by Madison Miller

This is adapted from an article featured in the Winter 2021-2022 edition of The Table magazine. If you’d like to see this article as it originally appeared in the magazine, you can find it here.

In the season of Advent, we remember and rehearse the story of redemption—Jesus, the Light of the world, broke through the darkness and continues to do so in the lingering brokenness of this world. At the Farm, we get to rehearse this truth often. In seeds breaking through soil and buds opening into the light, we see God bringing new life through creation, giving us a foretaste of what is to come. We see this in the plants and creatures at the Farm, and we also see this in the people who come to volunteer with us. God is bringing about His Kingdom in and through His people as we gather together at this sacred place. 

Jesus came to earth to bring about a Kingdom that is vastly different from this world that is wrought with division, sin, prejudice, and obstacles to intimate relationship. It seems there are few spaces where people of differing backgrounds, abilities, and ideologies can come together and find belonging. At times, it feels like so much is against us and our flourishing. But in Christ, we have been given a new life of abundance and hope. Jesus has invited us into a completely counter-cultural way of life. Instead of division, the love of Christ compels us to be people of reconciliation and love, to be unified, holding out our hands to one another and sharing our lives and what we have been given. 

At the Farm, the counter-cultural Kingdom of God is evident in the cultivation of a space where unlikely groups of people come together to work, form friendship, and be the family of God. Each week, we are privileged to have volunteers who join us in tending to the land. As I work alongside people at the Farm, I witness wondrous things. I see people step away from isolation and into belonging. I see people find meaning in seasons of unemployment through their regular service at the Farm, grateful to get their hands dirty and make friends. I see young adults with disabilities cracking jokes that have us laughing as we plant flowers together. I see anxiety laid aside as we focus our attention on cultivating the life of a plant, or as we behold beauty. I see people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds working together, the boundary lines of this fallen world erased as we join hands in work and prayer. We share our reflections during morning prayer; we listen together; and we connect with one another despite the differences between the paths that brought us to this place. Together, we represent the Body of Christ. Jesus made this possible in His coming, and we live with great expectation and hope for the day He will finish the work He started. This is the end to which we are hoping: the people of God joined together in unity with no more obstacles or dividing lines between us. We will dwell with God and one another in peace. 

There’s a practice in agriculture, called companion planting, in which we sow different plants next to each other for optimal growth. Certain combinations of plants grown together make them more productive because of complementary characteristics or pest-repelling abilities. For example, we often plant tomatoes and basil next to each other, not because of the tasty combination (though that’s a great bonus), but because they do better growing next to each other than on their own. The basil wards off flies and other pests that may harm the tomatoes. This is a mirror for our formation as the people of God. I see the community at the Farm as God’s way of giving us companions for this journey, helping us overcome the sin and temptations that harm us, and planting us next to one another to help us thrive. When I am working alongside Bryce, I feel protected from taking myself too seriously, and I grow in humor and levity. When I am washing produce next to Marsha, the pests of cynicism can’t reach me. Praying with Scotty, I am encouraged to see the goodness and generosity of God throughout the rest of my day. I could name many other volunteers and friends at the Farm that have aided my growth as a child of God, but the point is this: God loves His children. He is delighted when His people come together, and He uses our relationships with one another to grow us into His likeness. Each of us carry His image and He uses our unique stories and gifts to sharpen one another. I believe God is at work at the Farm, forming a community that looks different from this world, but flourishes because of our common faith in and love for God. 

We continue to rehearse the story of redemption and are filled with hope when we collectively remember that God is making all things new.

Our community at the Farm is not immune to challenges. Sometimes we lose patience with one another. Other times, we get too caught up in tasks and forget to pay attention to the people next to us. We sometimes miss opportunities to really see one another. We do not always get it right, and we are reminded that apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). But we never lose hope that God will fulfill His promises and bring full restoration to our relationships, our community, and to the world. As we depend on Christ and continue to be open to one another, God forms us into a community that looks different from this world. We continue to rehearse the story of redemption and are filled with hope when we collectively remember that God is making all things new. The Kingdom of God is coming to earth, on the sunshine days and the rainy ones. On our small piece of land, we are joining God in this work. We know this is the reality towards which we are heading: when the Kingdom will be fully realized. And until then, we practice hope in the garden, alongside our companions on this journey. 

Madison is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, where she received her degree in Christian Formation and Communication. She is also a graduate of the Greensboro Fellows Class of 2021 and she currently works on the Farm at New Garden Park as the Community Coordinator.