A Mess In the Hands of a Master

Then the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah up on dry land. – Jonah 2:10 Pearl Fryar is a legend in Bishopville, South Carolina. In a small declining town where there aren’t many tourist attractions or thriving fortune 500 companies, Pearl has given this place significance. For years, he’s worked 12 hours a day at his regular 8-5 job and then comes home to tend his garden into the wee hours of the morning. His efforts have produced 3 ½ acres of lush, manicured award winning plants and flowers that are not merely exemplary; they are breathtaking. When Pearl, an African-American man, first moved to Bishopville, he tried to buy a house in a neighborhood where he was shunned because of his race. They said they didn’t think he would keep up his yard. He was determined to prove them wrong. He went to one of the cities nurseries and asked the manager if he could go through a pile of discarded seedlings that he saw behind the facility. Under his supervision and special care those "useless" plants - the very ones that had been thrown out - have been made into masterpieces; works of artistry that are a marvel to behold. Without any training in the field of horticulture, Pearl has produced a landscape that experts are amazed to view. They say that what he has accomplished would be considered impossible—except for the fact that he has already done it. Pearl’s sanctuary of topiaries, boasting a myriad of diverse sizes and shapes, draw admirers and even students from around the country who come to study what Pearl has accomplished. Plants that shouldn’t be thriving in the climate and environment indigenous to Bishopville are doing just that. His spectacular lawn is the talk of the neighborhood and the entire town. He has taken nothing and has made something. That’s what happens when you put a mess into the hands of a master. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Your life is in the hands of a master you know? Not just the parts you are proud of but even the parts you are not. I’m certain that you think, as do I, that there are portions of your journey that should be thrown out if you are ever going to be of any good use to God. Could it be that the parts of your life that you are most ashamed to admit or most discouraged to remember are the very ones that God wants to gather and, under His special care, cause to flourish? He’s in the business of making the spectacular out of the spoiled. Jonah saw it happen. He’d been a rebellious soul who’d run from God: His voice, His will, and His clear instructions. The prophet’s disobedience had cost him greatly. He suffered consequences from which He’d most likely thought he’d never recover. And yet, the merciful Master, determined otherwise and commanded that the reluctant missionary be given another chance. Released from the belly of the whale, Jonah ran to Nineveh to tell them the message that God had given him to share. He didn’t arrive in a limo, dressed in a tuxedo and walk down a red carpet rolled out through the city gates. On the contrary, his entrance would have been a disastrous sight to behold. The mess of the past three days mostly likely still clung to him. Evidence of the rebellion he’d chosen and the consequences that followed would have been apparent. The stench of gastric fluid and the rotting foods that had shared his three day stay lingered. Loss of hair and discolored skin were further proof that this man had a story to tell. No doubt, he’d have wanted to discard that record of his history like any of us would. And yet, God called him to stand in front of a group vulnerable and exposed and allow it to be his message. Jonah’s mess in the hands of a Master worked a miracle. For when the pagan Ninevites saw the preacher and heard His message: “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God. . .” – Jonah 3:4 What a revival. What a harvest. What a miracle. I guess that’s what happens when we put our mess in the hands of a master. “Gardening books will tell you that some of these things in my garden can’t be done, but I had never read them when I got started. Not knowing ahead of time that something is supposed to be impossible often makes it possible to achieve. I didn’t have any limitations because I really didn’t know anything about horticulture. I just figured I could do whatever I wanted with any plant I had.” Pearl Fryar Bishopville, S. Carolina http://www.fryarstopiaries.com Priscilla Shirer www.goingbeyond.com/jewelry-box