God the Gardener

This next few Sundays have Gospel readings that talk about seeds and crops, likening God to a farmer or a gardener. For these readings, I always rely heavily on what other people tell me about gardening or farming, because gardening is just something that I don't do well. My mom and I tried to have a garden when I was young, but the rabbits constantly eating my green beans soon ended our attempt at a garden. A few years ago, I tried cherry tomatoes because my uncle grew them and told me that as long as I watered them, they would grow for me. Not so. Maybe it is that I don't really take the time that is needed to have a successful garden. Perhaps because of our always changing schedule, I don't tend to the garden as faithfully as it needs. Perhaps, I'm just made to care for animals and people, as pretty as I think a flower garden is.
And then we have these Scripture readings that speak about a farmer sowing seeds and watching them grow, some producing nothing at all, some producing far more than expected, and I think about God as a gardener. God who is willing to get his fingers dirty planting his seeds in our world. God who is willing to faithfully tend and nourish his garden day after day, year after year. God who has the patience to wait for his garden to bear fruit, maybe not right away, maybe years from now. God who scatters his seed abundantly, God who scatters his love abundantly, God who spreads his grace abundantly. God the Father, God the King, is also God the gardener.