Home Is Where Your Garden Is

“The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, one is nearer God's heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.” -Dorothy Frances Gurney

I feel more at home in my garden than anywhere else.  I can rest, work, and dream there and when the weight of the world bears down on me, it is my safe place.  My time in the garden affords me rest, contentment, and a peace that coaxes me back into harmony with the lover of my soul.  

Revelations of God are abundant in the backyard space that owns my garden.

The Monarch butterflies have just been swarming the bushes and flowers this spring.  They are incredibly beautiful.  They migrate as far as Central America in the fall and remain there until March of the following spring.  Then they return to Texas and the southern United States to lay eggs on freshly sprouted Milkweeds.  Wow, maybe my war on weeds should show some mercy toward Milkweeds!  Once again we see God’s plan carried out in a most unexpected way.  He uses what we consider an ugly, annoying disgrace to the garden to serve as a host to help birth, protect, and feed one of His most beautiful insects...imagine that.

I have also seen many ladybugs.  What an appropriate name for such a cute little insect.  According to Ladybuglady (ladybuglady.com), “In Europe, during the Middle Ages, insects were destroying the crops, so the Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon the Ladybugs came, ate the plant-destroying pests and saved the crops! The farmers began calling the ladybugs "The Beetles of Our Lady", and they eventually became known as "Lady Beetles"! The red wings represented the Virgin's cloak and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows. They didn't differentiate between males and females.”  God reveals himself in the details again…imagine that.

My garden lizards have come out of their holes and hibernation to hide in my potted flowers.    We have an agreement.  I give them lots of places to hide out and stay cool with plenty of water sources and they in turn eat many bothersome insects!  It seems that once lizards are attracted to your garden – chances are you’ll have them forever. Lizards are long lived, and will stay in more or less the same place for years.  So, we have a long standing partnership in place.  From what I understand, lizards are not very good at catching flies, so God sends me some frogs a little later to pick up the slack.  Frogs find their way to my fountain in the middle of the suburbs, miles from the nearest water supply, and in the worst drought conditions in decades…imagine that.

Perhaps these creatures come to the garden for the same reason I do; to find a safe place, a place of sanctuary and harmony.  When threatened by the evils of this world God promises rest for the weary and burdened if we come to Him.  I am honored to be a part of that homecoming.

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  - Matthew 11:38

To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not To Yield

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."  -Winston Churchill

My garden is off and running now.  I spent so much energy and so many hours preparing for planting and for now, besides some weeding, watering, and maintenance, it is a waiting game. 

The older part of my garden is a raised bed.  A few years back I brought in a whole load of dirt that was labeled as “good for garden” by the seller.  I busted my hump and a few other humps getting the old garden dirt relocated and the fresh dirt to its new home.  It was a labor of love for me (not sure the others felt that way) and I looked forward to a beautiful, productive garden that year. But it didn’t happen, actually nothing happened.  The seeds peeked out of the ground and then died.  Nothing I did that year resulted in the incredible garden I had dreamed of. 

It was the same story for the next several years.  I thought for sure I was cursed; I would never see another zucchini, cucumber, or tomato that I could claim fame for.  My Mom told me to plant black eyed peas that “it was said” would help enrich the soil, but even the black eyed pea couldn’t bring life to that old dirt.  I tested the soil and the results came back a big zero.  There was no nutritional value whatsoever, none, zilch.  Unbelievable.

I have had thoughts of giving up, throwing in the towel.  My confidence as a gardener was about as high as the PH levels of my soil.  I was out of ideas and honestly tired of dealing with it.  So, last year, I let it rest.  I didn’t plant anything and every time I looked upon the garden that once harvested tomatoes well into November, my soul grieved…  I believe it grieved because somewhere deep down I knew that God created that soil to produce more than just weeds and I felt discouraged because I had failed in providing just the right mix of organic matter, nurturing, and perhaps rest.  Maybe I neglected it, didn’t water it enough, or maybe too much.  I just couldn’t figure out the perfect recipe and any yields I did receive were small and short lived.

God uses gardening to speak to me about life.  Sometimes in relationships I give it my all and still see very little yield.  I do everything I can think of to weed out the bad and nourish the good but in some relationships the weeds are planted too deep and when I reach in to pull them out they are only broken off at the surface.  That sends a message to the weed that in order to survive, it has to root deeper and stronger and then it returns even bigger and uglier than before.  Soon the fruit bearing plants are deprived of the nourishment they need to survive.  Sometimes the damage is beyond my control, sometimes I just have to let it rest.  My soul grieves because I know that God wants the relationship to be so much more, for me to find just the right recipe and give it the nourishment and rest it needs to flourish.  There is a season of rest, a season of nourishment, and a season of waiting.  Sometimes you just have to wait.

This year I tilled up the garden and added compost and manure.  I am trying some new ideas to help add to the healing process, pouring my love and passions into it and I am hoping that the rest and nourishment will give it the tender loving care it needs to thrive…praying for a better yield.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” – James 1: 2-3

An Easter Experience

Easter

by Lisa A. White

First light

brightens little eyes

that peer

over the windowsill

in hopes to catch

just a glance,

a little peak

at long ears,

pink eyes,

and big feet...

Frilly dress,

prickly lace,

and pearl lined gloves...

pageant the image.

Long taut tresses

wound

with ribbons...

wrap a pretty,

pouty face

picture perfect...

One single red tulip,

sharp tipped bushes,

and green grass

encsconce

the array

of patterned,

colored eggs,

carefully prepared

by fat, dimpled hands...

Disappointment

soon forgotten

as the bunny

was found

not in the yard,

but in the heart

as one

more

Easter

was gone...

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

Stepping Stone Towards Heaven

“Every charitable act is a stepping stone towards heaven.” – Henry Ward Beecher

I have two new, beautiful stepping stones in my garden.  They are branded with my grandchildren’s tiny handprint impressions, adorned with jewels, painted, and autographed.  As I lovingly outline the edges of the fingers with mine, I wonder in years to come how many lives these little hands will touch and what kind of mark will they leave in our world.  They have so much growing and learning to do.  I wonder, who will respond when they reach out for help; who will answer when they ask “why”; who will hold them in times of loss; who will teach them to fold together in prayer; and who will teach them to reach out in love to touch the lives of those all around?  Here I am, Lord send me!

There are many who will guide and protect these tiny hands, but I make the commitment to do my part and be available to help them find their way, teach them to hold on to what really matters, to reach out in love, and to grasp the truth; that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and that they are beloved daughters of the one true God.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”  Isaiah 6:1-13