30/04/2025
I have roses, and they bring me so much joy. I spend a few minutes every morning and night tending to them, and over time have learned the importance of these moments of care. I’ve also learned over time what every gardener knows… about aphids. Aphids are these teeny little bugs that come to suck the sweetness right out of the rose so it withers and dies instead of blooms. So each morning and night part of my task is to comb through stem by stem and squash any of those pesky aphids that would steal the beauty of my roses.Friday while I was on this early morning quest, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me while I tended to the roses and squashed maybe the thousandth aphid of the week. Do you have to worry about aphids on your parsley? No, I don’t. And what about on your tomatoes?No, I don’t. But each plant comes with their own pest and I do have to learn about those things. *Exactly. There is a specific attack on the specific fruit of each plant.*For tomatoes I have to inspect for tomato worms. For cucumbers, I have to inspect for white flies. And for my roses, it’s the aphids. Each plant has an attack on its specific fruit. But when that pest comes, I don’t think, my rosebush isn’t meant to have roses. I think, yes this is what happens. For roses you have to be able to address the aphids. And the same is true for us. For whatever fruit God has called us to produce there will be a specific attack on that fruit. The way that you will be tested and tried and will be specific to the type of fruit God has for you to produce, and when that pest/test comes, it’s not because the fruit isn’t coming - but because it is. The test brings up the things in my heart that need to come to the surface. It purifies me, it builds my character, and - it builds habits that protect the future harvest. Don’t despise the test that comes, seeming like an attempt to steal the fruit you are called to produce. The fruit is coming. And the test keeps you close to your Maker and shows you how to protect and steward what’s coming next.
