My boys and I planted a garden this year. We turned the ground, planted seeds, watered, and weeded, and weeded some more. It was a tough season for our garden. It has been harvested and sadly, the fruits of our labor did not seem to amount to much. We had some cucumbers, few tomatoes, a small handful of soybeans, 2 strawberries, a serving of okra (that we waited to long to pick) and a handful of deformed carrots that grew to close together!
This is our first complete garden and although we did not do all that we should have to cultivate our garden, we put forth our best effort with the time and resources we had. So, I found myself thinking…were our efforts all in vain? We were constantly weeding only to have more come in their place. We tried to get to the roots, but there were just simply too many weeds to get every root. We found ourselves hastily grabbing bunches of weeds at once just to rid the surface. We learned the hard way, this is a quick fix, but by weeks end the weeds rose up out of the ground again with a strength and vitality We could not match!
Do we give up on gardening because of one bad season? Absolutely not! We learned a lot this season. You see we found some secrets to cultivation. Next year we plan on starting earlier, because there is not a moment to waste when there are seeds to be planted. We will plant only the finest seeds, because there are many bad seeds that cause stunted growth that will later yield little harvest if any.
We learned also that despite our most sincere efforts there will always be outside influences we cannot control. We could allow ourselves to feel like failures, we could blame it on the sun or the rain if we wanted. We must remind ourselves, just as the sun continues to shine and the rain continues to nourish so must we! We will continue to learn the art of cultivation and hope for the day when our garden flourishes and we reap the finest harvest ever. On this day we can accept the praise and words of affirmation our hearts long to hear, “Job well done.”
Now, I must say that in our season of cultivation we learned a secret ingredient to the success of our garden. My petunias were in a state where there was practically no life left in them. The vibrant color of green in the leaves had turned a dull brown, and the purple petals had ceased to exist except as a small dried up layer at the bottom of the pot. I was very distraught as this was my one flower basket in my whole yard. It was a gift given to me and I cherished it. I so much wanted to see it flourish. Well, I chose to make one last attempt to save it and a sprinkled a little secret potion they call Miracle Gro on it. Amazingly, after about a week I saw life coming back. After 2 weeks it had beautiful colors of green and purple like it never had before. The flowers and leaves had spread abundantly up and down the stems. My petunias were beautiful! I could never have done this without my secret ingredient!
The choice is ours but we ARE called to cultivate. The garden NEEDS all of us. Sure there will be conflicts such as what seeds to plant, where to plant the seeds, how much to water, or the right time to water. You may even have some not recognize a weed when they see one. Cultivating is extremely hard work. We are called to resist the temptation to plants seeds of bitterness, hatred, envy, or pride. God calls us to unselfishly plant seeds of love. There is only one ingredient needed to begin our life long journey of cultivation….God’s Miracle Gro…in the form of Jesus. Jesus came to save us from our weeds. We are his garden tools. No matter what season we may find ourselves in he has all the key ingredients to sustain our gardens. It is up to us to make a deliberate effort to cultivate what God has blessed us with.
It is amazing what spiritual truths can be learned in the simple acts of our lives. We learned many of them cultivating our garden this year. Although it was a difficult one, I feel truly blessed to have shared this season with my family. We will be more equipped the next time around with “our” Miracle Gro.
This is our first complete garden and although we did not do all that we should have to cultivate our garden, we put forth our best effort with the time and resources we had. So, I found myself thinking…were our efforts all in vain? We were constantly weeding only to have more come in their place. We tried to get to the roots, but there were just simply too many weeds to get every root. We found ourselves hastily grabbing bunches of weeds at once just to rid the surface. We learned the hard way, this is a quick fix, but by weeks end the weeds rose up out of the ground again with a strength and vitality We could not match!
Do we give up on gardening because of one bad season? Absolutely not! We learned a lot this season. You see we found some secrets to cultivation. Next year we plan on starting earlier, because there is not a moment to waste when there are seeds to be planted. We will plant only the finest seeds, because there are many bad seeds that cause stunted growth that will later yield little harvest if any.
We learned also that despite our most sincere efforts there will always be outside influences we cannot control. We could allow ourselves to feel like failures, we could blame it on the sun or the rain if we wanted. We must remind ourselves, just as the sun continues to shine and the rain continues to nourish so must we! We will continue to learn the art of cultivation and hope for the day when our garden flourishes and we reap the finest harvest ever. On this day we can accept the praise and words of affirmation our hearts long to hear, “Job well done.”
Now, I must say that in our season of cultivation we learned a secret ingredient to the success of our garden. My petunias were in a state where there was practically no life left in them. The vibrant color of green in the leaves had turned a dull brown, and the purple petals had ceased to exist except as a small dried up layer at the bottom of the pot. I was very distraught as this was my one flower basket in my whole yard. It was a gift given to me and I cherished it. I so much wanted to see it flourish. Well, I chose to make one last attempt to save it and a sprinkled a little secret potion they call Miracle Gro on it. Amazingly, after about a week I saw life coming back. After 2 weeks it had beautiful colors of green and purple like it never had before. The flowers and leaves had spread abundantly up and down the stems. My petunias were beautiful! I could never have done this without my secret ingredient!
The choice is ours but we ARE called to cultivate. The garden NEEDS all of us. Sure there will be conflicts such as what seeds to plant, where to plant the seeds, how much to water, or the right time to water. You may even have some not recognize a weed when they see one. Cultivating is extremely hard work. We are called to resist the temptation to plants seeds of bitterness, hatred, envy, or pride. God calls us to unselfishly plant seeds of love. There is only one ingredient needed to begin our life long journey of cultivation….God’s Miracle Gro…in the form of Jesus. Jesus came to save us from our weeds. We are his garden tools. No matter what season we may find ourselves in he has all the key ingredients to sustain our gardens. It is up to us to make a deliberate effort to cultivate what God has blessed us with.
It is amazing what spiritual truths can be learned in the simple acts of our lives. We learned many of them cultivating our garden this year. Although it was a difficult one, I feel truly blessed to have shared this season with my family. We will be more equipped the next time around with “our” Miracle Gro.
The Bible Says....
Hebrews 6:7-8
"Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives a blessing of God. but the land that produces thorns and thistle is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned."
Psalm 67:5-7
"May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God will bless us. God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him."
Genesis 8:22
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."
Mathew Chapter 13
The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Weeds
The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
I've said it before...you are my wise friend!! This is a great blog post Jennifer!! I love the way your writing always applies to me, and what I need to do in life!!! Beautifully written!
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