The Garden

 "It is good to take care of a garden, for, besides The pleasure the flowers can bring us, we learn how watchful we must be to root out the weeds, and how much trimming and care the plants need; so we learn how to watch over our own hearts." ~Jane Andres in The Seven Sisters Who Live on the Big Rounds Ball that Floats in the Air 

I didn't realize how much I missed gardening until I was able to do it again.  We packed up our home and moved across the country on short notice.  We didn't have a place to move into and were blessed to be able to stay with family until we found a home to rent.  For the last 2 years we have lived in homes that did not allow me to put in a garden of any sort, no vegetables, no flowers, not even a small border or accent garden.  

Then God opened the door to a home with a huge yard and an owner that was more than amenable to us having a garden.  It was early summer so I had to move quick if I wanted a yield that year.  So in the midst of unpacking boxes and trying to determine how our belongings fit into this new space, I was turning soil and trying to get plants in the ground or started from seed in an area I had never grown in before.

The soil was rocky, weed covered, and dry.  I had no power tools, everything had to be done by hand.  My children and I loosened the soil, dug up as many of the weeds as we could, turned the soil into hillocks, plucked so many rocks I was beginning to think there were ONLY rocks!  It was a lot of work, and in a climate with a short growing season I wasn't sure that we would see a lot of results for our effort that year.  But we planted the tomatoes that I had started from seed in early Spring at our previous home in hopes that we would be able to put them in the ground.  We started some peppers, some basil and some sage from seed as well as lots of marigolds, zinnias and calendula.  We were full of hope.

Anyone who gardens knows that the harvest comes only after months of work.  We were surprised at how many weeds kept popping up - bindweed that would twist itself around our tender plants and slowly strangle them if not carefully removed, dandelions that would send their deep taproot down and steal the nutrients from our desired crops, prickly lettuce that required much care to remove to keep from being pricked by the spiny leaves and stem.  And every time we watered more rocks in the soil became apparent.  

So we worked diligently to provide the best environment we could for our plants to grow.  Checking daily to ensure they were watered well, staking plants so they had something to lean on when the strong winds blew as they reached for the sun, fertilizing them to ensure they had the nutrients they needed to grow strong, guarding against insects and slugs that sought to eat their tender leaves.  

But then we saw the first flowers bloom with the promise of future fruit.  We encouraged the butterflies and bees and ladybugs to visit our flowers and pollinate them.  We watched as the flowers faded and the fruit began to swell.  We tended each plant as they matured and finally began to bear fruit.  What had begun as an optimistic dream had blossomed into a full harvest of gorgeous flowers, succulent fruit, and crisp vegetables.  

Our spiritual growth requires the same diligent care.  We must work to remove the rocks and weeds that have over taken our hearts.  And it is never a "once and down" thing. Often we miss removing the root of sin completely and it grows back, stronger than ever.  Or we discover that we have allowed new sins to root in the garden of our heart and if we are not careful to remove them quickly they too grow to strangle what we are nurturing, or to steal what the good in our heart needs to grow (peace, love, self-control etc), or we find they have become prickly and painful to remove.  The rocks in our hearts, the things that prevent the Word from taking root like pride and selfishness, will keep coming to the surface if we don't keep on guard to remove them.

We must also remember to encourage others to come into our life that will help us to grow.  We weren't meant to walk this path alone, and often we need others to "pollinate" us so that we can produce fruit.  We need them to encourage us, to share ideas with us, to prop us up when we feel down and help us to keep reaching towards the Son. 

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Father, thank you for the care you take in tending to us.  Thank you for the love you so willingly bestow upon us.  Help us to tend to our gardens well so that we may reap a harvest that brings You glory and honor.  Amen

For further reading: Luke 8:1-15