We have been at the Christian Outreach Center for almost a month now and our time here is coming to an end. This month has been spent working in all kinds of new areas I was unfamiliar with; slopping hogs, sorting veggies, scrubbing spit off walls, and gardening. Yes, I have learned the fine art of shoveling dirt, racking mulch, planting trees, laying watering systems, and spreading seed. The man in charge of overseeing us, so that we don’t seriously damage property or ourselves, is Gardener. That’s right his name is Gardener (obviously not true but for privacy purposes we will pretend). He is a slender man, dark curls flow from underneath his hat, a scruffy beard hides the sharpness of his face, he at first was silent but in his broken English throws a good joke in from time to time now.
Gardener, however, is not a Christian. Amongst all the Christians that work at the C.O.C, Gardener is content just existing. He doesn’t search to find God among the seats of the church. The door to his room only stands ten feet from the steps of the sanctuary, but no old hymn or sermon seems to interest him. He has come to Darwin, Australia from a far off land. He left a job, home, potential family, and friends because he is in search of something more. More than the face value “I love you” or the self-serving realities of the world, like all of us who have found ourselves straying from God, I believe he is searching for a greater power.
Regardless of whether he believes he is searching for God or not my heart yearns for him to know the Lord. I experience discomfort being sure of the fact that if Gardener doesn’t come to know the Lord he will be lost. How long should I hope for? How long should I care? Our lives will soon take us down separate roads; I will go north and him west but I wonder how long my hope for Gardener will linger. Our paths are very unlikely to cross again and so when we leave on Friday all that I’ll have of him is the memory placed on my heart. I may never know until it is too late if Gods grace was enough for him.
My only hope lies in prayer; as he runs from responsibilities, family, friends, God and searches for who he wants to be. I pray he runs right into God. While he finds comfort in the nature that surrounds him; my hope is that he begins to question creation. That Gardener would see God in a sunrise and his grace amidst the stars. God I pray that you fill me with hope that I may one day see Gardener again.
