by Mary Jones

My farming consists of 2 acres of flower beds. I am always searching for the next best plant to fill in just the right spot.

I have to be intentional in planting, nourishing, watering, weeding and fertilizing those plants to have a prosperous garden full of blooms and thriving shrubberies. It is always a work in progress.

I find that our Christian walk is a lot like my flower beds. We should be constantly searching for and planting new souls with God’s love, mercy and grace. We never know how each will fill in just the right spot in God’s kingdom.

All of us need nurturing, but new believers especially need to be encouraged, kept in touch with and guided. To get established and stay grounded, plants need water. Believers needs to be watered in God’s word: the Bible. We need to know who we are so we can shine and bloom where we are planted.

Any garden — and Christian — needs to be weeded regularly. If not, those pesky weeds tend to intertwine with the good plants and then choke them out.

We also need to weed out bad habits, friends who lead us astray and thoughts that keep us double-minded.

I have found that all my gardens do better with the right fertilizer. My Christian walk also grows richer when I am fertilized regularly by attending church, Bible studies and serving with fellow believers.

Whether it is a home church, small country church or a mega-church, we need to find our spot of worship so we can bloom where we are planted.

I am so thankful to be a part of Fellowship of Christian Farmers International, a group that plants, nurtures, waters, weeds and fertilizes for God’s kingdom. It is the only way to have a beautiful, blooming, thriving garden of the soul.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.

Jones is the prayer coordinator for Fellowship of Christian Farmers International. She resides in Tifton, Ga.