I used to grow my own vegetables. It was really good to come home, tend to the weeding – normally competing with the brassicas – and water/feed the hopeful seedlings. I can remember nipping out, bit like a child, hoping that the first shoots would soon appear above the ground.
As the weeks and months passed by, I could possibly consider whether we could harvest the ‘crop’. I might ask the next door neighbour, or a friend, most probably my Dad. They have all encouraged me. As the years went by, and my own confidence started to grow as well, I would start to be ambitious, looking to grow even more ‘exotic‘ produce. Now here I was talking about mixing garlic with parsley, or even grown broad beans – despite I find their taste horrible.
Brussel Sprouts…
Are they really only a Christmas vegetable?
I was very much a fledgling gardener. When it comes to making friends, developing those friendships, I suppose we may all be learning how to relate to each other, especially as times go by and circumstances change. When I say friends, I am not referring to that phenomena of Facebook Friends. Anecdotally I understand that, on average, we all have 338 Facebook friends (http://tiny.cc/94epbz), although we might actually know of perhaps half of them, if that.
I was reflecting upon how we share our faith with others recently. Is it something that we share only to those we trust? What of those in the Church who we rarely see: they may also value encouragement and support. Is it such a secret passion that we only reveal it if someone asks us? “Did you still go to church?”
It may be that we can say that we do go to Church on Sunday – but does our faith extend to beyond Sunday, and to every part of our life?
Recall that Jesus said that Heaven is near, that Heaven is at hand, it isn’t up there, distant, remote, but with us now. How might we share our faith practically today? Could we ask these 3 questions:
Where are you going this week?
Who will you meet?
What might you share?
It could be that simple. Could we say what God has been doing in our lives this last week? Or discuss how those you meet might think where God is. I love Baitings Dam: just to stop there and pause is so uplifting to me. To see the water cascading down is wonderful. I see God sustaining us all as we weave our own paths down the slipway.
If we are to grow, we may need to share with others, to be encouraged, to be fed, but to also encourage others, to help, care and support them.