One of the joys of gardening is that each season, each month, sometimes as often as each day there is something new. The scene changes from the yellows and peach colors of the daffodils in March to the cool lavenders and purples of the irises in April and May. Then in June and July the hot reds, warm yellows, and surprising pinks of the daylilies dominate the landscape.

It was not really a surprise to me when a related question was put to me last week. “Daffodils and crocus, then irises and bachelor’s buttons, now daylilies; so what is the next big thing?”

It took a week, but I finally figured it out. “Rudbeckia and echinacea,” I told her. It is in mid-July that the bright gold black-eyed Susans mingle cheerfully with the pinks and whites of the coneflowers.

Oh, sure — there will be other flowers, but they might not be “center stage” as these are. By now, most gardens have a decent display of annuals that were planted in the spring. Other plants are blooming to fill out the canvas of color and shapes painted into the garden.

But she’s right. We always anticipate “the next big thing.” We count on one or two specific plants to carry the show.

Unfortunately, some of us do this with our faith and worship. “The next big thing” might be entirely benign, even helpful; but we depend on it to keep things interesting at church. In the past, the trend has been bus ministries, or Mom’s Day Out. In the summer, it’s Vacation Bible Schools. Then came coffee and donut hour at the church buildings, and Zumba classes. Some congregations have begun “non-traditional” worship that contains some very questionable elements, to say the least.

Some of these may help reach people in the community who need the gospel, others may be gimmicks. Still others could be a dangerous departure from God’s plan. Either way, we seem to be always reaching for the “next best thing” at the risk of losing our main focus; worshiping in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), and teaching all nations and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

This week I added a few more black-eyed Susans to a part of the garden that looked a little boring. I had to move some lemon balm to do that, even though I know that it is a mosquito repellent. If the pests move in, I may have sacrificed something good for something that simply looks good. Time will tell.

Let’s not let Satan move in when we substitute real, honest devotion for “the next big thing.”

Christine (Tina) Berglund @ www.forthright.net