What God Wouldn’t Let Me Forget
“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” – Ecclesiastes 11:5
Sometimes the world, work, and the life that brings all its life relatives over into my life to stack more life upon life with so much life gets overwhelming, and I just need a minute.
You know?
I just take a break and go outside and stand on the deck, letting the breeze and the sun hit my face. I don’t have any grand plan – just sunshine and a few minutes to decompress. I just need five minutes of indirect sunlight to hit my eyes and start that dopamine production!
One day this summer, I stepped outside looking for my few minutes of peace when I noticed a bunch of bees swarming and dancing around the tree that overhangs the corner of the deck.
There were dozens of them. Maybe hundreds – dipping in and out of the yellow blossoms. This is one of those “life’s wonders” that stops you dead in your tracks and makes you think of all the amazing things on this earth that the Lord chooses to share with us. Many of you know I’ve lived in the country, acres of woods and flowers all around, but even then, I’ve never seen so many bees in one place.
I chuckled a little because it made me remember years ago when the cover of every major magazine was selling panic for $3.25 per issue about the depopulation of bees and how the world food supply was doomed without them.
“That’s because they are all here in Brentwood,” I thought to myself, chuckling. They are here, alive and loud, right outside my door buzzing around this tree I planted fifteen whole years ago.
Actually, “planted” might be a generous term. My friend Vickie and I shoved three sticks in the ground because they came in an envelope from the Arbor Day Foundation addressed to my Mom. Mom pointed off the corner of the deck, “Just put ’em right over there.”
They were so puny, we had to tie orange tape around them so the mowers wouldn’t take them out. I didn’t think they’d live, much less bloom or thrive.
Meanwhile, God Was Over Here Doing This
But sometimes we don’t see how God works. We see movement, we see evidence, but not the origin. Sometimes we see the origin, but not the movement or the evidence. And if you think about it, we probably never see the true origin. Sure, Vickie and I planted the tree, but that may not have even been the start of the story. Something in my mother prompted her to make a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation. What prompted her? I don’t know – maybe she just loves trees! But then why does she love trees? Maybe because her brother taught her how to climb them. Well, then how did Uncle Aubrey know how to climb trees? See what I mean?
That day on the deck, it struck me that God had been working unseen and unnoticed in my back yard long before I saw the bees. He’s probably doing the same in a hundred other places I’ve forgotten about.
That bee moment turned into a “God is faithful even when I forget” moment, and it has stuck with me ever since.
Because here’s the thing: you never know what’s going to grow from what you planted. You may not even realize you planted anything at all.
Sometimes it’s literal – like a tree you barely remember shoving in the dirt. But sometimes it’s words you spoke, kindness you gave, that favor you did, prayers you prayed – little things that felt like nothing at the time. Seeds sown in ordinary soil … and then one day when you least expect it, the Lord gives you a glimpse – bees in a tree you forgot you planted.
“We have to learn patience….We have to let God handle the harvest.”
It brings to my mind Galatians 6:9 where Scripture says: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” I don’t know about you, but I’m results oriented. If I put energy toward something, I feel like I have failed if I don’t see a result. Sometimes it makes me want to just quit taking the time and making the effort. But we can’t do that. Because in John 4:37-38 Jesus tells His disciples that “one sows and another reaps. I have sent you to reap that for which you have not labored…”
In those verses, He is talking about the seeds of faith the prophets planted centuries prior being harvested in real time in Samaria when He meets the woman at the well and spends two days talking to the people there.
But as it applies to our lives today, I take it to mean that in some instances we may not ever see the results of the seeds we’ve sown. So we have to learn patience and trust God that He will appoint someone worthy to reap in our place. We have to let God handle the harvest.
Because… say it with me now….. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Key words – all things.
Paul didn’t say “some” things. He said all things. Paul didn’t say “big” things. He said “ALL things“. Every thing. Big things. Small things. All things. Every little thing.
I didn’t plan this moment, didn’t schedule it, didn’t expect it or foresee it. I just happened to be standing in the right place when God showed me something He’d been working on in the background for me for years. And because of the work He has done on me over those same years, my eyes were clear and I was able to see His work and identify it as His.
Maybe God’s unnoticed work in the trenches is what legacy really looks like – not the things we chase or try to control – the IRAs and the 401ks, the job titles, the hand-carved park benches, and the inheritance we leave, but the quiet work that keeps growing long after we are gone.
This is your friendly reminder that God’s got this. He is in control. All we gotta do is just….bee.
Prayer for Hidden Growth
Lord, thank You for tending what I forgot.
Help me keep planting, even when I don’t see fruit. Teach me to trust that nothing rooted in You ever dies. Amen.
If you liked this essay, you may like this one, too! Healing in the Garden