Uganda: From Seed to Tree...

We have arrived back in the UK after our second trip to Uganda where once again we worked in partnership with PFJ to paint some more murals for St,Marks school in Buwasunguyi.  This year we painted a mix of educational and spiritual murals.  The trip lasted approximately two weeks with about half that time being dedicated to painting.  Whilst we were there we saw a lot of very exciting progress take place in the village as the school was not only painted on the inside, the exterior walls were also covered and painted and the medical centre next door was restocked with huge amounts of life saving medication as well as having work done on it's solar panel! 

The first mural we began work on was an educational mural titled 'Germination of a Bean Seed' or as we liked to think of it, 'From seed to tree'.  This mural will be helpful for school lessons as they learn about plant cycles and parts of a plant.  Not only does it have a practical use as it furthers education, I think it can be used by God to speak to those who are listening out for his voice.  As I painted it, and as I look at it now I am reminded of a few things.  Firstly I am reminded that God has a plan for each of us, right from the very beginning!

"When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother's womb,
when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there - you saw me before I was born.
​ The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began."
​(Psalm 139:15-16)

Just as all the stages of the bean seed are laid out on the wall in paint form, God has already mapped out and seen the stages of our lives.  I am reminded that our lives are no mistake, God has perfectly made each of us and he has done so with a plan in mind.  When God makes a plan, he doesn't miss a single detail.

The second thing this mural reminds me is that even the biggest things sometimes start out small.
I am reminded of when Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of Heaven in Mark 4.

"It is like this.  A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground.  After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants.  It puts out such large branches that birds come and make their nests in its shade."
​(Mark 4:31-32)

Sometimes we look at ourselves, our circumstances or our faith and we feel so disheartened - like a drop in the ocean, as if nothing we do will ever make a difference.  Maybe you have a vision but it seems like an impossible venture as it is so much bigger than you or your abilities and you feel like giving up before you even start.  Well, it's true that we are very small indeed, but God can work with that.  If we commit ourselves to him, and if we are obedient in the small things, he will gently grow us and bless the work that he does through us, making us bigger, stronger and more capable than we ever could have dreamed.  He doesn't want us to work in our own strength, if we tried to do that we would be like the bean stuck in it's first stage - there would be no growth at all!  But if we die to ourselves (give up our lives to follow God's ways, not our own ideas) God can remove that earthly husk that hinders growth and instead grow us into something bigger, more beautiful and fruitful!  What starts out small grows into something great, and what seemed like an impossible vision ends up a reality as God works in our lives and circumstances.

​Lastly, it reminds me that God brings things to completion.

"And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you,
will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 1:6)

God does not start something and then ditch it half way through, he doesn't get bored and he doesn't give up.  His word never returns empty and he never breaks his promises.  What God says will happen, will happen and nothing can stand against that.  I thank God that he does not leave me at the stage I am currently at, but rather he continues to work on and in me and I know he will continue to do this until the end of my life.

So that is the first mural that we painted and some of my thoughts about it.  May you also hear God speak to you as you look at the world around you and think about the wonder creation.