I first wrote this in 2012—back when two spaces after a period was standard—so I feel confident that it will be either new to you or at least forgotten. With summer here and gardening season upon us, I thought it might be appropriate to share an updated version, hoping that it speaks to you on some level today, right where you are. As for me, I’m in the midst of a personal transplanting—another reason this piece feels timely. By the end, I hope you’ll see why.
Happy reading!
The Parable of the Marigold
Our seven-year-old, at the time of this writing, asked me, “Just how do the cows make cheeseburgers?” And so began the part of our homeschool curriculum about the origins of food. Even though I had a thriving vegetable garden in the backyard, our kids were surprised to hear that it didn’t originate in the grocery store. This discussion sparked another one about how often Jesus used agricultural terms in His spiritual teachings. Have you ever wondered why? I think it’s because, as long as there’s life on earth, everything we eat can be traced back to what grows in the soil. Even as plants are processed beyond recognition, the parables meant to offer insight into the Kingdom of God involving planting, growing, and harvesting will forever be something that connects with humanity.
I started square-foot gardening when our kids were little and discovered that, even in a small, urban backyard, a person can learn a lot about God just by growing plants. Companion planting, which is basically the idea that some plants grow well together and some don’t, is important to understand when your garden is small and everything is closer together. For example, beets and pole beans planted side by side will stunt each other’s growth, and cabbage next to lettuce will negatively affect its flavor. On the other hand, many plants really click, as in the case of the Native American technique known as The Three Sisters, where corn, squash, and beans are grown in the same spot. Corn provides a stalk for beans to climb, while squash leaves act as mulch, retaining moisture and suppressing weeds. The three essentially work together to produce a more bountiful harvest. Pretty cool, huh? And then there’s the marigold, a versatile flower that thrives almost anywhere, coexists with most neighbors, and serves multiple roles—it’s beautiful, edible, and a natural pest deterrent. For that reason, I always have marigolds scattered throughout my garden.
We know that God has a plan for His people—a big picture for His garden, if you will—and a purpose for each one of us, just like the plants. The simple act of gardening helped me make sense of why some of us gel, and some of us don’t. We’ve all worked alongside that person who brought out the worst in us. But it’s not necessarily an indictment on any one individual as much as a clue to the mystery that is the body of Christ. Just because I don’t like someone doesn’t mean he’s not serving the same God. Remember Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15? Beets and pole beans. We each possess unique abilities and gifts, and God knows best how to use and combine those, even if we don’t always get it right.
Some people are like the tree from Psalm 1. God seems to have stuck them in the ground to remain and produce fruit until the day they die. You know, the folks who’ve lived in the same house their entire lives? I can’t even imagine what that’s like. Others, like the marigold, He delights in constantly scattering about to serve different purposes at different times. The apostle Paul traveled around 10,000 miles by land and sea to spread the Gospel to all kinds of people. Now that, I can identify with. Though I’ve often yearned to stay rooted, serving one clear purpose in a single plot of soil, God in His infinite wisdom has seen fit to pull my family up by the roots time and time again and transplant us all over the world, using us in so many different roles I’ve lost count. And now, after having been a marigold for this long, I wouldn’t choose to be anything else.
Perhaps therein lies the beauty of God’s creation. Maybe part of the “working out” of our salvation in Philippians 2:12 is to learn to accept and embrace how and what God has created us each to be and to grow and thrive accordingly. Maybe if we appreciated each other’s differences instead of trying to conform others to our own ideas, God could delight in His garden’s variety. We might even yield that thirty-, sixty-, or hundredfold harvest Jesus spoke of in Mark 4:20. So, maybe you’ve never considered it, but now that we’re on the subject, is there a particular kind of plant you identify with?
