Earlier this spring, I went with a friend to a warehouse shopping club where we picked up some plants for our yards. The plants that I chose were neatly packaged, in a bag with a photo showing how the various species had been coordinated to create a beautiful shade garden.
When I pulled some of the plants out, they looked nothing like the illustrations on the back of the bag. There was no sign of leaves or even a hint of which direction these things should be inserted into the ground. Rather, they resembled dried bundles of twigs coated with sawdust. I planted them anyway. It was purely an act of faith.
A few weeks have passed and I had not seen any sign of life from the plants until today. I was weeding the beds and noticed an unusual looking "weed" that I reluctantly dug up, and immediately recognized as one of my stick bundles. I replanted it and then investigated the others. Sure enough, most of the Astilbes now have tiny leaves. I am thrilled and relieved.
This of course, put me in mind of what is happening with my husband's job search. He has been busy planting and fertilizing but as of yet, there has been no sign of success. Still, just because we can't see anything surfacing, that doesn't mean that deep beneath the surface, the root system of this thing isn't stretching out, maturing, and preparing to burst out of the soil.
"Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1
