Before the pandemic, my house had three plants. These past six months, my partner has been adding dozens of plants to our home, but somehow, I am always on watering duty. Near my desk resides a plant whose leaves dramatically droop over as if it is dying when it is thirsty. By adding a small amount of water, the leaves perk right up towards the ceiling. The plants in my home depend on me and my partner to give them water to live and flourish.
In today’s society, many of us are privileged enough to have access to our basic needs, to the point where one can place an order on their smartphone and have their favorite meal delivered to their home in minutes. Yet, 2020 has felt like a parched year. This season of Lent reminds us that we still need something more. Many of us are thirsty, wandering in the desert seeking justice, peace, and healing. We often forget that we are as fragile as that droopy plant that lives near my desk. We need the Gardener to sustain us.
Brothers and Sisters hear the Good News that Isaiah brings in this time of Lent: not only will God “satisfy our needs in parched places,” but also God will make us “like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.”
Prayer
Gardener of life, we praise you and thank you for waters that never fail. Amen.
Rev. Juan Turcios is the pastor at Avent Ferry UMC in Raleigh.