“Don’t treat as a burden what I’ve given you as a blessing.” That’s what I heard the Holy Spirit whisper in my mind’s ear as I was tending my garden one spring day.
Bill and I had recently moved our family into a beautiful new home. Our yard boasted many expansive garden spaces, and I was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work that needed to be done. Freely voicing my complaints about the disarray had become commonplace. As I was stewing over a particular patch of weeds one afternoon, my mind drifted back to a memory from years ago. I recalled how I had deeply wished and prayed that my next house would have lots of mature garden spaces. I dreamed about how beautiful they would look and how rewarding it would be to work with mature plants, dividing them and arranging their layouts as I added in new varieties for pops of color and differing textures. It was a distant dream from years ago that suddenly settled back into my present thoughts. Just then I heard the gentle yet sure words of the Holy Spirit: “Don’t treat as a burden what I have given you as a blessing.” Instantly humbled, I understood God’s point. He had given me my heart's desire, and here I was dreading its very existence.
The reality is, the good things God gives us often require hard work and dedicated stewardship—whether it’s gardening, working our job, going to school, caring for kids, fixing our car, or cleaning the house. Remember when God gave the Isrealites the promised land? What a marvelous gift! It was the desire of their hearts, a land all their own, flowing with milk and honey! Their hard work was a major part of their apprehension of this gift of provision and abundant love.
As it turns out, God plans on us working. Work six days and rest on the seventh: that’s the format he laid out for himself and mankind when He gave Adam and Eve their garden blessing.
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2)
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)
The truth is, gardening in my yard is a lot of work, and it is appropriate to acknowledge that. However, I was reminded that day and am reminded regularly that a blessing is, firstly, a blessing and is meant to be appreciated as such. May this story serve as a reminder for us to treat blessings as they ought to be treated: as blessings, not burdens, as something to be thankful for and appreciated in the process.