God’s Spirit blows wherever it wishes. You hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It’s the same with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8 (CEB)
Last week I planted seeds for my vegetable garden. It is not a big garden, and I am in no way a good gardener. Last year was my first time trying a vegetable garden beyond having a tomato plant or two along the house years ago. With my garden last year, I would say that I did more learning than succeeding. From what I planted, I got maybe two meals worth of green beans. Beyond that the garden was filled with cherry tomatoes that I did not plant; the seeds must have been in the compost from the previous year. The cherry tomatoes came in fairly well, enough for a constant delicious supply for about six weeks. Yet, those plants were not intended and overran some of the other things that I did intend; I only got one tiny carrot to grow. Moreover, the tomatoes did not follow the orderly rows that were originally planted.
That’s so typical of the tensions of life, isn’t it? On the one hand, there are the planned out designs that we make, putting everything into orderly rows with thought out placement. On the other hand, the untidy chaos of life popping up where it will. I managed to get food from both, but it was not at all the food I imagined or the arrangement I expected. Make your best plans, and then go with the unexpected results that actually happen. It is a bit like being open to the Holy Spirit. We can plan our lives out in detail, and some of what we plan will in fact grow to fruition. Yet other things will also pop up, more unruly but perhaps more prolific. These interloping developments of life are not what we planned or expected or maybe even wanted, and may overrun our cultivated dreams. Yet there may be wonderful things that come from these unexpected places. As we live our lives, we are always trying to balance the tension of being prepared and being open to the unexpected that comes upon us. We don’t know when the Spirit will move us into some unexpected joy or u-turn that crashes our plans, but being open to those surprising moments allows us to respond faithfully whenever the moment arises.
I have learned a bit from having the garden last year. I again planted a few orderly rows of green beans, peppers, and Roma tomatoes. I don’t think there are any seeds still active in the compost. Perhaps everything will grow as planned. That would be good. But if some cherry tomatoes sneak in and mess up the rows, that will be fine as well.