The Garden

Did you realize there are many of life’s lessons to be learned by spending time in a garden?

I realize that not everyone is "into" having flowers or vegetable gardens. Working in the dirt is almost therapy for me. It gives me time to breathe in fresh air, hear the birds, and think . . .

While tending to God's creation, I'm reminded of how He wants me to live.

In the picture above, you can see part of our backyard. In the front of the house I hang baskets of geraniums, and plant window boxes with petunias. I love having my yard full of color. It does something for my soul.

During the summer, I either water the flowers almost every day, or risk losing the plants. The flowers add so much to my life, but having them doesn’t come without a cost. Keeping them happy and healthy takes a lot of work. But to see something so lovely wither away and die, can be heartbreaking.

It’s similar with relationships.

It doesn’t matter how wonderful and alive our relationship is with God, our spouse, our kids, or our friends; it can still wither and die if not tended to.

Let’s not forget weeding . . .

Weeds can steal the necessary water and nutrients from the soil that our flowers and vegetables need to grow. Weeds can overcome young plants and block out the sun’s ray, necessary for plants to remain healthy.

Likewise . . . sometimes we need to weed out what could potentially overtake, strangle, or suffocate us.

Those things may be . . .

busy, unnecessary activities we engage in . . .

bad habits, addictions, toxic relationships . . .

pride, ego, selfishness . . .

You know what your list includes.

Be aware. Even though we may think we’ve thoroughly cleaned out those bothersome weeds, it doesn’t take much for them to sprout again. When we try to dig deep to remove what hinders us from thriving – the work will be difficult. The roots may be embedded more than we think. We may feel some aches and pains. But, we don’t need to rely on our own strength. God is here to help us.

But, when we’re free of what threatens to take over the garden of our lives, we’re able to grow strong and beautiful. We might even grow tall enough to offer a bit shade to those who need shelter.

And then there's pruning.

A plant recently pruned can look like it’s never going to come back. But in the long run . . . pruning is good for it. Hacking the plant away pushes it to come back even stronger, healthier, and more gorgeous than before.

Such are life’s lessons. They can be painful. They can make us feel like we don’t want to get up in the morning. But if our roots are strong . . . if we continue to take in life-giving elements . . . we, too, will bear bigger and more fruit than we ever did before.

Have a great week . . . and smell the flowers.

Dawn