hose attached. So the lawn underneath died! It took a bit of energy to scarify the thatch (on my hands and knees) and find the soil underneath. It is so aggravating to know exactly what has to be done and to no longer have the wherewithal to do it…took me two half-hour sessions before I was satisfied it was ready.
Four years ago I had a similar problem and just dug up the turf and put in new sod…a bout of sciatica cured me of that kind of digging in the dirt.
Anyway, the patch was ready, soaked down and I poured on the seed and fertilizer. I recall forty years ago doing something similar when we put a new lawn at our new home. Our farmer cousin stood and laughed and said we had seeded it enough to cover about five acres. But we did have a beautiful lawn!
This time I was not so extravagant. So the seeds fell, the rains fell and behold with a few prayers and much patience, the grass grew! I just love it when things grow. I really felt like I was helping God. It is such a beautiful expression of the nature of God.
By the same token I have learned to be as ‘faith’ filled with things in my own life. There are times when I must wait. Not my favourite word in the dictionary and probably one of the first words a child has to learn, along with yes and no. I am impatient and am astounded with God’s patience with me.
But like the story of the restoration of my lawn, so often it seems we have to go through this process of scarification…real hurt, real heartache, before God sprinkles us with faith and asks us to be patient…then He reminds us of His presence in little ways that build up our faith and finally we see new growth in our lives and in our beliefs.
So take heart. If the ‘green acres’ of your life needs restoration, God will not forsake you. Trust him, you may have to go through a rough spell of scarification, but faith is the seed that will sprout and sadness will pass and the green grass of belief and thanks will soon be a part the garden of your life.
