Cracks in the Driveway

Cracks in the driveway speak volumes to me about the powerful word of God.
Allow me to explain.

In my neighborhood, it seems there’s a clear agricultural dividing line. In one half of the subdivision, lawns grow lush and bright green. The other half of the neighborhood seems cursed with weeds and stubborn clumps of grass that simply won’t grow.

I’m not kidding you about this. Perhaps it happened when they initially moved the dirt for my neighborhood some 20 plus years ago. It was fashioned from what was basically marsh land along a bayou.
Whatever happened, my half of the neighborhood struggles to grow grass. The other half, at least it seems so, features healthy grass that could easily qualify everyone there for “Yard of the Month”.

My solution to the lack of grass growing in my front yard was simple: Build a flower garden.
So, what started out as a rather small space for flowers has “blossomed” into well over half my front yard. You see, as more of my grass died out, I simply expanded the boundaries of my flower garden.
I have a neighbor down the street that took things a step further. He ripped out all his grass and planted row upon row of small shrubs. That’s right. His entire front yard is now nothing but small bushes and mulch. I applaud him for taking the bold step.

If I didn’t enjoy flower gardening so much, I would have replaced my front yard grass with Astro Turf years ago. Easy to care for and forever green.

I know what you might be thinking. “Steve didn’t put any time into trying to grow his grass.” 
Oh, but I did. I even put new sod down many years ago. I even have a lawn service spray for weeds and bugs. But alas, the yard was never satisfactory.

Now, back to those cracks in the driveway.

When my wife and I went for our evening walk around the neighborhood (to enjoy those lush lawns on the other side) I happened to notice a very healthy sprig of grass in my yard. Only it wasn’t exactly in my yard.
That’s right. It was stretching skyward from one of the cracks in my concrete driveway.

Let’s see if I understand this. I can slave away in my front yard, applying fertilizer, water and constant care. The end result is ho hum grass that struggles against persistent weeds.  On the other hand, in one of the few places I want no grass at all, a giant green sprout pops up. Despite concrete on both sides and doses of Round Up sprayed throughout the crack, there it is. Green grass bursts forth from the concrete crack.

I thought about the parable Jesus spoke of regarding the word of God being planted in different places.
You remember it. The word is sown in so many different places, upon the trampled path, among the thorns and even in the fertile ground.  Some bursts forth quickly and dies because there’s no root. Some is choked out and never has a chance to thrive. And some grows quickly and becomes healthy.

I think my grass in the concrete might be a twisted version of that parable. Because I’m confident that if I left it alone, that spring of grass would grow mightily. It would soon surpass the healthiest grass in my front lawn if I left it alone.

While I was thinking about that sprig of grass bursting forth from the concrete crack, my wife and I noticed another plant oddity of sorts in a neighbor’s house.  She pointed to a new vine that was growing on the side of a neighbor’s home.  Funny thing was, this vine seemed to come from nowhere. There was no place really for a seed to even land (at least not a place I could see) It had to be that a seed burst forth into a vine from the tiniest of seeds in the tiniest of spaces. With no care whatsoever. Only a particle of soil to start the growth, and God’s own light and rain to encourage it.

It’s something to think about. Sometimes I expect God’s word to take root in my life or in the lives of others in certain places. Often they are places where I think I’ve sown that seed. But God is funny like that. He doesn’t always adhere to my game plan or my way of thinking.  

Sometimes God says, watch this. My word can sprout and burst into growth where there’s seemingly no environment where it can be nurtured.  

Like the vine on the side of that house, or the cracks in my driveway.

 

-Steve Fandel

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.