I wanted to have a beautiful cutting garden for flowers this summer. My sister has had one in her yard for several years, and all summer long she creates beautiful bouquets with the assortment of flowers she grows. She shared some of her seeds with me this year, and after mixing something into the soil to foster better growth, I planted the seeds and hoped for the best.

It is mid-June, and most of the seeds either have not come up at all or the plants are so tiny that at this rate, it will be at least another month before any flowers appear.

I want to say that the problem was with the seed itself (maybe I just got a bad batch?) or with a lack of adequate sun, but looking back, I have to confess I may have cut some corners when I worked the soil additive into the ground. Maybe I didn’t work it in quite as deeply as the bag suggested. And in those critical days after planting the seeds, I may not have watered them quite as often as I should have.

There are some things we cannot control and have to leave to God, but there are other things that are very much in our control.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he tells him, “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” That good deposit that has been entrusted to us is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit has gifted us with the ability to share it.

What happens after we have shared the gospel with others is in the hands of the Holy Spirit, but we still have our part to play in sharing it. We need to be ready to share it, and we need to be looking for opportunities to share it.

Are you ready? Paul reminds Timothy in the first chapter of 2 Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God.” We set our hearts on fire for God by immersing ourselves in scripture, spending time in prayer, joining with others in worship, and engaging in meaningful fellowship with others that is marked by encouragement and accountability. And we take all that energy and inspiration and we write our own gospel story of God’s presence in our lives.

When it comes to sharing our story, we need to seize all the opportunities to do so. Jennie Allen, in her book “Restless,” asks us to consider that maybe we are set in the places we are in because those are the most strategic places for us to preach the gospel. Looking around you in that mindset changes everything, doesn’t it?

Lord Jesus, we don’t guard what we don’t hold in high regard. I ask you to place inside each of us an unquenchable passion and reverence for the gospel. Show us the way forward to share it with others. Amen.