In The Garden

With the changing of the weather, I have been inspired to plant a fall garden. I personally know nothing about gardening. I do remember as a kid not wanting anything to do with it. I  begged "PLEASE don't make me garden....I would rather do DISHES than help you garden". I usually got my wish but I look back now and think that's weird. I would rather do dishes than to dig in the dirt??? What kind of a kid was I...? A weird one apparently.

So when I returned home a few months ago, I was ready to give it the ol' college try. My parents quickly got on the band wagon. And as it turns out, it has been one of the best things I could have done. The soil wasn't prepared at all. We had to till it up. At first, I tried using a pic ax. I would work SO hard...and then look down and see that I hadn't gotten very far. It got too hot. I wanted to give up. I got cranky. But stubbornness kept me going.

We borrowed a tiller from our neighbor and the job got easier.  We bought top soil and tilled it all together, taking out the weeds and the rocks. There is something so grounding about working IN the ground. To feel the damp soil on my hands and the sun on my back. It was how God meant it to be. God knew that man had to till the soil to survive and so He thought it good to make it enjoyable.

In the mornings I go out and check on things. I water. I pick out the weeds. I prune so that the plants will be more fruitful.  I don't say much to God. I just garden. I have noticed since being home that my quiet times are increasingly quite.  I don't seem to have much to say.  I just dig in the soil and I know that God is with me. He shows me stuff through gardening. He teaches me through the tilling up of the hard soil. He teaches me through the pruning. He teaches me through the gently caring of the baby seedlings pushing their way up through the ground. Against all odds, things still grow. In the garden there are lessons of hope, life, and perseverance. In the garden there are songs of praise as the sun makes it way across the sky. In the garden there is peace. In the garden there is healing. I don't care too much about the harvest. I planted beets for some reason and I hate beets.  But I do care about the journey. And I think God does too.