Garden Woes!

I have wanted to write about my garden for awhile now, but my heart just hasn't been in it since it was destroyed by deer a few weeks ago (see before and after pictures below). I am meditating on and allowing the Lord to work in my heart what He would like to speak to me about what happened. I am sure I will get several blogs out of this in the end!

(Before)

(After)

This is what I can share now. When I got home from a week in KY (a mission trip). I walked down to check on my chickens and my garden. My chickens were fine, but my garden looked a little strange to me. My mind knew something wasn't right, but I think it took my heart a little longer to accept the reality of what I was seeing - I call that denial. My once lush and fruitful garden was nothing but bare stems. I could only stay in denial for so long. The things in my mind and my heart collided and I was hit with waves of shock and dismay. My reaction: I hung my head low, turned on my heels, walked into the house, down the hall, into my bedroom, shut the door and cried. I was heartbroken.

Questions began to fly around in my head like "How could this happen? What did this? Why?" If I am going to be totally honest, the "why" question was directed at God and it came with frustration and hurt. This was OUR special place. I labored in that garden daily and this it was a place of communing for us. Why would He allow it to be taken from me - from us? I am one of those people who are bold enough to say things to the Lord with a little attitude like "Do you understand the importance of this garden to me Lord?" He has never smote me for it, but He does usually correct my attitude fairly quickly. This time was no exception.

My angry words still hung in the air when I heard Him speak to me, "Yes, I do understand. I had a garden that I planted with great care and it was a very special place for me - for others. Then, with just one act, it all changed." He didn't have to say anything else! I know the story of His garden (Genesis 3) and as I recalled it, I felt His great loss. He did understand. He always does. I have never been able to trip Him up on a "Do you understand?" question.

New questions rose up out of my heart. "Now what Lord? Do I give up? Do I try again?" I had put a lot of work into that garden and I wasn't so sure I was willing to give it any more of my time and effort or my heart - especially if an "enemy" was going to continue to attack it and steal its fruit from me.

Whoa! Time-out!

Praise God that this was not His attitude toward us - that He would give up on what He purposed in His garden. Praise God that He didn't say, "This is the end of my efforts with you." Things did change, but God's faithfulness to us did not.

After I digested some of these thoughts, I went back down to my garden and surveyed the damage. I prayed over my garden words that seem to come to my mind of their own accord - "Okay down trodden little plants, let's see how deep your roots are in this time of distress. Let's see if you still have any life in you. I will help." I began to weed around nothing but stems and I gave it a good drink of water all with the hope that anything is possible with God. Maybe new life would come back into these barren branches, maybe it wouldn't. Either way, I could not walk away from what I had created in love.

I am crying even now as I imagine the hand of Lord gently and patiently tending to me at different times of my life when I have needed care - when I have been beaten down, attacked or done things that have lead to my own destruction - times when I have been given that second (or third, or fourth) chance at life.

Psalm 89:1

I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever;

To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth.

The Story of My Garden

As many of you already know, I planted a garden this year. I was just in the mood to see something grow! However, as I work the garden, I am seeing so many similarities in how God works in the garden of my heart. Without me spelling them out and as you read this blog, can you see what I am talking about?

When I first began gardening, it was all about the preparing of the land to receive the seeds/seedlings. I tilled the spot (more than once) to loosen the soil and soften the ground. In the process of tilling, many roots and rocks were exposed. I pulled, tugged and dug to get these hinderances out of my garden spot. It was very laborious! 

Once the soil was complete and I went to purchase my plants, I was advised by the local Ace Hardware garden expert that I would need to "amend" the soil as well. This meant that I would need to add some type of compost or potting soil to make the soil porous and loose so that the small plant roots could push through it. Lastly, I was told that I would need to add fertilizer to ensure the plants have all the nutrients that the soil might be lacking in order to promote optimal plant growth. Whew! This is getting complicated. 

Having done all that, I began to plant. I gently and tenderly placed my flowers and veggies in the soil that I had so patiently prepared. When I was done, I stood back and admired my work. It looked great and I was pleased. Then, things began to happen that I did not anticipate. Some plants came up right away, but others didn't. I followed the direction on the seed packets, so I could not imagine what happened. I checked every day - nothing. Finally I got a clue and realized that even though I gave it my best effort, these particular plants were not going to cooperate! However, I did not give up. I simply planted some new seeds and they grew just fine. 

Things were going along great. Everything had sprouted and these gorgeous little green plants began to develop and produce what I will call "fruit" from

here on out. Then, out of nowhere, 4 of my tomato plants died. I found out another lesson - just because something appears healthy on the outside, it doesn't mean it is healthy on the inside. My beautiful tomato plants had contracted a disease that blocked the uptake of water and other nutrients, which caused them to slowly welt and die - with tomatoes on the vine! Uugggh! I pulled them up and disposed of them for fear that their disease would affect the other 4 plants that I still had.  It hurt me to pull those once healthy plants up and throw them on the brush pile - such a loss of goodness that could have been enjoyed . 

With that situation behind me, I once again admired my nice, orderly garden. The plants grew lush and became laden with their "fruit." One day after a particularly heavy downpour, I went out to check my garden and I found several of my plants lying on their sides. The earth had softened and the fruit was heavy, so they just fell over. No worries - I can fix this. I could see that my plants were going to need a little support, so I rummaged through some old wood scraps and came up with some stakes. These once droopy plants now stand tall again.

My latest incident involves one of my main gardening concerns - animals that like veggies! I was checking my garden when I noticed that my cucumber plants looked a little funny. Sure enough, some animal had come in the dark of night to nibble away at a couple of them! I am actually surprised that it hadn't happened before now. Fortunately, the damage was not unto death. The plant will survive, but it will have to "start over" again. All that growth gone in a blink of an eye. My hope is that the unexpected pruning will actually cause the plant to grow back even stronger. Time will tell and I will let you know.

I just have to say that there is nothing like picking veggies from my very own garden. It is my reward - to enjoy the harvest. So far, my enjoyment has been limited to jalapeno peppers! It is amazing how creative I have been with just one item from my garden. This particular item has added spice and flavor to many dishes! I am looking forward to picking some bell peppers next. 

I will end today's blog on one very important note. A garden has to be maintained! If things are not addressed right away, things are likely to get out of control. Weeds in particular! It is a constant chore to keep them out of my garden. It is almost a daily task, but the result is so worth it. 

If anyone should see my garden, they would know without a doubt that I care for it and have invested much time and energy to ensure that it has the best chance possible to grow into maturity and share its bounty with me and others.

Catching Up

Wow! It has been so long since I have blogged. My husband told me recently that I don't just blog, I design  - that may be part of the problem. I was being so detail oriented and wanting things just so that it was taking me a long time to post one entry.  I grew weary. It seemed like work. The other contributing factor is that I have been doing other things. I shared about this creative juice (for lack of a better term) that started flowing out of me, but, to my surprise, it began to flow in multiple directions at the same time! So, here is what I have been up to instead of blogging my contemplations and memoirs:

Photography:

Gardening:

Worm Composting:

Raising Chickens:

Plus the multitude of other family, friend, and church stuff I love to do!

These activities have provided me with great blog material and I regret (mildly) not writing some of it. I hope to do better in the coming days - even if it comes out messy and imperfect. Plus, does anyone really care about perfection other than me? If they do, it will give them a chance to practice grace.

Blessings to you all and remember, if you don't hear from me on a consistent basis, it is most likely because I am busy living life instead of writing about it!!!