On an island, in the middle of a lake in Nicaragua, sits a piece of land that is home to 24 girls and boys ages 5-20. They call it Cicrin. This property is much more than just a home. It’s a place of hope, a place of love, and a light that shines over the entire island. This is where we too got to call home last month.
Once we arrived and got settled in, we were given a tour of the property. The kitchen, the dorms, girls house, boys house, the school, the Rancho (a big awning that sat on the lake with the perfect view for the magical sunsets God gave us.) and in the midst of it all, we were taken through the garden. To me.. it just looked like a giant field. As we were walking by, Karla (one of our ministry hosts who was giving us the tour) said, “Some of you will be working in here this month.” As soon as she said it, I felt God say “This is where you will be!” If we’re being honest, my immidiate thought was “No way Jose, too many bugs! So many creatures!! I’ll do something else!”
Later that night, Jake (team leader) was assigning jobs to everyone. He asked, “Britt, where do you want to be?” Of course I wasn’t going to actually voice that I wanted anything BUT the garden (as badly as I wanted to), so I just said, “I don’t care, anywhere is fine!” He responded with “Okay I’ll put you in the garden!” ….
Lesson Number One
God is going to put us in places and situations that we don’t particularly want to be in. He does this because these are the places that He can teach us. These are the places that are going to stretch us. And a lot of the time these are places we don’t normally spend a lot of time in. Which makes complete sense if you think about it. If we spend all of our time in the forest climbing trees, how are we ever going to learn to swim unless we go down to the water?
It took just one day being in the garden to realize that I wasn’t there by accident. It took just one day to realize “Wow, I’m going to learn a lot this month.”
We begin by weeding.
Most would argue that a garden begins with the foundation. This is correct. However, we have to remember that we have just been placed in the garden. Which means the garden has already been formed. The foundation was there way before we arrived. In fact, plants have already been planted and seeds have already been sown. This is something only the Gardener gets the credit for.
So here we are, in a garden, surrounded by plants and weeds and we have NO idea which is which. Where do the actual plants start and the weeds begin?
We need eyes that can see this. Eyes that placed each seed intentionally according to where they would thrive best. Eyes that not only see precisely where each plant remains but also every weed that surrounds it. So, even though we begin with weeding, we must first start with meeting the Gardener.
He will give us His eyes and teach us how to distinguish the good plants from the bad. He will SHOW us how to pull up the weeds because sometimes we don’t always understand when we’re told. Instead of giving us all the answers right away, He continues to teach us THROUGH the process itself. We learn that even though it’s easier to only pull out the part of the weed that is visible on the surface, we actually have to grab a hold of the root, and pull out everything that is UNDER the surface. We begin to realize that even though that may take more time, more effort, and may even be more painful, it’s truly the only way to get rid of it. As the Gardener looks over our work for the day, He gives us a lot of grace. He is able to tell which ones were removed from the surface and which ones were rooted up completely.
The Gardener could do all the weeding perfectly and in a fraction of the time we can. However, he likes company. He loves to invite us into all of the blessings that the garden brings. He wants us to be a part of the process, because ultimately, we are His plants. He wants to spend time with us and he wants us to grow. As we take care of the plants around us, He is taking care of us. It’s a cycle. The best part about accepting this process, is we get to build a relationship with the Gardener himself. He may seem like a stranger at first, but we come to learn how loving and joyful He is. We may not know the Word that He is trying to say, but by being in the garden He is able to teach us, He’s able to repeat it until we understand it in our own individual language. And because He values a relationship… He even lets us teach him things too. (or humors us at least.) 😉
In the garden with the gardener, Hilario!
Court with Hilario!
View of the island with one of the volcanoes in the background. Photo Cred: Jake Quijas
The Rancho with the kids.
Sunset from the Rancho!
Another sunset from the Rancho!
Also, if you missed the video blog, heres the link to the video for the month!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQntOA8etSA
