One of the hardest things about leaving home for two weeks is trying to find someone to water your plants regularly. But one of the best things about leaving home for two weeks is coming back to a garden that has sprouted up and is bearing more fruit than when you left. We just got back from our visit to my family out in the Mid-West and I came home to a garden with budding strawberries, tall broccoli plants, and romaine lettuce bunches galore. I plucked the romaine leaves that I needed and our first lunch since being home was a fresh salad. (It was amazing.)It's hard to see any maturing in plants when you are tending to them daily. The growth seems slow (perhaps even non-existent) and the watering, pruning, and weeding oftentimes feels in vain. But when we take trips and step away from the garden for a period of time, there is no questioning the obvious growing that happens.I would be lying if I said I haven't been discouraged these past few weeks. While there may have been no outward expression to reveal that fact, deep in my heart there was unrest. The various difficulties thrust upon me are hard to deal with and I can't help look but long to be outside of these circumstances. But like the growth in my garden, it's evident that God is doing a work in me. I may not see the fruit of it all in the day to day living but I can look back and see that I am not the same person I was one year ago, or the year before that, or the year before that. When I step outside the present and look into the past I can clearly see seasons of fruit and I can clearly see the benefit in seasons of weeding and pruning and watering.So once again I find myself surrendering my circumstances and submitting them to Him. I am in His perfect care regardless of what may appear to be a slow and difficult process, therefore, any discouragement is eradicated. This is the time I can turn to His Word and trust in truths that extend far beyond my right here and right now. This is sanctification. This is walking by faith. This is the allowing of the great Gardener to tend to and mature His creation the way He sees fit.