I do not have a green thumb. I don’t even have a plastic one. Seriously, I have a vase with fake flowers that I have knocked over so many times one blossom now sits at a perpetual 90 degree angle. So, my expertise in gardening is lacking somewhat. But I do have what I call a faith garden that I’d like to tell you about.

Stick with me on this analogy and I hope it will all come together.

The soil in my faith garden is good. In fact, it’s the best because it is my faith in Jesus Christ. That’s where all my good flowers come from; that is the source of my faith in the gospel. So yes, in my faith garden the soil is perfect. Much different than the natural desert soil here where I live.

The flowers in my garden vary in size, hue, and shape. Some are sturdy and have never let me down. The principle of prayer? That is one flower that I have always trusted and followed. These sturdy blooms have survived in my garden for many years.

I also have fledgling flowers of faith that need extra attention. Things that I am still working on. Those certain things that I follow Alma 32 and experiment upon. Maybe best described as weaknesses or temptations.

There are always seeds of questions in my garden. Sincere questions are how we grow in knowledge so I take special care to continually plant those kind of seeds.

Now, I do know this about gardens: weeds work themselves in. They will infiltrate any garden and pretend they are flowers. It’s the same way in my faith garden. Weeds of doubt, discouragement, and despair can sprout up in my garden. Any good gardener (and apparently bad gardener) knows the best time to take care of a spotted weed is immediately so that the weeds don’t choke out – or overcome – the intended flowers. It takes work and effort to keep a garden, even a faith one, from being overtaken by weeds.

We also all know that Decembers do come. Droughts do occur. Those are the days we are so tired of doing and feel like we are not gaining any results. It is during those days I water my garden with hope. There are days when I can’t honestly say, “I know” or “I believe” about every aspect of the gospel. During those times I say, “I hope.” Then stay the course until I can again say “I know.”

The point of this whole post is to remind you of your beautiful garden that needs your attention. Now is the time to tend to your faith garden because once the garden is lost to weeds or drought the beautiful flowers may fade from your memory and become forgotten. This is not the time to forget your faith but to go to work and strengthen it.