Rogue Tomatoes

We have this garden.  We planted it last year.  When I was sick.  The idea was for it to grow organic produce, allowing us to eat healthy without breaking the bank.  And it's sort of doing that.  But not really.  We get some cucumbers and squash here and there.  But the bugs and the heat, they get most of it.  Its okay, really, we're learning.  Next year will be better.

We also have this tomato plant. I don't know where it came from.  This plant, its not within the walls of the garden.  It's rogue.  A rogue tomato plant.  And it's making a TON of tomatoes.  When Husband R found it, it was on the ground it was so heavy with tomatoes.  He since has helped it stand and we keep getting more tomatoes.

I was in the kitchen today, chopping one up, thinking, what in the world am I going to do with all of these?  And also, how ironic.  Our garden, that we purposefully planted, isn't producing. And this thing that we didn't plant...here I am, up to my eyeballs in tomatoes.

And...

Isn't that just like God?

We work and toil and sweat in our own little boxes.  Trying to produce something, anything.  We dig and plant and wait.  We get frustrated and angry and bothered by the inconveniences that get in our way. The bugs, the heat.  The setbacks, the obstacles.  There's always something keeping us from getting where we want to go.

And there's God.  Saying, "Look, pick up your head, turn towards Me. I AM here."

Maybe it's your marriage or your career.  Your finances or the relationships you have with your kids.  You're working hard at them, putting in the effort, watering them daily.  But things just won't change, nothing is growing.  So we keep doing the same things and keep getting the same dead plants.

It's time we look up.  Look around.

Look for God.

What if...just what if...

He's got something rogue.

Waiting for you.

An opportunity, lying on the ground, wanting to be picked.  Something that will produce more than you will know what to do with.  And you're missing it because you're too busy planting your own agenda and getting upset that it's not growing.

I stood in front of my sink, staring out the window at this plant, and I asked God to show me my tomatoes.

Reveal to me what I missing, where I'm blinded by my own ambitions.

I don't know what that means for you.  But for me...remember the wars within? I've been spending a lot of time missing what's outside the box.  I'm not paying attention.

I have a 4 year old daughter, a very emotional 4 year old daughter.  Husband and I?  We're at our wits end parenting her.  We've been digging and planting and trying to help her grow.  She screams and lies and doesn't listen.  We yell and punish and take things away and distract ourselves with our phones.

And nothing changes.

I need to pay attention.  I need to focus on what motivates her, what she loves, what she hates, who she is.  Focus on who God made her to be. And then help her get there.  Not just because I want a well behaved child but because I've been charged with nurturing and growing a child of our King.

Will you pray it with me?  God, show me my tomatoes. Show me where you are and what I'm missing.  Help me to recognize each and every opportunity you have for me and help me to look up and outside of my box.

Think about it.

The difference it would make in our lives, if we would all start noticing just how rogue God can be.