God Hears Us

God Hears Us 

My friend, Laurie shows me her gorgeous garden, not a leggy plant or weed in sight. Her front lawn spreads before me like a lush emerald carpet, every thick blade of grass the same size, soft and cool under my bare feet. I’m awestruck and a wee bit envious.

My garden does not look like this, hard as I try. I work full time and have no help like she does. Her significant other, Bob, a retired Army veteran, who loves projects, does most of the yard work. Laurie buys the plants, points to where she wants them, and Bob digs the holes, plops in the plants, covers them with soil, mulches and waters.

Later when I arrive home, I stare at my best efforts.  The front lawn needs a trim, a huge square of grass is now dirt after I accidentally spilled a pile of fertilizer. Two bags of unopened top soil, an eyesore and too heavy for me to move, lay in a heap on the grass. Something is eating my red roses and my Jacob Cline bee balm barely flowered for a week.

I talk to God about these gardening woes even though lately I’ve begun to believe he doesn’t hear me.  Lord, I’m grateful for this garden, but sometimes, it’s just too much to do alone. I need help and I have none. It’s only me and it’s so hard to do everything by myself.

The next day, my neighbor texts me at work. Your yard looks beautiful. The maintenance guys are doing a great job.  I live in a 55+ community and we are responsible for our own landscaping. If we don’t keep up our landscaping we get fined.

I immediately called the office feeling a bit panicked. My finances are always tight. I couldn’t afford a fine.  The manager answered.  “Hi, Kathy, we were just talking about you.”

I was filled with a sense of dread, calculating what they might charge for all the work.  “ I heard the maintenance crew were at my house, trimming bushes, weeding, mowing the lawn.”  I said.

“The maintenance guys were hired to do yard work a few houses down and went to yours by mistake. You’re welcome,” she chuckled.

Mistake? I gave a quick glance toward Heaven.  It was the Lord, telling me, he does hear me, for something as small as a plea for help in the garden. Maybe it wasn’t time for him to answer some of my other petitions for assistance, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t listening and this is how he let me know.

I arrive  home to a lovely, trimmed yard, weeded garden, and those bags of soil that were too heavy to move were placed at the end of the driveway out of sight.

Kathleen O’Malley Taylor is a former journalist and has published in local and national publications. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. Her most recent work is a devotional, “God’s Not Through with You Yet,” published in The Courage to Write, edited by Lucinda Secrest McDowell and Rachel Britton. Kathy lives in Massachusetts.