How Does Your Garden Grow?

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells, and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row!"

 

OK, so my name's not Mary, and I have no idea what silver bells or cockle shells are, and I was pretty certain that pretty maids were nice looking single women, which I can assure you are NOT growing in my yard! However, I am learning to become a much better gardner, and the lilacs, peonies, roses, petunias, geraniums, begonias, etc. are all abloom this year! Our first two years of marriage, I was convinced that our house was where plants came to die, and that I had inherited a black thumb instead of a green thumb like my mom, both grandmothers, and even my great-grandmothers. So coming from a long line of Southern women who are all excellent gardeners, you can imagine my disappointment when everything I tried to plant died, including a pumpkin sitting on our front porch for Halloween that rotted out after only a week! But I was up for a challenge! I was determined to learn how to plant and grow flowers! I love all the beautiful colors, and well, to be honest, I hate failing at anything. So I started working at it. I learned what flowers were mostly resilient, and began to experiment with others. It was definitely a process of trial and error, and I'm not claiming to be a great gardner, I just learned what could survive my semi-black thumb when it comes to gardening.

This year I had a lot of work ahead of me. After taking a bit of a hiatus from gardening last year due to my large, pregnant belly and record breaking summer heat, my flower beds were a mess. There were vines growing over the monkey grass and threatening to overtake our shed, there was monkey grass growing into the lilac and azalea bushes, and there were bamboo bushes that were climbing to heights of seven and eight feet, not to mention the many weeds growing all over. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me! But I'm pretty pleased with the result, and after a couple of weeks of hard work, it feels good to have finished the project and see the fruit of my labor. It takes work to grow a garden, but it takes even more work to grow the garden of the heart.

I enjoy gardening. It's cathartic and allows me time to burn energy and clear my mind, plus I love seeing the end result and knowing it's because of all the work I put into it. Over the years, as I've been digging around in my flower beds, I constantly am reminded how ironic it is that the plants I want to grow take so much work, while the plants I'd prefer not to grow (you know, those little things called weeds) can thrive without any effort on my part to help them. It always makes me think of the curse after the fall of man in Genesis, and how we must now toil and sweat in order to make the ground produce what we desire. It certainly makes me wonder what the Garden of Eden must have looked like without any dandelions or crab grass. But it also makes me think of the "fruits" growing in my own life. Those things we don't want growing in our lives, selfishness, pride, hatred, greed, etc., come so naturally and can take root at anytime, and when left unattended, can begin to grow wild and untamed in our lives choking out the good fruits in our life. Meanwhile, the good fruits, or the Fruit of the Spirit, take work, well at least they do in my life. I have to work at demonstrating patience, loving others, controling myself, being kind to everyone, or even having joy in all things. I have to tend the garden of my heart regularly, seeking what God wants to grow in me, and allowing Him to pull out those weeds of sin and prune back the will of self, so that His fruit might abound in my heart. I love to have a beautiful yard that catches the eyes of others, but even moreso, I hope that I am drawing the attention of the world because of the work that God is doing in my heart, and His love shining through me. It takes work, and sometimes the process is painful, but in the end, hopefully it makes me more like Him and draws others to my Savior.