Protestant Women of the Chapel

The weather in Japan has been nice lately. The hot, humid temperatures haven’t descended upon us yet. Everyone has been enjoying the outdoors and working hard to mow the grass weekly and keep things neat and trimmed to pass Air Force standards for base quarters. Many people have planted flowers, bushes and added outdoor décor in their yard in hopes to create an appearance that is nice, beautiful and different from the next door neighbor. That is difficult to do in base housing. But it is achievable with hard work and time.

My friends that live in the quad across from me have beautiful gardens growing. They get a lot of sun during the day because of the position their house is facing. Unfortunately, my house is facing the opposite direction, so my front flower garden is not receiving the sunlight needed for the flowers to grow and flourish. I should have planned logistically and purchased predominantly shade plants or plants that require only part sun, but I bought some that require full sun and they are not growing as well in the shade.

Another gardening problem I am encountering is a pine tree that sheds a lot of needles in my yard. These needles create a huge hindrance as they fall down upon the ground under the tree. The needles produce an environment that is harmful and can destroy the grass, so my husband and I rake the needles every week to remove them because they prevent the grass from growing and spreading.

God is the great gardener of our lives. He desires for us to grow spiritually, flourish, bear fruit, and spread His love and the Gospel to others. We must position ourselves before the Son, the light of the world, in order for God to be able to create and bring forth a harvest from our lives in order to bring Him glory. It is not easy in the world and sinful environment we live in today. We must be sure to rake or remove areas that hinder our growth, not just weekly, but perhaps even daily that could prevent us from becoming the person that God desires to create. It takes much time spent with God and sometimes hard work and perseverance when the needles start falling down upon us.

Tip of the summer season as we take a break from PWOC activities: Don’t neglect the garden….spend time with God in His Word and time in prayer.

How is your garden growing? Are you beautiful in appearance and bearing fruit? Do you need to do some raking? Are you planning and positioning yourself before the Son of God and allowing Him to shine His light upon you so that you may grow and bring Him glory? That thought actually brings me to the new PWOCI theme, Shine In the Light of His Glory.

John 8:12

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Psalm 79:9

Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake.

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.