Jason came by today to pick up and repair my pressure
washer. Nothing unusual about that, right? However, as he was loading it onto
his truck, he asked if I would listen to a simple testimony God gave him
recently.
When Jason helped with Vacation Bible School last month, he
expressed to a gardener friend the desire to have a fresh picked off the vine
tomato so he could immediately make a sandwich and eat it. He had fixed and eaten
so many of those sandwiches as a boy that he had grown tried of them then. Now
years later, he was missing that great taste of home. The friend offered Jason
the opportunity to come by and pick from his plants. The two friends agreed to
get together later. Jason planned on having his bread, mayo with some salt and
pepper in his truck cab before he arrived at his friend’s garden so the
experience would be just like it used to be as a child. But God made different
plans after listening to Jason’s desire.
Several days later, while Jason drove along his driveway, he
noticed a small tomato plant growing at the end. He started thinking how could
this be? He had tried numerous times to grow tomato plants on the back side of his property without
success. And where did the seed come from? When he got out and investigated, he
soon realized the tomato plant was there because God was the gardener. The
ground was so hard that when he tried to stake it up, the thin metal stake kept
breaking off. Then, when Jason tried to water it with added Miracle Grow, the
Lord spoke,
“Leave it alone, I planted it and I will take care of it.
If you mess with it, it will kill
it.”
So Jason has left it
alone.
This knee-high plant already has multiple blooms and small tomatoes.
Jason’s anticipation is mounting as he passes that tomato plant daily. He says
he knows it will be the best tomato ever because it is straight from God
Himself. And that smile on Jason’s face as he tells this simple testimony…well,
it’s a mile wide.
************
Before telling me this story, Jason expressed shyly that he
doesn’t feel special. I have a feeling that at times Jason may look at his present
circumstances and conclude that because his life doesn’t ‘look successful’ it
is not. He works hard to provide for himself and his family with not much to
show for his efforts. But God knows how special Jason is and right where he
lives. God knows what He wants to accomplish through Jason’s life as well. And
what is that? God wants Jason to
proclaim all the simple testimonies of love and faithfulness He provides throughout
Jason’s life. In return, God has promised Jason His protection and provisions. And
even though others may deem Jason unsuccessful and insufficient because of
outward appearances, God says:
“Don’t look at what you see with your natural eyes Jason
but look to Me for all you need.
And Son, keep on talking, I got
ya covered.”
If God is listening to Jason’s simple desires, He will be
listening to yours!
Jason’s simple act of faith to tell others will wind up
touching many more lives then he could ever imagine. And
so it will be with us when we decide
to step out in faith and tell our simple stories of God’s love and faithfulness too.
I have a story picked out already. What about you?
***********
After I wrote this out, I went and looked up the name Jason
and its meaning:
JASON: Healer, Benevolent
Luke 6:45 A good man
out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth good . . . For out of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
The Name Book
Dorothy Astoria
