The Garden of the Heart

How to be happy by tending to your spiritual heart

By A.M. Glover

Text copyright © 2013 A.M. Glover- 1st, 2nd Edition

© April 2014 A.M. Glover- 3rd Edition

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, store in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means- electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise- without prior permission in writing from the author.

This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Please purchase only legal electronic copies and help protect the author’s rights and prevent internet piracy.

Cover Photo © weerapat1003/DollarPhotoClub

Scripture quotations are taken from the following:

The Holy Bible, King James Version. New York: Oxford Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2008. http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/. Used by permission.

This book is dedicated to my wonderful husband who has such a beautiful, caring, loving, kind and honest heart. Thank you honey for showing me how much one person can love when their heart starts to look like the Heart of Jesus.

It is also dedicated to all those who are victims of domestic violence. You are not alone. God is always there for you.

Introduction

When I first met my present husband, there was this wonderful attraction. Everything was so exciting and my heart went thumpity thump whenever he looked at me or smiled or even said my name. I daydreamed about him a lot; looked forward to hearing his voice on the phone and anticipated when we could be together again. After about seven months, we got married and then the reality set in. Did I stop loving him? No, but I started knowing him. I learnt about him and his ways, likes, dislikes, fears, quirks and weaknesses. I started to know his heart. The more I knew him, the more I loved him. It has been over twelve years since we have met, and I love him more now than when we first met. My heart still thumps when he looks at me a certain way. I still enjoy being with him and hearing that special way his voice tinkle when he laughs over the phone. What is so special about this relationship? We both share hearts. We belong to each other. When one is hurting inside, the other is too. When one is happy, the other is happy. The same way it is with our spiritual hearts. When we belong to Jesus, He belongs to us. We give our hearts to Him and He helps us to make it like His. Just as a marriage takes work, the union of our hearts with the Lord’s heart take work to make it like His. We have to allow Jesus, the Master Gardener to guide us in taking care of the Garden of our Hearts.

Preface

The Garden of the Heart

The sun was stifling hot. Not a breeze was stirring. The birds were chirping to each other. It seemed as if they were complaining of the heat. The incessant roar of the tiller against the hard earth broke the monotony. The man paused to turn the tiller around and start a new row. His muscles were bulging as he pressed on to another row, leaving behind clumps of broken dirt in its wake. The blades of the tiller kept on turning repeatedly. The earth gave in to submission of the force, protesting but yielding. Every now and then, the man stops to remove a stone or two or maybe a stubborn root of a weed.

His face was one of determination. His thoughts moving forward to when he can plant his seeds and watch the miracle growth. In due time, it would produce good fruit all ready to be harvested. After working on the soil for a long time and making it loose enough for planting, he raked it evenly. He was satisfied. The soil was finally ready. His eyes glowed with a sense of anticipation.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Preface

Chapter 1-The Glory of the Garden

Chapter 2 -Tilling the Soil of your Heart

Chapter 3- Planting the Seeds

Chapter 4- Growth

Chapter 5- Care and Maintenance

Chapter 6- Harvest Time

Chapter 7- The Master Reaper

Chapter 8- Tips to have a healthy Garden of the Heart

Chapter 9- A study of the Heart

End Notes

References

A note from the Author

About the Author

‘OUR ENGLAND IS A GARDEN, AND SUCH GARDENS ARE NOT MADE

BY SINGING:- “OH, HOW BEAUTIFUL!” AND SITTING IN THE SHADE.’

Rudyard Kipling, “The Glory of the Garden”ˡ

<><><>

Chapter 1

The Glory of the Garden

MY GARDEN

A GARDEN is a lovesome thing, God wot!

Rose plot,

Fringed pool,

Fern’d grot-

The veriest school

Of peace; and yet the fool

Contends that God is not-

Not God! in gardens! When the eve is cool?

Nay, but I have a sign;

‘Tis very sure God walks in mine

(Thomas Edward Brown 1830-1897)²

Do you like gardening? Do you have a green thumb? Maybe you are like me. You love a beautiful garden but cannot work it to create a perfect one that has no weeds and yields a bountiful harvest, or filled with healthy looking flowers. It takes a lot of work, skill, knowledge, stamina, determination and patience, along with the right tools, responsibility and dedication to have the perfect garden.

I remember my first garden when I came to live here in Georgia. My husband had the land ready. He went and bought the seeds and planted them when it was time to plant. The garden did not just appear magically. Every day, we had to water the seedlings. The sun was so hot, that it really was not too appealing to go and be in the garden, watering all those plants day after day. I even started to question what we had gotten ourselves into. The kids helped and complained. I helped and complained too, sad to say, but we still kept on doing what needed to be done. Not only did we have to water the plants, but we also had to pull out weeds that were threatening to choke some plants out. It was not too much fun to pull weeds, especially in a large garden. It was very tiring at times. We continued to do what we needed to. Soon, the plants started to grow and our hopes grew as well. Our complaints turned into zeal. Our eyes were on our goal. When, the first flower showed, it was so exciting that we could not wait until it started to turn to a fruit. Then, when we had the fruit, we could not wait until harvest time! We were filled with excitement and shortly afterwards, we were reaping the harvest. There were squash, cucumbers, watermelons, tomatoes, peppers, okras, corn, beans and even peanuts. We were giving away so much bounty and yet we kept having an overflow. Thanks to my hardworking gardener husband and his vision.

A good gardener has a true vision and sense of purpose when he is planning his perfect garden. Love is part of that vision. Our heart is just like a garden. The type of soil there is, what we plant and how much care we give will determine what our garden grows. No other gardener can take care of that garden better than the Master Gardener Himself. Let Him till the soil for you. He does a better job. Let Him plant the seeds of love in your heart’s garden. His seeds are of the finest quality. Let Him guide you on creating the perfect garden. His ways are perfect. The only requirement is that you are the one who would have to tend to it daily.

Let us take a closer look into our hearts shall we? I am not talking about that pumping, throbbing physical muscle we have inside our bodies. I am talking about the spiritual muscle that is in the core of our being. Is it overgrown with weeds of despair? Does it look like a hard, crusty desert of anger? Are there beautiful flowers of hope, plants of love or vegetables of faith ready for picking? Stoop down for a minute and feel the soil. Get yourself a handful and feel the texture. Is it easy to get some in your hand? How does it feel?

Now, let us take a walk in your heart’s garden and see if we can find what is planted there. Can you tell? Look at any fruits or blooms. How do they look? Are they infested with any bugs of jealousy or pests of greed? Do they look as if they are starving for life-giving water or struggling among the weeds of loneliness to get some heavenly sunlight or air of peace? Are there any stones of ignorance or apathy? Are you feeling discouraged or overwhelmed? Then do not despair because the Master Gardener has a guide for us all on how to have the Perfect Garden.

“The blades of the tiller kept turning over and over. The earth gave in to submission of the force, protesting but yielding.”

Chapter2

Tilling the Soil of your Heart

“Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief” (PROVERBS 28:14)

“But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone” (ZECHARIAH 7:11-12)

Before you can prepare a garden, you need to test your soil and see if it is right for planting. ˡ By testing the soil, you would be able to determine what kind of soil you have. Then you may have to add lime, manure or mulch, depending on what results you get from testing. The ground must be broken up and tilled. You may use a garden fork, spade or tiller. After tilling the ground, you need a rake to level it out before planting. Tilling is a slow process. You have to let the tiller do the work. The tiller should go down deep, around six to eight inches. Tilling improves the texture of your soil and it helps remove the weeds whose roots are deep down.

The same way a gardener has to till the soil for a garden to be ready for planting, your heart needs to get ready for planting also. Who better than to prepare the soil of your heart than the Lord Himself! Let Him test it. Is your heart hard from sin? Is it muddy and swampy from all the tears of self-pity? Is it stony and rocky from bitterness and anger? Is it crumbly from lack of mercy and grace to others?  Is it packed and unyielding from pride? Or is it soft and fertile from love, compassion, self-control, prayer, obedience, faith and meekness? If you are like so many others, then your heart needs to be tilled for planting.

Remember that we cannot plant seeds in a hard ground. The ground needs to be made ready to accept the seeds. Let the Master Gardener plough the garden of your heart. By ploughing and tilling your heart, you are made to confess unto Him. The tines of His tiller will tear at you, but it is only because you need to be worked into submission and be ready for planting. Give your heart to Jesus. Do you remember how the gardener has a love as part of his vision? Well, so does the Master Gardener and you are the object of that love!

I never knew that I was the object of the Master’s love until I was well into my adult life and had kids of my own. It is never too late for any of us while we are here on this earth, living in this sinful world. My heart was stony and rocky from being bitter to my ex-husband. He was a very abusive man. We got married at a very young age. I was seventeen and pregnant; he was going on twenty. Two weeks into the marriage, he started beating me after I complained when I saw him holding hands and cozying up with the secretary of his parents’ store. At first, after he would slap or hit me, he used to say that he was sorry. Then he quit saying it. He had a volatile temper. Life was not pleasant most of the time. I kept the abuse from my family as much as I could. For fifteen and a half years, I put up with physical, sexual (yes, a wife can be sexually abused by her husband) and verbal abuse from someone who treated me worse than dirt. I was pummeled by clenched fists, kicked all over, choked till I felt my eyes almost bulged out of my head, slapped, had my long hair pulled, arms twisted behind my back. These things and more happened repeatedly. Some of the things happened even while being pregnant with my first two children. My nose was broken twice; the first time it happened, I had to get nasal reconstruction because it was healing off center from being broken. He threatened my life more than once if I ever told anyone or tried to leave him. I remember one occasion, when I was around seven months pregnant with my first child. I decided to leave him. He threatened to take a gun and blow his head off. I felt trapped and stayed with him, mainly because I did not want my baby to grow up with a father.

He constantly called me unmentionable names that are not befitting a woman. I was born and raised in a different religious background and he would also call me the most demeaning names for that religion, even years afterwards when I converted to Christianity, he would still call me those nasty names. I was so helpless and filled with hatred and bitterness. I cried to God over and over again. I felt as if I was being punished for all the wrongs I did in life. I kept praying to God and appealing to Him for help. Did I stop to listen to what He had to say? Of course not! I was only thinking about myself and all of my troubles. I cried out to God so many times, but somehow or the other, I just did not give all my troubles for Him to take care of. How many of us are that way? We ask God for help, yet we do not stop to listen to His advice. We go to Him at the foot of the Cross and drop our burdens but when we return, we take the burdens back with us. I took the burdens back with me and my heart was still filled with resentment and self- pity for years.

I had started to read the Bible and prayed to God continually. One night, I had this weird dream of me being outside on a dark starry night, when the stars suddenly joined together like in a dot-to-dot puzzle, and they formed the outline of a male face with a beard. The face was almost as big as the sky right overhead. I could not help but fall to my knees feeling scared. His voice was like thunder. I did not understand what was being said to me, but I woke up feeling confused and scared. I thought that the reason that I felt scared in the dream was because God was chastising me for all of my wrongs that I had ever done in life.

Soon, the bad turned to worse. My father died from a heart attack. I was closer to him than I was with my mother, and it hurt really badly to lose him. I felt as if my heart was being ripped out from inside of me. My ex-husband was not concerned too much about the loss I felt. All he thought about was how much he could control me and make me do his bidding. If I refused, he would curse and lash out. His words were like daggers piercing me over and over again. Nothing seemed to please him. One of the things that I remember from those days long ago, was that I had to make his coffee at just the right temperature. One day, somehow or the other, the coffee seemed to be too hot for him and he threw it on me. The hot liquid caused my shirt to stick to my skin. I had to take a pair of scissors and cut open my tee shirt so that I could remove it. The coffee burned me but it was my spirit that was hurt even more. My self-esteem was getting lower and lower. The life of abuse continued and I started being rebellious, and felt that it did not matter anymore what kind of life I led- that I was doomed anyway. I became disrespectful when he hit me and argued back. I felt very defensive. I stopped caring and acted in ways that I should not have. I went to the priest to confess my sins and my husband even went on one session. I used to visit the priest a few times for counseling, but stopped because he started acting ungodly. My marriage was on rocky ground; my father was dead; my performance on my job was being affected; my emotional, mental and physical health was going downhill. I was heading for a nervous breakdown after being in that situation for so long.

To make a long story short, the soil of my heart was stony, unyielding, crumbly and dry but the Lord was tilling in me. Little did I know that was what was happening in my life. The abuse continued, but I still cried out to God. I did not hate God. I just thought that He was not hearing my cries because of all of the bad. The best part of all was that, after years of praying and crying out for help, the Lord started working in me. Even though I had converted to Christianity years before, I had not given my heart to Christ. After the death of my father and the death of my first marriage, I gave my heart to Him. I finally gave in and let Him work in me.

Today, my life has changed for the better. I am no longer married to that abusive man. I am not saying that divorce is good. I am saying that no one should live under those awful circumstances without any kind of outside help, support and counseling. God’s plan is not for a man and woman to be divorced but sometimes, life happens and He provides a way. He always does. He knows that we are human beings and our natural instinct is to be thinking and feeling in the flesh. My ex-husband and I were thinking in the flesh. We were not seeking God’s will. Therefore, we made all sorts of mistakes, sinned and acted selfishly. Who does not sin when living in the flesh? That does not mean it is okay to let a marriage go, but I am thankful to my Lord for bringing me out of that bad situation and leading me to a new life with Him. I am grateful for my present husband. He treats me with love and respect. He has a wonderful heart.

If you have never given your heart to Jesus, let us spend some time right now and talk about this. The Bible says that all of us are sinners.

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (ROMANS 3:10)

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (ROMANS 3:23)

None of us is perfect except God. We are all sinners no matter how good we try to live our lives. Have you ever lied? Have you ever cursed? Have you ever let your anger get out of control sometimes? Have you ever disliked someone greatly? It does not have to be something on a grand scale like murder in order for someone to be a sinner. Since we are all sinners, we will go to Hell because that is the consequence for being a sinner. Do you want to know something? God does not want us to go to Hell so He provided a way out. He gave us a FREE gift of eternal life, made possible by the death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (ROMANS 6:23)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (JOHN 3:16)

We do not have to go to Hell because God sent His only Begotten Son, Jesus to die for us on the cross and His blood washes away our sins- past, present and future. His death, burial and resurrection allow us to be a citizen of Heaven if we put our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (ROMANS 5:8)

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (ACTS 4:12)

Jesus is the only way to Heaven. All you have to do is trust in Him, confess your sins and believe in your heart that He is our Risen Savior. Your works or deeds have nothing to do with it. We cannot earn our way to Heaven. I have some friends and family members who believe that it is what they do, that will get them to Heaven. They had been brought up that way, and that is the way they live and bring up their children too.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost”(TITUS 3:5)

“without shedding of blood is no remission.” (HEBREWS 9:22)

“ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”(ACTS 16:31)

ROMANS 10:9 -“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

If you have never given your heart to Jesus, why not do so now? Here is just a sample prayer that you can say.

Dear Jesus,

I know that I am a sinner and if I died right now in my sin, I would go to Hell. I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that You are God’s only Begotten Son, who came down from Heaven and died on the cross and resurrected after three days, and that it is only through You, that I can have eternal life in Heaven.

I am trusting You as my Lord and Savior. Please save me.

Amen!

You are now saved and will go to Heaven when you die. There is no fancy prayer. It is not the prayers that get anyone saved, but rather His grace through faith (Read Ephesians 2:8). You can never lose that salvation. Now that you have given your heart to Jesus, the tilling has begun!

“After working on the soil for a long time and making it loose enough for planting, he raked it evenly. He was satisfied. The soil was finally ready. His eyes glowed with a sense of anticipation.”

Chapter 3

Planting the Seed

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1PETER 1:23)

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (PSALMS 119:11)

The gardener would create rows for planting and fertilize his soil. Then he would plant his seeds and cover them up so that the birds, weather and other hindrances would not prevent or stunt the growth of the seeds. He waters his seeds daily and ensures that everything is right before he leaves the garden. All seeds need air, moisture and light for germination to take place.

After you have your heart tilled by God, let Him plant His seed (Word) in you and water it with love. The Son will shine His Light on you to help you grow.

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” (LUKE 8:11)

Ronnie was a nine-year old boy who grew up in church. He had heard the preaching of God’s Word all his little life. His mother took him to church ever since he was in diapers. Did that mean that he was the perfect little boy any mother would dream of just because they went to church all the time? No, he was not. He was a typical young lad who was filled with mischief and finding himself in trouble many times over. He had even started smoking his first cigarette when he was five years old. One day, little Ronnie was in church and something finally caught his attention. He heard the preacher saying that if anyone asked Jesus to save them, that they would be saved and not go to Hell when they die, but instead they will go to Heaven. All they had to do was ask Jesus. He could not get that thought out of his head. Those words seem to speak directly to him. The next day, he went to the wash shed and he knelt down and spoke to God. He told God what he heard the preacher said and that he believed that the preacher would not lie about it. He asked the Lord to come into his heart and save him so that he would not go to Hell when he dies.

Did little Ronnie get saved that day? If he put his trust in Jesus and confessed his sins and believed in his heart that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead and is alive today in Heaven, yes he did. You see, that Sunday, God’s seed was planted in his heart through the preacher and it was taking root. The preacher most likely touched on salvation every time he went to church, but it never meant anything to that little boy until that particular Sunday. He was just nine years old but those words that the preacher spoke were powerful and direct to him just as if it would be to an adult. It does not matter how old anyone is, God speaks to every heart. He is not a respecter of persons. Some of us take longer than others to allow God’s word to be planted in our hearts and to take root. Take me for example. I was an adult before becoming a saved Christian.

Now, after Ronnie was saved, did that make him perfect? No, it did not. He will tell you that if you ask him. He continued to live life like a normal boy and teenager. He got into fights and did stuff that he was not supposed to, just like all of us did when we do not live for the Lord. Later on, after he became an adult, he was not having that special inner peace he had wished to have. God was working on him again. He faced many trials from financial to family. He was married and had kids of his own, yet his life seemed incomplete until one day, when his little daughter almost died in his arms, he decided that he was going to live for the Lord and do what God wants him to do. You see the Lord was tugging at his heart’s strings to become a preacher but he was running from it. Who can hide from the Lord? Jonah tried to but he failed. We cannot. When Ron made that decision to submit his will to God, it seemed as if things became much clearer. He started to pull the weeds out from the garden of his heart. It was starting to bloom. Did that mean bad things did not happen? No, he still has trials and tribulations but by God’s strength, he is able to endure whatever comes his way. Today, Ron is a preacher and he shares his story of that wash shed to whoever will listen.ˡ

<><><>

TIP: Make sure that you are getting the right seeds planted in the garden of your heart. Let the Lord be the one to do the planting and not that of this world. His seeds of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and temperance are of the finest quality. You are guaranteed to have a garden with beauty as the end result. The Enemy plants rotten seeds of wretchedness and causes stunted growth and produce bitter fruit in the garden of your heart. Whatever the Master Gardener plants will bring forth good fruit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law”

(GALATIANS 5:22-23)

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth”

(1 JOHN:4)

Chapter 4

Growth

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (ISAIAH 53:2)

The gardener checks on his garden daily, looking out for any dangers such as animals, pests, weeds or climatic factors. He is very diligent in his work. He just does not leave the garden and expect it to grow magically. He needs to make sure that the plants are getting what they need to grow to their fullest potential.

You need to do the same with your spiritual heart. No matter how harsh life is, you need to keep on following the Master. Use Him as your guiding light. A plant grows in the direction of light. Jesus is the Light. He is the Truth and the Way. If we follow Him, then our hearts will be growing in the right direction.

What are some of the ways we can grow spiritually? Well, first of all, we have to be obedient to God. We have to yield to His will and not our will. Have you ever seen a plant trying to grow in different directions instead of up? What does the gardener do? He takes a stake and ties the plant to it to guide it into growing straight. Sometimes God does that with us too. We may have His seed planted in our hearts, but we still tend to go astray. Then God will jerk us to get our attention and pull us towards Him. He may do that by allowing something unpleasant to happen in our lives. That is what happened to King David. Do you remember how he started going astray when his eyes wandered to Bathsheba bathing while he was on the rooftop? So many things happened as a result of that straying. First of all, David was disobedient to God. He was not where he was supposed to be. Then he committed adultery, lied and caused a murder. Because of David’s disobedience, many people including him and Bathsheba, had to suffer the consequences. He lost his child that was conceived by the adulterous union; his son, Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar. Amnon was soon murdered by another one of David’s son, Absalom. Absalom tried to usurp the kingdom. He also took David’s concubines on the same rooftop so that everyone could see what he was doing with them. Absalom later broke his neck while riding a horse and Joab, who was a commander in David’s army, stabbed Absalom in his heart. So many tragedies have happened directly and indirectly because of David’s disobedience.

What did David do when he heard that Absalom died? His heart hurt for his child no matter how much sorrow Absalom had caused him. In fact, his heart hurt for all his children that suffered. King David was known as a “man after God’s own heart”. He messed up really badly when he disobeyed God but he knew it and did what a lot of us do not do. David truly repented. He knew that there were serious consequences to his sins. After accepting whatever punishment God gave him, David did not become bitter nor made excuses for his actions. He continued serving God all the days of his life. The Book of Psalms testifies to this. He wrote most of the psalms and in them, you could see that special seed that God planted grow and bloom in David’s heart. His actions showed it. He gave praise, cried out and gave praise, again and again. No matter what life dealt him, David lived for God day and night. He thanked God when he was in the valleys of life as well as when he was on the mountaintops. David did not allow any root of bitterness to be part of him. He yielded his will to God’s will.

<><><>

In order for growth to occur in the Garden of our Hearts, we have to yield to God’s will. I had lost a child through miscarriage eleven years ago a few months after my present husband and I were married. I was devastated. The thoughts that went through me were taking me over. I felt guilty, punished, hurt, distraught, frustrated, and angry. It was only the thirteenth week of my pregnancy. I did not know if the baby was a boy or girl. I did not get to feel him or her growing inside of me and move around nor did I get to see what he or she looked like or hold in my arms. To some people, it was just a fetus. To me, it was a life, my own flesh and blood. I cried and cried. Even my husband felt guilty. He thought that because he wanted a boy at first, maybe the baby was a girl and God took her away from us. The doctor recommended us to try as soon as possible to have another one. I was scared. We tried and tried for a few months. We finally gave it all to God. After lots of praying from friends and family, I finally got pregnant again and we had a beautiful baby girl. Today, we are trying to bring her up to serve the Lord. She loves to sing and whenever she can, she would do solos at our church to praise God. We see the growth of the seed of yielding our will to God’s will.

Losing a child is extremely hard. I have seen it happen to others who just cannot move on with their lives and yield to God’s will as David did. People who were serving God for a long time became broken. They still serve God but not totally giving in to His will. Some of them are living in the past and just want to stop living. Some are living like shells of themselves, just living from day to day and do not care what happens to them anymore. It is hard to see anyone like that, especially when they are afraid of letting go. Understandably, they are filled with hurt, anger and resentment but they have to let go of all that in order to heal. Some people do not want to let go of that anger but rather hold on to it. We really cannot control everything that happens in our lives. Have you ever heard the saying that you cannot control the wind but you can adjust the sails? It can be hard but it is worth it. If we just give it all to God and let Him take care of it, it does not remove the problems but our burdens become lighter. He gives us the strength to bear it through.

When people are in pain or they are heartbroken, they easily tend to take their eyes off the Lord because they are so overwhelmed with grief and sorrow. Those who have lost a loved one can have their spiritual growth stunted because of the bitterness of the loss. They can still produce fruit, but it will become bittersweet. Some may not fully live for God because they want to. It is only because they feel that they have to. Oh, how many of us are like that? Do we have roots of bitterness in us? How does our fruit taste? What is stunting us? Is it health problems? How about finances or dysfunctional families? Maybe it is wayward kids or unfulfilled dreams. On the other hand, is it because we are so far away from God that we do not hear His still small voice? If that is the case, remember that God is not the one that moved away from us. We are the ones who moved away from Him. We tend to have negative outlooks because we are not yielding to His will and trying to do things in our strength.

Not everyone has a negative outlook. My father in law recently was burnt from his waist down to his knee with third degree burns. When I went to see him, all I kept hearing was praises to God. Neither he nor his wife sounded bitter. They kept saying that it was for a reason. The light in their eyes was not growing dim. They have a huge hospital bill and more to come because he just had skin grafts done. What are they doing? They keep praising God. They felt that it was God’s will for it to happen. That it happened for a good reason. You see they were exercising their seeds of faith and it was growing strong. They yielded their will to God’s will.

<><><>

TIP: Continue to study God’s word. Pray daily. To quote Bernard, “Prayer is a virtue that prevaileth against all temptations.” ˡ Have a close relationship with your Master Gardener. Yield to His will. Grow spiritually. Always make sure that your heart has room for spiritual growth so that it does not become stunted. Do not let bitterness take root because if it does, it would be hard to get rid of since bitterness keeps growing if it is not nipped early on. Bitterness is a poison and it kills and spreads to others. How is this so? Well, it affects the person who is bitter. It robs them of their joy. It prevents them from having a good relationship with God. Relationships with others like spouse, children, family members, friends, coworkers are also affected. Bitterness also causes health problems because with bitterness, stress comes in and we all know what stress does to people.

I am a good example of what stress does to people. Stress from the bad things in my life made me bitter. I was bitter with my ex-husband for his abuse; bitter with my family for not being understanding when I could no longer stay in that marriage due to fear, desperation, uncertainty and lack of support. My emotional, mental and physical health started spiraling downwards. I was bitter when my stepchildren were disrespectful, undisciplined and fought me every step of the way for years. I was bitter when their mother kept spreading lies to hurt my reputation. I was bitter when I had the miscarriage. I was bitter when my children started to be rebellious. I was bitter for all the bad things happening in my life. All this bitterness kept on growing until I had to give it all to God to take care of. Even though I gave it to Him, I still have to pay the consequences of that bitterness; just as David paid the consequences of his sin.

Soon my health became affected by all those years of bitterness. I have frequent insomnia and get an average of four to five hours of sleep for the most; sometimes even less. I started having physical problems. I have gained a lot of weight. My hair started thinning and breaking off. I am a glaucoma suspect. I have breathing problems, chest pains and I feel tired a lot. That bitterness also had stunted my spiritual growth for a long time. Did I still love God? Yes, I did. Did I go to church and hear the preaching and teaching of God’s word? Yes, I still went to church. Yes, I was trying my best not to sin daily, but my eyes became “blinded” by the blackness of bitterness. You see, like a wayward vine, I was groping in the darkness and not turning to the source of light. I was trying to do everything in my own strength rather than let God be the source of my strength. Finally, I was able to understand it. I asked God to remove the bitter roots from my heart. I am so glad that I asked Him!

I have accepted my miscarriage as God’s Will for our lives. I am also no longer bitter to my stepchildren. I keep them in my prayers every single day. I do not become stressed out when they show up, but rather enjoy when my husband would sit and make jokes with them. I have come to understand that no matter how any of our children may act, that they are individuals and we have raised them up the best as we could have done under the circumstances. We may not be excellent parents but our love for them has never dwindled. They may have caused us a night or two of worry (or maybe more) but we have found that when we cast our burdens to the Lord, that we prevent the poison from the bitter roots from spreading in the Garden of our Hearts.

“Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” (HEBREWS 12:15”)

I had to make the decision to get rid of the bitter roots but you know what? Some people just like to keep holding on to it. They are afraid of letting go. They just like to feel sorry for themselves or they think that they deserve what is happening to them. They tend to punish themselves by holding on to those bitter roots. Not everyone wants to grow. Have you ever heard some people say that they do not want to grow up? Well, that is true for Christians too. Some people do not want to grow spiritually. Some of them are saved just to get away from going to Hell. I mean that is not a bad thing in itself but not growing in Christ is. When the Master Gardener’s seed is planted in our hearts, it is meant to grow the way it was intended. We are here for a purpose. We are not to just think selfishly and forget or ignore others who have not accepted Jesus and are on their way to Hell. The very fact that we are a citizen of Heaven is because of an unselfish act of God Himself who gave His only Begotten Son for us to go to Heaven if we choose Him as our Lord and Savior. When we spread the Good News, we are taking care of the garden of our hearts the way the Master Gardener intends us to.

“ And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered”(2 CHRONICLES 31:21)

Chapter 5

Care and Maintenance

“Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up” (MATTHEW 15:13)

When the gardener plants his seeds, he weeds out the plants that are not planted by him. These unwanted plants are not part of his vision so the weeds must go because the garden would not be how he intended it to be as he had planned it. Keep an eye out on the garden of your heart. Watch out for weeds and do not let them get out of control. We too need to weed out what had not been planted by the Master Gardener. It is so easy for our heart’s garden to be filled with weeds. Weeds have a tendency to grow overnight. Weeds of resentment, anger, worry or any type of sin can bring your heart’s garden to take over your heart and making it an ugly eyesore. Have you ever seen how a neglected garden looks? It is so repulsive and does not beckon an invitation to others to come and have a look at it. It is pure ugliness.

Weeding a garden is hard work. The more you leave unattended, the harder and longer you would have to work at it. If you want a bountiful harvest or beautiful blooms in your garden, you must tend to it daily. How do you care for the garden? You water it. You add your mulch. You pull weeds. You remove stones. You de-head dead blossoms. You may need to do some trimming or staking. You may need to add fertilizers or plant food. Tending to the garden of your heart needs work too. Water it with His Word daily. Mulch it with scripture. Pull out the weeds of bitterness, resentment, greed, hatred, jealousy, lust, idolatry, disobedience. Remove the stones that will make you stumble in your walk with Him.

“Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field”(Genesis 3:18)

Be careful that you do not neglect the garden of your heart. Neglect is one sure way for overgrown weeds, unwanted pests, filth and ugliness to set in. Can you picture a garden like that? It is not too appealing is it? No one wants to visit there. No one wants to bother being around it. Well, how about the garden of your heart? Do you think the paths are cleared for the Master Gardener to walk with you? Bad habits can be very hard to break. If your bad habits are causing you to experience discontent, pain, suffering, apathy, then maybe it is time you start cleaning your heart’s garden. What is causing you to be this way? You need to look and find the weeds and pull them out by the roots. You know the roots can go way down under the soil but the Master Gardener can help if you ask Him for His tools of love, mercy, forgiveness and His strength.

I have known personally some people who have neglected the gardens of their heart. They were faithful to God for a while but were not pulling out the weeds. Weeds of discontent, weeds of others criticizing God and Christians, weeds of trying to impress friends, all started taking over their hearts and sending roots deep down. Those weeds became as thorns and thistles and started choking God’s Word. Now, because of that neglect, the gardens of their heart are not really letting the Master Gardener work in them. Their hearts started getting stony, faith became crumbly and they seem to shake their fists at God when bad things happen. Do you know of people who are like that?

<><><>

The weather is another factor that the gardener has to keep an eye on. Weather conditions can be too harsh on a garden and can destroy it partially or completely. A gardener must be prepared to act quickly. The garden of our hearts is to be treated the same way also. We must be prepared for the storms of life because the storms will come. How we fare depends on how we prepare. One way to prepare is to have deep roots of faith. When our faith has deep roots, it cannot be uprooted. It may be just shaken a bit but it will withstand the storms. We have to keep feeding our faith to keep getting stronger and stronger. We feed our faith with soul food-the Word of God. With a strong faith, we can trust God completely.

Have you ever been in a storm? When I was about six years old, I remember we were hit by a tropical storm in the beginning of August, 1974. ˡ The storm hit landfall at 55 miles per hour. I can still recall the howling winds and the roof being pelted with rain like a jackhammer. One of my brothers started crying. He was much older than I was. When I saw him crying, I got scared and started to cry too. He made my other brother, who was almost ten years old, and me to hide under the bed. There we were, scared and hiding under the bed. He started praying and told us to pray too. I do not know about the others but I prayed until I was unaware of anything but praying. After what seemed like eternity, the hurricane subsided and when we went downstairs, we saw it was flooded in the porch and my mom and the rest of folks were taking buckets to bail the water out so that it would not come inside the house, which it still did. The two neighbor’s houses on either side of us had their roofs blown off and they were taking shelter at our house. Later on, when things settled down, the neighbors and their kids were able to go back to their homes and salvage what they could. I remember my mom giving them some of our clothes for the little kids. That did not bother me too much but days later, when I was playing with the kids, I saw my only big doll at their house. I wanted it back. I was hurt. I did not demand it from them but I was not really too pleased with my mom. I remember the doll being of hard plastic, even the hair. The beautiful blue eyes could close if you tilt it or lay it down flat on its back. It was about a two-foot doll, which was a very big size for a six- year old girl like me. It took a little time for me to adjust without it. I soon came to terms with the fact that we can help others, by not only giving them clothes to wear, but also by giving something that is special to us.

Storms do come. Those neighbors lost their roofs but thankfully not their lives. We also lost some stuff too like photos, some furniture and I do not know what else, but we were just shaken by that storm. The storms left and our house still stood intact. The same way if our faith house is strong enough to withstand the storms, it will only get shaken for a while. When the Garden of our Hearts are cleaned and maintained and have strong roots of faith, we are able to withstand when the storms come.

<><><>

Fareeda was a hard working housewife. She was the mother of two children-a son and a daughter whom she loved very much. Her husband was a very educated man. He studied so much that he went crazy. Yes, he was not normal anymore. His mind was filled with so much information that he could not handle it. He started acting weird and the neighborhood’s kids used to be scared of him. He would even dress like a bum. His hair was wild and unkempt looking. He never much had conversation with anyone. Sometimes, one would see him across the house from where he lived with a scissors in his hand. He would kneel and start trimming the grass with the pair of scissors. Sometimes, he would drink and start breaking up things in the house. Fareeda ended up having to work outside the home to take care of her family. The man’s brother lived with them so that he would help take care of the maintenance of the house and yard in return for a place to stay.

Even though, the husband was crazy, Fareeda was a dedicated wife and mother. She took such good care of her husband and children. When her husband got sick, she took care of him until the day he died. Her brother-in-law died some years later. Her daughter is now happily married. Fareeda’s son is a grown man today and he has a job as a security guard. He made his mother to stop working because he told her that he could take care of her now. He knew how hard she worked to help them have a normal life amidst life’s storms. He knew his mother had a good heart. She had a strong faith in God. She trusted Him throughout. She is now reaping the fruits of her labor.

We all have a God-given right to choose. The choices we make affect our lives and that of those around us. You see, Fareeda could have made the choice to be bitter, angry and disillusioned. She could have had an estranged relationship with her children and they would have grown up hating her. She could have let herself go and not cared about anything. She made the choice of having faith in God and bringing up her children with love. She was using pest control. She was not going to let the Enemy bring her down. I am sure that he had many opportunities but her faith was so strong that she was able to continue to have a healthy relationship with God.

<><><>

TIP: Make sure you tend to your garden constantly. Uproot the old, bad habits and do not let the thorns of sin take over. Let the soil of your heart be healthy. Do not let the weeds and thorns choke the beauty and brilliance of your heart’s garden. The gardener uses some pest control if any pests attack the garden. Make sure you use pest control for the pests of disobedience, anger, lack of forgiveness, bitterness otherwise your heart’s garden can become unproductive, unteachable and wasted.

Do not make your heart stony, but let it become pliable, teachable, fertile, soft and moist. Let the Fountain of Life be its landscape. Clear all weeds. Let the seeds that the Master planted grow with His love and your constant care. Fence your garden against animals of the Enemy, which are waiting to devour your fruits of obedience, love and righteousness.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” {PROVERBS 4:23)

Not only are we to care for the Garden of our Heart, but we have to protect it. In the book of Proverbs, the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, gave the advice to protect our hearts. Why should we do that? It is because our heart is the Source of Life. Remember that when we gave Jesus our heart, He made it a home for His presence. Jesus is Life. God the Father is Life. The Holy Spirit is Life. If something is important to you, I am sure that you would not hesitate to protect it, would you? If a child is in danger, a parent would rush to rescue it from that danger. When you have important documents such as birth certificates, passports, social security cards, immunization records, you put them in a safe place. If you have important work on a computer, you make backups or store them in a removable device. In order words, you protect them.

The same way, the Garden of our Heart needs to be protected from danger entering in. Now you also have to remember that you cannot protect your heart by yourself. You need someone capable to do it. Who better than the Buckler and Shield, Jesus, can protect us? (Psalms 35:2) David knew this truth. He knew that if he submit to God’s Holy Will, He would protect and fight his battles for him. If you let Him, He will guard the Garden of your Heart.

“But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come”(MARK 4:29)

CHAPTER 6

Harvest Time

“And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field” (EXODUS 23:16)

The joy of a gardener comes to full when he gathers the harvest. Oh, the excitement that lights his eyes! For weeks after seeing the budding fruits, he just marvels at how a transformation can take place inside and then the outside. If he planted seeds from fruits or vegetables, he may see a special fullness and a change in the coloring of the outer skin. If he planted blooms, the brilliant and vivacious blossoms would be abundant. I can just picture them, swaying their heads as if moving to music that only they can hear. Harvest time is a time for rejoicing. All those weeks of hard work seem insignificant just like when a mother gives birth, her labor pains mean nothing when she holds her newborn babe in her arms. Nothing else matters. Rejoicing is in the air.

During harvest, the gardener stays busy. The gardener would usually go early in the mornings and pluck whatever bounty there is. I remember that first garden that we had planted here. It yielded so much that we were giving away to our church families, neighbors, friends and relatives and still have an overflow. It was a joyous time! We thrilled to see the glee on the faces of others. It made us happy. I even went and gave away some cucumbers to an elderly neighbor by the five-gallon buckets full. She showed me how to can them. There we were, sitting in her canning trailer. Her canning pot, jars, lids and other implements were already there. She had tons and tons (so it seemed to me) of canned foods already on shelves. Actually, the trailer had shelves upon shelves with canned food in pints and quart jars. I started to wonder why she was still canning more and more but I realized that maybe it was not the canning that she wanted, but rather the company and fellowship. She felt useful that she was able teach me something I never knew. She was a widowed woman in her late eighties and I was in my thirties. She was lonely and my visits with her were something that she always looked forward to. She enjoyed telling me about her childhood days and showing me her collections of odd paraphernalia. She definitely was a hoarder. She is no longer alive today but the memories are still with me. I am glad that I was able to put a little joy in her life.

According to The World English Dictionary, the word “harvest” means “the gathering of a ripened crop” ˡ. That crop must be ready for the picking. The same way it is with the Garden of our Hearts. The fruits must be good and ready for the picking. When we take care of it, the Master Gardener allows our fruit to multiply. We get rid of whatever sins in our lives such as bitterness, anger, jealousy, hatred, depression, anxiety, hopelessness and all that does not help our growth. We continue to water our lives with His Word. It is a constant thing in our everyday life. The apostle Paul said in First Corinthians, Chapter 15 that he dies daily. He admits that even though he has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him, he still have to face the world every day. He is still living in the flesh and has to deal with choosing what is good for the spirit rather than the soul. He has to choose faith over flesh. We too must choose to live for God rather than for ourselves. In doing so, we will grow spiritually and bear good fruit for the harvest.

Now, what are the fruits from the harvest of our hearts? Galatians 5:22-23 says it all,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law”

(GALATIANS 5:22-23)

Jesus said that you would know a tree by its fruit. An apple tree cannot bear oranges. A banana plant cannot produce grapes. Well, a believer whose heart that does not get fertilized and watered with God’s word nor mulched with love and faith, cannot produce good fruit. When we get God’s seed planted in the Garden of our Hearts, then that seed needs to be well taken care of as we all know. Only then, we can see the fruits, which are ripened by the tender loving care after which they become ready for the picking.

Now when we talk about the “The Fruit of the Spirit”, we are not talking about more than one fruit. We are talking about different qualities of the same fruit. It is one Spirit, just like an apple tree has only one type of fruit but the fruits on an apple tree are not exactly alike in every part. They may not have the exact shape or shade. The Bible tells us in Galatians that there are nine Fruits of the Spirit. It is one Spirit but different fruits.

The first fruit of the Spirit is love. God loves us so much that He sent His only Begotten Son to die for us. Jesus commands that we love God with all our heart and our soul. He also commands that we love one another. In the book of First John, he tells us that whoever does not love others does not know God because God is love.

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (FIRST JOHN 4:8)

How can we show this love to others? Pray for them, attend to their needs if you can, speak a kind word, give a smile. That includes your enemies. Do what Jesus would do. You get the picture.

Next is joy. No matter how bad things may get, a person who is born again should always have joy in his or her heart. You see our joy should come from God and not from our circumstances. Our circumstances should not dictate what kind of relationship we have with the Lord. We can experience joy from studying God’s Word. When we do that, we will discover His Truth and promises. Jesus suffered for us so that we can spend eternity with Him where there is no more sorrow and no more pain. How about that? Is it not worth the sadness that you have to face in this world? This world is just temporary but Heaven is forever!

“Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (HABAKKUK 3:18)

The next fruit is that of peace. Now that peace being referred to is the inner peace. It is the one which is not affected by what goes on around us. We may be in the middle of a storm in our lives, yet we can have inner peace. Why is that? Because the Bible says that peace comes directly from God. The apostle Paul wrote a lot of letters to churches and you can find him greeting or ending the epistles with peace. For example, in the book of Second Thessalonians, he says:

“Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all” (2 THESSALONIANS 3:16)

God’s peace is greater than any peace you can get from this world. His peace is available to whoever wants it. Take Jesus for example. He always walked in peace. We never read of him giving up on God or being anxious when situations go badly. Even while dying on the cross, he asked God for forgiveness for all those who were persecuting Him. When we have peace from God, we can have a better relationship with others.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (JOHN 14: 27)

Jesus said in the book of John before He ascended to Heaven that He was leaving His peace to us (His disciples).His peace is one that we cannot understand. Without our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we could not have this peace. It would never exist.² If we have His peace, we are not to get worried or be afraid, no matter how bad things may seem. He is the Prince of Peace and if we put our trust in Him, then we have no need to stress ourselves. We cannot bear good fruit if we do not have His peace

Next fruit is long-suffering. Ah, that is something we do not like, do we? We are so impatient, especially Christians it seems. We get so involved in the world that we may tend to forget that we are to neglect our selfish desires and concentrate on Him. Today, technology is so advanced, we have instant or fast everything. Instant food, instant web access, instant photos, washing machines, dryers, vacuums, microwaves and so much more. Gone are the days where most families have a mother who cooks three meals a day from scratch. Dial up computers are becoming things of the past; scrubbing clothes with a board is no longer even thought of; creaming butter and sugar while baking a cake from scratch is practically unheard of by our youths. We want things to happen and we want it right now.

Not only that, but we do not have patience with some people or situations. When we are in the doctor’s office and we have to wait for two hours, we get irritated. If we get caught in bumper to bumper traffic, we get aggravated. What about when we expect an important package from the delivery truck and it has not made it yet? Can you imagine if God was impatient with us? We would be in deep trouble, wouldn’t we? I am so thankful that my Lord is patient. Because Jesus is patient, I am able to receive His salvation. Timothy says it best,

“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 TIMOTHY 1:16)

We must remember that God’s timing is always best for us. We cannot see into the future. He can. We do not know what is good and right for us. He does.

The next two fruits are gentleness and goodness, which are sort of similar to each other. Gentleness is kindness. We love it when others are kind to us, don’t we? Kindness and goodness work together. You cannot have just one without the other because it just would not work right. We should be kind to others whether they are kind to us or not. Goodness is doing good for others because that is what God wants from us. Sometimes, it may be very hard to do something good for someone, especially when he or she is not likeable and act mean. I have a brother who is a male nurse and one of our brothers was unkind to him and said some things that he should not have said. One day, that brother who was unkind got sick really badly and he called my male nurse brother to take him to the hospital. That brother did not hesitate one second and he helped him to get there and get someone he knew to attend to him very quickly. That is kindness and goodness working together.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (GALATIANS 6:9)

The next fruit is faith. What is faith? According to the book of Hebrews,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (HEBREWS 11:1)

In this passage, faith and faithfulness are part of the same. God is faithful. When we abide in Him just as He abides in us, we are to be faithful too. That means that we have to be faithful in our integrity, morals and character. Our actions should be as a result of good intentions. When we give our word to someone, it means we ought to strive to keep it. God’s faithfulness to others are shown over and over in the Bible. He promised the children of Israel that He would take them out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage and He did. He promised Hannah that she would get the child she asked for. He delivered on that promise. The most important promise is the promise of eternal life. God keeps His promises! I could go on and on but, suffice to say that when God gives us a promise, He keeps it because He is faithful to those who serve Him. Since we have The Master Gardener’s seed planted in the Garden of our Heart, we should model ourselves to be just like Him-to have faith and be faithful.

The next fruit is meekness or gentleness. The more we get to know God and fertilize our hearts with His Word, the gentler and meeker we become. Meekness does not mean that we are weak but we are tender hearted towards others. Care and concern become second nature to us.

“Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great” ( 2 SAMUEL 22:36)

When David sang this song, it was after God delivered him from his enemies. That gentleness that David is referring to is God’s care and concern for him. We all know that the Garden of David’s Heart was well tended to. He spent a lot of years being hunted down by his enemies, yet he trusted in God to deliver him rather than his own strength.

The final fruit of the Spirit is temperance or self-control. I was married to a man who had no self- control over his temper. It led to broken relationships apart from broken bones and broken spirits. Temperance involves sacrificing selfish nature and being in charge of your thoughts and actions. Jesus is the perfect example of self- control. The wisest man who ever lived said,

“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls” (PROVERBS 25:28)

These nine fruit of the Spirit mentioned here from the Book of Galatians are qualities of Jesus Christ Himself. When we have God’s seed planted in the Garden of our Hearts, and the right soul food, care and maintenance are given, we will grow like Him. As long as we are in our earthly bodies, we will not be exactly like Him but we can try our best. After His coming and reaping the Harvest of Souls, we will be like Him.

TIP: What you sow, that is what you will reap. If you have bad seed, you would get rotten fruit. If you have bad fruit in the Garden of your Heart, you need to uproot the bad plant. That did not come from The Master Gardener. It came from The Enemy himself. What are some of these bad fruits? It includes not spending time or enough time with God, being worried about any and everything, getting angry, frustrated, distressed, hopeless or sad. It even includes not telling others about the Master Gardener and being stagnant and not growing spiritually. Do not worry about being perfect. You cannot do it alone. You cannot do it under your own strength either. That is the formula for failure in your spiritual life. You must have His tools. He has them and all He is waiting for is for you to ask to use them. Only through Him can you maintain your garden, produce good fruits and have a bountiful harvest.

“Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,

We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves”ͣ ˡ

Chapter 7

The Master Reaper

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle” (REVELATION 14:14)

In the previous chapter, we learned about the Fruit of the Spirit and that it comes as a result of the right seed being planted (God’s Word) on tilled and fertile ground (a submissive heart). Along with the proper care and maintenance (studying the Bible and having a good relationship with the Master Gardener), we are sure to have proper growth, which will produce good fruit. Good fruit allows us to have the right attitude towards God, others and ourselves. Producing good fruit also allows us to be more and more like Jesus. Whatever seed that has been planted in a garden, is the kind of fruit it should produce. For example, if we plant an apple seed, we expect to find apple fruit, not a cherry. The same way if The Master Gardener planted His seed in the Garden of our Heart, then the fruit produced should be just like Him.  His fruit is good fruit. Seeds that are planted by the enemy produce bad and rotten fruit (sin). That is why we should weed the Garden of our Heart daily, so that there is little chance of bad fruit being produced.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (MARK 16:15)

Having good fruit and living life with a good attitude is great, but it does not end there. Now that our hearts are becoming more and more like Him, we are to help sow His seeds, which is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is one of the last things Jesus commanded his disciples. We are to share the Good News with others so that they too will have their hearts tilled, planted with good seed and producing good fruit. When we do that, we bring souls to the Lord and the harvest will be abundant. No one likes just a small harvest. We all relish in having a bountiful harvest. We should look at our immediate families, friends, neighbors and strangers and have a yearning for them to get God’s seed planted in the Garden of their hearts. We should care for them enough so that they can have a life in eternity when the time comes, a life here on earth that is filled with love, peace, joy no matter what the circumstances may be.

Do you remember what it felt like when your heart was not tilled and the Master Gardener had not planted His seed in it yet? You did not have the fruit of the Spirit growing in you. Well, we all should remember, that there are many people out there, who need that special seed planted in their hearts. Some of them might be waiting for it while others may not. In the book of Mark, Chapter 4, Jesus told the parable of the Sower and the Seed. He talked about people being receptive or rejecting; about some who let the cares of the world (which are weeds) overtake and choke all that was planted, therefore not producing good fruit. Whether others receive the Word and let it take deep roots in their hearts or whether they reject the Word, we should not be discouraged. Our job is to sow the Word. You are accountable for the sowing and not the harvesting. The Master Gardener is the one who harvests this crop (souls won to Him), not you. He is the Master Reaper.

“And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together” (JOHN 4:36)

When most people hear the word “reaper”, they think of death. Some people even attributed death as “The Grim Reaper”. That is not what we are talking about in this case. A reaper is a person who reaps or gathers the harvest. Long ago, the reaper used a sickle or scythe to cut the grass or grains when they reap.

In a sense we can be reapers, in which case, what we reap is the joy from our labors knowing that another member of God’s family is born. We will also reap the blessings in Heaven for doing our job, but the main thing in winning souls to the Lord is for Christ Himself to harvest the crop. Just as the song goes, we shall be rejoicing bringing in the sheaves. ˡ

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” (REVELATION 14:14-16)

Christ is coming to collect the righteous (those who are saved) and only He alone will harvest them. He is our Redeemer. The Bible says that He is wearing His crown. We are going to get the honor of being harvest by the King Himself! What an honor!

<><><>

When I was a little girl, we used to sing all kinds of songs in school. I remember one that stayed with me until this day. I teach it to my little daughter so that she too would remember it when she grows up. The name of the song is called “Sowing the Precious Seed”. I do not know who wrote it but the words that I learned, are as follows:

“Sowing the Precious Seed

Sowing the Precious Seed

Harvest time is coming by and by

Harvest time is coming by and by

Some day in Glory, you will find me

You will find me

Some day in Glory, you will find me

Singing and shouting for eternity

For my mind’s made up

And I won’t turn back

I’m going to meet my Jesus someday

My mind’s made up

And I won’t turn back

I’m going to meet my Jesus someday”

As a young child, I did not fully understand what those words meant at that point in time, but it had a great catchy tune to it, and I used to sing it all the time. In fact, the song is humming in my head right now. Today, those words mean so much to a saved Christian that it should make them say “Amen!” every time they hear it. Every born again believer has the grand opportunity to meet Jesus someday in Glory all because of that precious seed that was planted in the Garden of their Hearts!

“With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (ISAIAH 26:9)

Chapter 8

Tips to have a healthy Garden of the Heart

As I had mentioned before, I suffer from bouts of insomnia. That is a consequence for my being over-stressed for so many years. It has gotten better but there are days when it comes back. Because of insomnia, I ended up having a habit of going to sleep later than everyone else in the house does. I would lie in bed at night after reading my Bible and saying my prayers and then maybe read a book. When my eyes get tired, I would still be restless. In times like that I start to pray because I think to myself, that if I am still awake, maybe God is wanting me to pray for someone. I do not know who need my prayers but I figure that somebody does, so I would pray. I would enjoy the stillness in the night. I could still hear the night frogs or crickets and maybe an occasional bark or two but the peacefulness that seems to come at night is relaxing. We all enjoy and look forward to the night so that we can go to sleep from being up all day. I feel as if I have a better conversation with God at night than during the day. I still talk to Him and thank Him all throughout the day but somehow or the other, night is special to me. I have more quiet time. Maybe it is because during the day, we tend to feel so pressed to get our routines done. We may still stop and pray or thank God for what He is doing or has done, but somehow or the other the prayers get caught up with distractions.

I like to think that at the end of the day, we should never forget God. In the book of Isaiah (26: 9), the writer is showing his yearning for God in the night. That is how we should be. We should have a yearning for Him. Start yearning not just in the morning and the day, but at nighttime too.

“At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgments” (Psalms 119:62)

According to Charles Spurgeon, we should desire God constantly ˡ. I think that is very sound advice because I want God to be constantly at my side. I want His presence with me all the time while I tend to the Garden of my Heart. Even the Lord Jesus spent a whole night in prayer to the Father.

Now, we can also look at that Isaiah 26:9 and Psalms 119:62 from a different angle. For example, Jesus is Light. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When we sin, we are not following the Light but rather darkness. Darkness has been associated with sin, trials and troubles in life. Have you ever had spiritual darkness in your life? Everyone does. Then, in that dark time, you have a yearning inside of you. You want something to hold onto, whether it is hope or comfort. I remember when I was being abused in my first marriage, I used to have the window open at night and I would stand there in the dark, talking to God. I would look up to the stars and talk to Him, tears running down my cheeks; my heart hurting. It gave me some comfort just doing that. It was before the Master Gardener had planted His seed in my heart. I used to do that for years. God is a righteous judge and some day to come, the whole world will know. There is no need for a believer to go through dark nights alone. Neither there is any need for a believer not to be thankful.

In the meantime, I would like to leave a few tips with you on how to have a healthy Garden of the Heart.

<><><>

Tips to have a healthy Garden of the Heart

- Get to know the one true God. Have a personal relationship with Him. Water your life with His Word. Be rooted in His love. (Read Romans 3:23, 5:8, 10:13, John 3:16, 1 John 1:9)

- Take care of the Garden of the Heart by pulling out weeds, thorns, thistles, stones and pests. You cannot do it all by yourself. Ask God to give you the tools of wisdom, courage and strength to maintain the Garden. (Read Isaiah 41:10)

- Do not let bitterness take root in your heart. Forgiveness is the key to opening up a life of inner peace and contentment. (Read John 3:16, Romans 12:21, Luke 6:35- 37)

- No matter how bad things are, just remember that God is in control. He is the Master Gardener. He will renew and replenish you but He can only do that if you let him. In other words, if you submit your will for His will, then things will work out the right way. It may or may not be the way you want, but it is the right way. (Read Psalms 27:1)

- If you slip up, just repent. Ask God to forgive you and truly mean it. Sometimes we neglect the Garden of our Heart, but that does not mean we are bad gardeners. It is just that sometimes we take our eyes off Him and concern ourselves with the cares of this world, but rather than giving up, just ask God to forgive you and truly mean it. (Read Psalms 25:11)

- Be faithful to the Master Gardener for as long as you live. Always give all honor, glory and praise to Him, when you are in the valleys and on the mountaintops. (Read  Psalms 23:6)

- Always make major decisions after praying about it. Sometimes we let our emotions control what decisions we make, and we set ourselves up for failure that way. God’s way is always right, no matter how much or how little we like it. He is the one who wrote the Gardener’s Manual. (Read James 1:4)

- Remember that the Master Gardener loves you and have always loved you even before you were born. Nothing that you can do will make Him love you any less. His love is unconditional.(Read Ephesians 1: 4-5)

- Tell others about the Master Gardener so that they too can have the Garden of their Hearts tilled, planted with His Seed and bringing forth fruit .(Read Mark 16:15)

Chapter 9

A Study Of The Heart

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 SAMUEL 16:7)

Before we get the seed from the Master Gardener planted in our hearts, we had the heart of man, which is the soul and all our actions are a result of it. The heart of man is the mind of the flesh and all that it will produce is sin, such as negative thoughts, selfish desires, worldly lusts and bad attitudes.

When we are born again, we get a new heart, the Heart of God. The Heart of God is a perfect heart. Even though we are not yet perfect, we are to strive for perfection. We tend to look at others with the heart of man, but God looks at others with the Heart of God. In the book of first Samuel, God told Samuel that the next king was going to be from the house of Jesse. Samuel naturally assumed that it would have been any of the older sons who would get anointed to become king, but God chose David, the youngest. He told Samuel that man looks on what is on the outside but God looks on the inside. In other words, it is not what you do or how you look, but rather why you do what you do is what God is concerned with. God knew young David’s heart was honest, loving, fair, faithful and kind. The same way God looks at our hearts. When we become saved, our hearts are renewed. With this renewal, there should be a change in everything in our lives that was producing sin. A change that includes better attitudes, positive thinking, love for our fellowmen, getting rid of old habits, more time spent with the Master Gardener through His Word, hearing His Word preached at a Bible believing church and living a righteous life.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 CORINTHIANS 5:17)

Does that mean that we would not slip up and make mistakes? No, but it does mean that when we make the mistakes (sin), we are to stop it and confess our sins immediately. That confession is different from the one we confessed when we trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When we confess our sins and seek God’s forgiveness, He will forgive us.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 JOHN 1:9)

We are paving our way to have a Garden of His Heart!

<><><>

STUDY GUIDE

- Discussion

King David is referred to as a “man after God’s own heart” in the Bible.

1. What are some instances in David’s life that make this statement true?

2. How would you describe your heart?

3. Who in your life do you know have some of the qualities that David had?

A fertile soil is required for the planting of seed in order to be ready to promote good crops. Sometimes fertilizers need to be added to the soil to have the right balance.

1. How can we fertilize the Garden of our Hearts?

2. What tempts you away from spending time with God?

3. What are some of the benefits from fertilizing the Garden of your Heart?

The tilling of the soil is compared to God tilling our hearts before He plants His seed.

1. Has your heart been tilled by God?

2. Do you have His seed planted in you?

3. Describe how God’s seed can be sown in stony ground.

Weeds can overtake and destroy a garden.

1. How can bitterness become a weed?

2. Why is it hard to uproot bitterness?

3. Do you have any bitterness in the Garden of your Heart?

4. If so, what can you do if you have bitterness?

5. Why is bitterness like a poison?

Apart from weeds, pests, animals, stones and weather can greatly have an impact on the growth of a plant. Maintaining a garden takes a lot of hard work. Constant daily care is required.

1. What are some ways you can use pest control in your spiritual walk in life?

2. Describe why it is important to remove the stones and boulders in the Garden of your Heart.

3. The storms of life will come. The rain falls on the just and unjust. How prepared are you?

4. Is your faith strong enough to withstand the storms that will come  your way?

When we do things in our own strength, we struggle and face disappointments, frustrations and failure. When we submit to God’s will, we know that we are in good hands.

1. Have you ever tried to do things in your own strength?

2. What were the results of doing things your way rather than God’s way?

3. What are the benefits from submitting your will to God’s will?

Read Psalms 18:2.

1. What is a “buckler”?

2. How can the Lord be a buckler to us?

3. Have you ever wanted to protect someone? Explain why.

Read Galatians 5:22-23.

1. Why is it “fruit” rather than “fruits” of the Spirit?

2. What does the “Fruit of the Spirit” represents?

3. Would you describe the church as having “The Fruit of the Spirit? Explain your answer.

Jesus gave a last command to His disciples to go and preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15)

1. What is meant by this command?

2. How can this command be fulfilled?

3. Why is this important?

4. Does the local church have anything to do with this command? Give reasons for your answer.

We all have varied experiences in life and dealt with each situation differently that comes our way. Our circumstances, backgrounds and family relationships are related in some way or the other.

1. If you can turn back time and erase something in your past, what would that be?

2. How has someone in your past made a difference in your life?

3. Was that person a positive or negative influence? Explain your answer.

4. In what way or ways do you think you can positively impact on someone else’s life today?

5. How can spreading the Good News to others make the garden of someone’s heart grow?

“When we are born again, we get a new heart, the Heart of God”.

1. Compare the Heart of God with the Heart of Man.

2. Why is it so different?

3. How does it change the Garden of your Heart when you start acting as if you have the Heart of God?

4. Keeping your heart in the right condition can prevent heart damage. Explain.

ENDNOTES

CHAPTER 1- The Glory of the Garden

ˡ "Poems - The Glory of the Garden." Poems - The Glory of the Garden. 28 Apr. 2013 <http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_garden.htm>.

² "712. My Garden. Thomas Edward Brown. 1909-14. English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman. The Harvard Classics." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2013. <http://www.bartleby.com/42/712.html>.

CHAPTER 2- Tilling the Soil of your Heart

ˡ "Gardening - How to Test and Change Your Garden Soil pH." How to Garden Tips and Advice - Gardening Tips for Growing a Home Vegetable, Herb, or Flower Garden. N.p. n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2013. <http://www.howtogardenadvice.com/soil_prep

CHAPTER 3- Planting the Seed

ˡ My heartfelt thanks to Ron S. for allowing me to use his story.

CHAPTER 4- Growth

ˡ "Prayer Quotes. C.N. Douglas, comp. 1917. Forty Thousand Quotations: Prose and Poetical." Prayer Quotes. C.N. Douglas, comp. 1917. Forty Thousand Quotations: Prose and Poetical. 26 Apr. 2013 <http://www.bartleby.com/348/1044.html>.

CHAPTER 5- Care and Maintenance

- ˡ "Tropical Storm Alma (1974) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Alma_(1974)>.

CHAPTER 6- Harvest Time

ˡ "harvest." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 19 Apr. 2013. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/harvest>.

²"How To Keep the Heart." How To Keep the Heart. 27 Apr. 2013 <http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0180.htm>.

CHAPTER 7 – The Master Reaper

ˡ "Bringing In the Sheaves." Wikipedia. 04 Dec. 2013. Wikimedia Foundation. 28 Apr. 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bringing_In_the_Sheaves>.

REFERENCES

Bible Scripture are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. New York: Oxford Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2008. http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/. Used by permission.

DICTIONARIES——

Dictionary.com - Free Online English Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/

A note from the Author

I had been working on this book for about a year or more now. It had been pressed on my heart for the longest while to complete this book and now, I finally have done it. I am so thankful for my Lord and Savior for planting His Seed in my heart. Does that mean that I have it easy? No, I still struggle at times. I have to tend to the Garden of my Heart every single day! Sometimes the Enemy puts doubts and fears in my mind and that is when I struggle. He is the Master of Deception and he sneakily plants his seeds so that the fruit become rotten if I neglect to uproot those weeds, remove stones and use pest control. The Enemy never gives up trying to break you down so you need to have Jesus’s reinforcements to keep you up.

I hope that my story of domestic abuse and all the baggage that goes with it can inspire someone who has been through a similar situation. Some people may question why I never got out of that situation earlier in the first marriage, rather than wait over fifteen years. I do not know why. An abused woman mainly hides the fact that she is abused. She lives in fear, regret, disappointment, anger, rage, depression and has a very low self- esteem. When there are children involved, it makes it even more complicated. I thought I had no way out. I can tell you that I have had suicidal thoughts during those dark days, but I am so thankful now that I have reached out to the Lord and clung to Him. He has never let me go since then. I am saved and have that Blessed Hope!

I just want you to know that if I can do it, then you can do it too. If you have not trusted Jesus as your Savior yet, I urge you to do so because you never know what tomorrow may bring or even today. My mom used to say that every day passes by, is a day closer to death. It sounds scary but if you are saved, you have nothing to worry about because we have the Master Gardener’s seed in us. Do not give up and always have hope!

Please note that this book is not about any particular religion. It is about the love of Jesus who has redeemed us and all mankind. He knows what you have been through, are going through and will go through. He knows and He is always there for us, if only we call to Him. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

I want to leave you the following poems that I had written in 2010. I want to wish God’s blessings to all of you, my readers. I am praying for you.

My heart was dark with shame

Until I trusted Jesus’ name

His love drove the darkness away

Now my Lord is in my heart to stay

I want others to see

that Light that dwells in me

I try my best to do what’s right

Every day is an ongoing fight

One day I’ll meet the Righteous One

My loving Jesus- God the Son

© A.M. Glover 2010

The Great Physician

My soul was blistered in sin

Pus of unrighteousness flowing over

Until the Great Physician took me in

And put the salve of Salvation from Jehovah.

I could not wait for the Healing to begin

So I began to pluck at the blisters sore

My impatience caused me unnecessary pain

Until the Great Physician reminded me that one day, it would pain no more.

He said that Patience is a Virtue

That I would have to heal with time

There is nothing else that I can do

To completely heal that soul of mine

One day, He said, He will come again

To take all the souls that He'd touched

My soul would be completely healed and free from pain

NO more blisters of sin or unrighteousness or anything as such.

I will wait on you my Doctor Divine

Meanwhile help me to send other blistered souls to your door

For one day I will rejoice on this healed soul of mine

And live with you forever more.

© A.M. Glover 2010

A Servant's Heart

Oh Lord, I come to you with bended knees

To you I give my deepest love

It is you that I aim to please

Heavenly Father from above

You said that I can come to you anytime

That I do not need a human mediator

My Lord, My Master Divine

My Merciful and Loving Creator

You've known what it's like to be in my shoes

You've been tempted yet undefiled

You had everything to lose

Yet, for my sake, you willingly became reviled

Give me a servant's heart

So that I can be just like You

Set me aside from the world apart

And guide me on what I should do

© A. M. Glover 2010

About the Author

A. M. Glover is a born again Christian Stay at home mom who lives in Georgia with her husband, three of their seven children and an assortment of animals. She feels the need to use her writing to reach out to others and spread the Gospel. She prays that if there is just one soul out there who can trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, then it makes it all worthwhile.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (ROMANS 1:16)

Table of Contents

Introduction

Preface

Chapter 1-The Glory of the Garden

Chapter 2 -Tilling the Soil of your Heart

Chapter 3- Planting the Seeds

Chapter 4- Growth

Chapter 5- Care and Maintenance

Chapter 6- Harvest Time

Chapter 7- The Master Reaper

Chapter 8- Tips to have a healthy Garden of the Heart

Chapter 9- A study of the Heart

End Notes

References

A note from the Author