Potholes to Gardens

Luke 1:35–37 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” CONSIDER THIS I read a news story recently about a pothole that was plaguing a small neighborhood town in Toronto, Canada. The neighborhood had done everything they could think of to get the city to fix the pothole. After petitioning the city and getting signatures to have it corrected, the city finally went to work and filled the hole. However, what they had hoped would correct the problem didn’t last. It came back. In fact, it was even larger the second time around. Needless to say, the neighborhood was furious about it and had no idea what to do or how this was going to get fixed. That is, until the day something completely unexpected happened. As motorists drove by, they saw weeds growing out of the pothole. Only, it wasn’t weeds. Upon closer inspection, it was a tomato plant. Not just one, mind you; there were several of them. The best part is they were growing out of the middle of that annoying pothole. So what happened? Someone, under the cover of night, snuck into the middle of the road and filled the pothole with loads of potting soil and then proceeded to plant all the tomato plants inside it. What do you do now with a pothole growing tomato plants in the middle of a busy street? You make a community garden out of it, that’s what you do! The city was caught off guard as the residents roped off the pothole and claimed it as their own personal tomato garden. I wonder if the pothole-sized places of doubt, uncertainty, and questions found in our faith story might actually hold something beautiful inside of it, provided we trust God long enough to cultivate the soil and grow beauty within it. Our scripture today takes us a little deeper into the wonder that Mary carried with her after Gabriel’s announcement about the coming birth of Christ. On the other side of Mary’s wonder as to the how regarding the immaculate conception, Gabriel spoke to the who. He simply replied: “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35a). Gabriel used the word overshadow here. Did you know that’s the same word used in relationship to the transfiguration moment found in the Gospels where Peter, James, and John went with Jesus up the mountain and, all of a sudden, the presence of God overshadowed them (Matt. 17:1–8; Mark 9:2–8; Luke 9:28–36 ESV)? Imagine, God’s holiness appeared in a cloud, and it was so thick that they found themselves in the presence of God. When they looked behind them, there was God. When they looked to the right, God; to the left, God. Literally, wherever they looked, there was God. Now here Gabriel used the same word. In a sense, Gabriel was saying, “Mary, I know you’re scared, but listen, in this uncertain season, the presence of the Most High is with you. And not just with you, the presence of the Most High is overshadowing you! So much so, that you will never have to question where God is. He will be seen all over your story.” How did Gabriel end this message to Mary? “For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37). The English Standard Version says it this way: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Today, I feel the Spirit calling us to linger with the word overshadowed. It’s easy to focus on the pothole. But what if God is growing something right in the middle of the mess? To know this Christmas story is to know our story. We’re loved. We’re valued. We’re overshadowed by the promises and presence of God. Here is the best part: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Let that truth take root in the middle of whatever pothole you’re looking at, and see what God can grow as a result. THE PRAYER  Loving Father, nothing is impossible to you. Where we see limitations and impossibilities, you see so much more than we could ever imagine. Holy Spirit, give us strength, courage, and open eyes to see your overwhelming and overshadowing presence in and among us. In Jesus’s name, amen. THE QUESTIONS What is the Spirit saying to you within this story today? Can you identify the potholes in your own story? Could God be growing beauty in brokenness? Where do you see God overshadowing you in your story?