I think sometimes God’s work in our life is to be a gardener of our growth. Plants pay no mind to the gardener, and if they could talk, they might boast about all this growth they have accomplished, unaware of the gallons of water, steaming compost and piles of dead weeds that got them there.

I’m a pastor, a strange job. Going to work actually means thinking about ancient texts about a God I think is real and active in and around us — like an invisible gardener. If I meet you and have a relationship with you, I consider it my job to listen for clues of what that God is up to in your life. It’s very bizarre isn’t it? People are afraid of religious people, and especially the professionally religious. They think we’re going to have ideas for them and make poor judgment calls in communicating those ideas.

I’ve actually found it helpful to not assume I know what’s best for peoples’ journeys. If I’m honest, my own ideas for my life have usually needed radical re-direction from God. So I’ve landed in this spot: unless you’re outright asking for my advice, I’m usually going to assume that you might be right where God — the great Gardener — has decided to have you. I choose to imagine, no matter how irreligious your life might look, there is a God who loves you and is tenderly watching over your journey. That God hasn’t turned away from you, even if you’ve turned away long ago. That God may have some surprising things in store for you, maybe some hard times or maybe harvest times. But I have no idea what they are or when they might happen.

I believe all sorts of classic Christian things from the Bible, but I also have to admit that the God the Bible presents is always way bigger than the boxes I create. He’s bigger than your journey and mine. And bigger than my ideas for yours.

God loves you. God has your journey in his loving hands. God will be there when you call, even if it takes you decades to give it a try.

TEST