A measure of faith

By CHERYL CRUCE

It was during the Covid era that I decided to try my hand at gardening. Like many, time was an endless commodity needing to be filled. Old hobbies were overused, causing new hobbies to come to life.
I had never been good at gardening, finding it too time-consuming for my busy schedule. However, with the shutdown of society, I found potting soil and flowers to be a rewarding outlet.
As time pressed on and vaccines came into the forefront, the world began to open up along with the busy schedule of life. In the wake of being active, I found my new hobby quickly fading into the background. Soon my plants disappeared into the soil in which they were planted. Empty pots were returned to the storage shed, while those rooted in the ground fell victim to the arid, hot temperatures.
Two years after returning to work, I realized I missed the “dirt therapy” of the flower garden. I began to gather my old planters, filling them with new soil and various plants from local garden centers. Almost immediately, my lawn came alive with an array of multiple blooms and colors.
One day while walking through the yard, I noticed a plant pushing up through the ground. Cutting back the grass, I realized it was a blue rose I had planted while working from home.
Struggling to survive, the rose sported two leaves while standing only three inches tall. Removing it from the hard ground, I replanted this relic of the past into a planter with vitamin-enriched soil. Today, I marvel at the beauty of the roses that continue to bloom.
The Apostle Paul writes that from the beginning of time, the invisible qualities of God, His divine nature, are seen and understood within His creation (Romans 1:20).
In the beauty of the rose, I see God’s divine nature within the soul of man. Scripture teaches that God has given a measure of faith within each man’s heart (Romans 12:3). Man can choose to leave the faith buried in the arid temperatures of complacency or move faith into the rich blessings of the Father’s Garden.
Stories of creation, miracles of God, and triumphs of man’s journey in life were the nutrients of faith taught in our childhood. Somewhere buried within our spirit was the belief that God existed; God created. Our teen years became a swell of “sowing oats,” as we became the prodigal ones who wandered away (Luke 15:11-32). We didn’t speak of faith, nor did we speak of prayer.
Regardless of how dormant we believed our faith to be, our Father was knitting us together for such a time as this. Suddenly like a breath of fresh air, friends from high school, whose greatest concern was a Friday night football game, have become life’s greatest prayer partners.
The faith buried within our youth is now in full bloom because we have chosen the rich soil of God’s love. The scripture that raised us, once forgotten like the blue rose, is now the tie that binds us together in Him. Our measure of faith is now fulfilled in the strength of one another as we come together as one in the Body of Christ.  
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25

Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.