Garden Lessons
When I am in the garden I sometimes get deep and think of life in the garden: life began in a garden.
My garden has taught me so many lessons through the years. God has a wonderful way of using everyday things to bring us closer to him. Because He loves us. My garden has had years of little to no growth. It was stifled and arid. I was angry those years, telling everyone how my garden had failed despite my best efforts. If I was truthful with myself though my best was actually half hearted attempts. I did what I thought was best without finding what the plants and my environment needed.
There were also years when my garden again failed but these years I chose excuses. There’s too much lime in the soil. I have no time. The weather was so dry. While these things were true I was using a narcissistic approach to make sure everyone knew that surely this was not my fault.
Other years my garden began to grow but was again not the best it could be. I found these years I was fine with the piss poor tomatoes and the teeny tiny carrots. I tried to pretend that was what I was going for the entire time.
Which brings me to this year. This year we had enough years of being horrible at gardening under our belts to know what we needed to do and what we needed to not do. What to do: water, fertilize, weed. The obvious answers here, but certainly not the ones that were done with any semblance of diligence in previous years. What to not do: desert the garden, fail to water, let the weeds choke out the sunlight. So we did what we were supposed to do, and tried to not do what we weren’t supposed to do.
It was a success. While I’m sure we could have more plentiful harvests each day and more ample growing figures, the point is that we are bringing in more than our little family can eat, and we are having fun.
It has been a joy to be in our garden. To feel the leaves between my fingers and the tomatoes squinch between my teeth and to feel satisfied with the feeling that hard work truly does pay off.
Life as a special needs mama has been hard these past few months. There have been times that I have not done the work I should have, and times that I have. I step back to look at our sons life and pray, pray that he is like our garden. After years of hard work and diligence that we may see the fruits of the years of work. The years of patience, persistence, care, and watering. Ultimately I know this is in God’s hands. I know He will see us through and He will provide.
God teaches me through my garden. When I am in it I can quietly feel him teaching me the art of patience, hard work, and enjoying the simplicity of each moment. All things I need when I am in my walking through life as a mom as well.
Be blessed friends.
