Somedays it looks picture perfect and other days you wish it weren't there.
No, honestly. This little 12' by 12' area can fill me with intense pleasure, reviving my spirits and even help me de-stress. But other times I am ready to bury a bomb in the middle of it and call it a terrorist attack.
Please note some disclaimers first. I love gardening and I chose to start this garden on my own initiative. So, this may sound like complaining, but I am just trying to be sarcastic while laughing at my own frustrations(my life).
Why such extreems you may ask? Good question.
Maybe its the full body poison ivy attack I got while pulling up the brush and weeds before I could start tilling the land.
Maybe its the fact that it took more than enough back-ache to till the area for weeks on end before it was ready to plant in. Not to mention the 100+ grubs my sons helped me pull OUT of the garden while tilling it. Talk about gross!
Maybe its the fact that my first try at a batch of seeds didn't sprout, so the fruits of my labor may be a bit late.
Maybe its the difficult weeding that must be done regularly (which for a 6month pregnant woman can become a pretty funny thing to watch, I'm sure!).
Maybe its the fight with an overwhelming amount of aphids that continue to destroy and eat my plants... despite the sprays I've used!
Maybe its the stupid groundhog that keeps trying to fight its way into my garden to eat what vegetables he hasen't eaten already!
OK. So, these are just a few of my frustrations with this little garden of mine. Not unusual to be sure. Most gardens have the same issues and problems. But my garden speaks volumes to me through an analogy and tells me the story of my life...
Before I knew Christ I was just a big ugly mound of dirt with weeds and poison ivy. Its a simplistic analogy but hang in here with me. I know I infected others with this poison and it wasn't fun or pretty. It was my negativism, my pride, or my ego. This poison hurt and killed friendships that barely took root and should have been given a chance to blossom.
When I met Christ, it was like He said, "This is the land I want to plant a garden in..." So He chose the land and decided to turn it into something beautiful and fruitful. It was my heart, my life.
It took a long time to pull the weeds and till the soill of my heart. It took work. Hard work. There were grubs(bad) and worms(good) mixed together in the soil. But He lovingly and diligently took the time to pick out most of the grubs and destroy them for my betterment.
The soil was ready to plant in... the seeds may have taken a while to sprout, but sprout they did. All in His perfect timing. Just like these seeds, Christ causes the growth in my life. He places seeds of love, forgiveness, hope and joy to sprout and grow in His perfect timing. I cannot rush it or make it happen earlier, but I can let Him do the work of preparing the soil so the seeds will indeed sprout.
The seeds sprouted and the enemy of my soul comes crouching in and around me in different ways. Telling lies that sound so believeable. Licking up hope and causing a drought of dispair. It can be tiresome and even pain-staking to bend over, to work on hands and knees getting dirty. So like a choking weed, or a nasty rodent, the enemy persues in order to destroy the tender and juicy shoots of God's goodness.
It is frustrating at times, thinking the varment/aphids/groundhog/enemy will never leave me alone! This might be true. They may not. But there is a promise; the fruit will come in time. The rewards will come if I remain diligent. The results of hard labor and love will be evident if I do not grow weary. God doesn't leave me to fend for myself as a garden unweeded, unprotected, and unharvested! His plan all along was to choose, change, love, protect, and cause a heap of growth! He produces a full garden of life because He IS life!
I am your exceeding and great reward...Gen.15:1
I am the Life... John 11:25; John 10:11,14
I am the Root...Rev 22:16
I am the vine, you are the branches, he who remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:1-5
I am He who searches hearts...Revelation 2:23
I am the Lord who heals you...Exodus 15:26
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through me. John 14:6
I am the Bread of Life...John 6:35
"Do not work for food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, even God has set His seal." John 6:27
Sanibel Island gardens... ahhhh. I wonder how often they pull weeds here. And no, this is not my backyard.
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