And yet, I plant a Garden

I was born in Germany, grew up in Croatia, then recently moved back to Germany for my studies. I moved 7 times in 21 years, with several shorter stations in between. And I tell you: I know the feeling of homelessness very well. For so-called “Third Culture Kids” it is typical that they do not feel as if they completely belonged anywhere. And even when I moved to Rostock for my studies two years ago, it was quite clear from the beginning that I would only stay here for 3 years. 

To be honest, even before I arrived in Germany, I thought, “I’m only here for 3 years anyway – is it even worth settling down and investing myself here? Will I ever feel comfortable and at home here?” Suddenly, I envied people, who have lived in one place for their whole life and have all their family nearby.

But even upon my arrival in Germany, I met many people who, after an exciting year abroad had now arrived in a foreign town in order to study, and struggled, too, to settle down completely, to find their way around in a tangle of experiences, possibilities, future plans, journeys and life stations.

Putting down roots

One day I read a story in the Bible that completely changed my point of view. There the Jewish people were in a situation that was not entirely different from mine. Far away from their beloved land, they lived in the city of Babylon, which was foreign to them. Then the prophet Jeremiah writes the following letter to the Jewish people living in exile:

“Build houses and settle down; cultivate gardens and eat what they produce. Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because your future depends on its welfare.”

There is no talk of “Pray that you will get out of this terrible place as soon as possible! No, settle down and be a blessing to this city,” God directs to his people. So, I gradually let God change my point of view – and experienced some amazing things!

My garden

Last summer, I had a crazy thought: “Why not take the Bible literally and actually plant a garden?” I knew I probably wouldn’t be in Rostock already by the next summer. And yet, I consciously decided to plant a garden. I asked for permission from my housing cooperative to plant a bed in the backyard with herbs. The idea was that both the neighborhood and the swirling insects should take advantage of the flowering kitchen herbs.

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And the simple act of gardening became a new spiritual attitude: I am here where God has just planted me and I’m a blessing to others wherever I can.

So, I decided, even in this short time I had left, to become a permanent member in a local church. I became part of a local scout’s group, and if it was “only” three years I would invest there. I made my room the most enjoyable and bright place in the world and invited people to it. I read about the history of the city. I got to know the people here. And suddenly, I am happy to be living in Rostock!

Interestingly, Jesus also had almost exactly three years for his world-changing mission in Israel. I’ll leave the part of saving the world to Jesus. 🙂 But I can imitate him in the way he lived on earth. Jesus was not busy all day preaching and healing people. He spent many hours a day just talking to God, like to a friend. We often see him eating with friends or partying (the very beginning of his mission was a wedding on which he made sure they wouldn’t run out of good wine!). Wherever he went, he left traces of blessing for everyone around him.

The “Tourist Syndrome”

During my last “holiday” in Croatia (or whatever you call it when you spend the summer in your former home-country hahah), I noticed another aspect of this rootlessness which has crept into our society.

I was on a dreamlike island, surrounded by turquoise blue sea and wooded with fragrant, emerald green pines.

On the beach, the many empty beer cans and plastic cups stood out to me.

“Of course, you don’t have to be so careful in a place you don’t really belong to. In a few days, your holiday is over and off you go…” I call it the ‘tourist syndrome’: if we don’t have a true, deep relationship with a place, then we don’t care as much about what happens to the people and the environment there. What doesn’t have personal meaning to us, we don’t treasure as much.

Could it be that this inner attitude has also extended to our everyday life? We live in a throwaway society, in a culture that doesn’t like to make commitments. If we are honest, it is not difficult to recognize ourselves in this attitude – myself included.

Why protect the climate when the negative consequences of climate change will no longer affect me? Why worry about endangered bird species? It’s nice that there are people who care about something like this, but I don’t have to worry about it. Why invest in “worldly things” when God will one day bring us to Heaven anyway? Is it worth “wasting” my time on relationships, on people I have no benefit from?  

Those who do not have a deep relationship with a place and people do not care about their well-being. And this has some real social as well as ecological consequences!

There is a very accurate Bible verse that puts things back into perspective. There God says to the Israelites “… the land belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it.” (Leviticus 25,23)

We are guests in God’s beautiful world. We can enjoy its wealth and goodness. But God also gave us the responsibility to “maintain and protect the garden” (see Genesis 2:15). God “planted” us in a certain place so that we can be a blessing where we are, in every area of life.

Everyday Hero Jesus

Here, too, Jesus is a wonderful example to us. (see Matthew 14:13-21) He had deep compassion for the people around him, letting himself be moved by their fates.

At the same time, he also knew when it was time to withdraw and to spend time with God in solitude from other people. He knew the culture around him and was deeply rooted in it. He read the scriptures and liked to discuss them with the Jewish law teachers, but also clearly distinguished himself on contentious issues.

Jesus had good friends with whom he spent a lot of time (such as Mary, Marta, and Lazarus). He could celebrate and gratefully enjoy God’s good gifts. But he wasted none of it.

When there was leftover food after the feeding of the 5,000, he asked his disciples to collect it so that nothing would be wasted. With his life, Jesus shows what it means to live in a deeply rooted way, and at the same time to see things in eternity’s perspective.

Heaven on Earth

Then we can say with joy: we are citizens of the heaven, but we are also all citizens of the earth. We bring a piece of heaven to earth by putting down deep roots, where God has planted us. Through deep, local relationships, through care for God’s creation, through a grounded trust in God, and through passing on blessings in the very place we are in.  

And if God should replant me, I will just grow new, deep roots. Because I know that the groundwater – God’s presence – is the same at every point of the earth. Then, as the Psalmist so beautifully says, we are “like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”