The Gardener

Do you blossom?

Once upon a time, there was a gardener who own a piece of land and he wanted to create a beautiful garden on this land.

So, he went out to buy some seeds and planted them all over the garden.

He was very excited because he can’t wait for the garden to bloom – he wanted to enjoy all the beautiful flowers.

One day as he was walking in the garden checking to see whether any plant has grown, he was SHOCKED to see a group of plants, hiding in the corner! “Hey….what are you guys doing hiding over there?” “Ohhh” the plants said, “we are afraid of the sun. We don’t want to get sunburn – that’s why we are all wearing hats and sunglasses”. The gardener shook his head….don’t you know plants need sun to grow? Take a look at yourselves. You all look so weak and thin and fragile. No beautiful flowers can possibly bloom from you. The gardener walked away in sadness.

He went on walking till he reached another group of plants. He was surprised to see they are all holding umbrellas! “Excuse me plants…..what do you think you are doing?” “ Ohhhh….we are protecting ourselves from the rain water. We are afraid we will catch a cold if the water falls on us. It will be too uncomfortable for us to bear”. “Are you crazy?” said the gardener. Plants need water to grow. Look at yourselves. You are all yellow and dried and withered. How can healthy flowers ever bloom from you? The gardener walked away in disappointment.

He then walked to another patch of plants. He was amazed! There were plants growing wild all over the place. There were tall ones, bushy ones….they were just creeping and crawling all over, like a jungle. The poor gardener could hardly see where he was going! “What is this? How come you are all looking so wild?” “Ohhhh…..we don’t want to be cut by the shears…keep them away from us. We like to be natural and free. We like to grow anyway we want.” The gardener sighed…..my wild plants, don’t you know that plants need to be prune to grow healthy? The dead ones need to be trim so that the healthy ones have space to breathe and grow. Look at you….you are all wild and shaggy…..how can flowers ever bloom? The gardener walked away, his head hung low with dejection.

The gardener knew he planted another patch of plant. It took him a long, long time to find them because they were so tiny……maybe like an inch tall. “Excuse me……what happened to you?” “Ehhhh….you see, we don’t really like the fertilizer ( you know, the cow poo-poo?) It’s extremely stinky so we rather stay small but clean. The gardener shook his head….how can flowers ever bloom from you?

Suddenly, something caught the corner of his eye. He looked up and his face broke into a beautiful smile. He saw the most beautiful flowers of different colours, growing healthy and strong. “Oh Master….the flowers said…are you happy with us?” The gardener replied….O my precious ones….you have allowed yourselves to receive the sun, and water, to get pruned and fertilized….see how much you have grown…..from a seed to a beautiful flower. I am so proud of you!

Now, I want you to use your imagination. The gardener in this story is GOD. We are the seeds. We are meant to grow into beautiful flowers for God to enjoy.

But many times, we run away from difficulties in life, for example, studying hard for your exams….just like the plants running away from the sun.

There are also times we don’t like to do things that make us uncomfortable, for example, not cheating in school and have all our friends tease us about it….just like those plants that run away from rain because it will make them uncomfortable.

What about the times we refuse to give up bad habits such as watching too much TV…aren’t we like the plants who didn’t like to be prune and only like to be free to do things their way?

And, not forgetting…there are also times we don’t like get our hands dirty and to serve God such as helping our teachers in SS or our parents at home? We are then like those plants that wont grow up because they don’t like the cow poo-poo.

The plants that finally bloom are the ones that submit to the sun, water, pruning and fertilizing.

God knows we need difficulties in life, uncomfortable situations, giving up bad habits and serving Him in order for us to grow as Christians. Remember that God wants each of His child to grow into beautiful flowers and the family of God to grow into a beautiful church that glorify His name.