The Christian Gardener

If I Were a Garden Insect

2010-02-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

If I were a garden insect, I’d be a pill bug. Yes, a pill bug! In case you don’t know what that is, most people call them roly poly bugs. Some people think they are pests ; invading their flowerbeds or posting camp in their flower pots. But for those people who know what they are about, roly poly bugs are good guys.

Pill bugs help decompose yard waste by eating dead plant material and turning it into compost, which in turn puts nutrients back into the soil. Their assiduous work habits cause them to continually chomp and consume waste even when danger is eminent and they are fleeing for their lives! When threatened, pill bugs roll themselves into tiny armor-covered balls, using the hard outer shell of their body to protect the softer more fragile under-belly. They stay rolled up until they are sure the threat to their most susceptible areas has passed. Yep, that’s me, a pill bug. I display a tough and shielded outer shell while in reality I am protecting a very fragile and vulnerable inner-person.

I’ve had to be tough. I’ve needed to be strong for a lot of people:

• For my siblings; our father died suddenly when I was sixteen, leaving mom (a housewife) with two young adults, three teenagers, and two adolescent children. When she had to go to work, I took on a lot of the responsibility of managing the household.

• For my children: married and divorced at an early age, I spent a lot of years as a single parent working in mostly male dominated jobs so I could earn enough to take care of them and help my mother. I did everything from working heavy contruction, to working in sewers (yes, real sewer lines), to driving snow plows; Often, I was the only woman on the job (let's not even talk about sexual harassment!)

• For my mom: Elderly now, and living with my disabled sister and her teen aged son. There is Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare to fight with over denying or ever decreasing benefits. There are doctors’ visits, and school visits, co-pays and no-pays. Forget making ends meet, just want them to say “Hello” to each other on a regular basis.

• For my community: I’ve spent the last several years as an advocate for my community, fighting for changes in public policies and resources to promote a better quality of life for people living in the urban core.

I’ve been a lot of things to a lot of people, but now things have changed. Dealing with illness for several months I’ve had to cut back on being the champion for others and try to look out for myself .

I think it’s hard for some people, particularly those who don’t realize, there is a vulnerable side of me, to imagine that I can be sick, hurt, injured, feel depressed, or lonely. It’s partially my fault though. I generally don’t let people see that side of me. It’s a trust thing. I admit I have trust issues. I have let some people get close to me, only to find a knife stuck in my soft under-belly, near my heart. So trust is a BIG issue for me. It’s painful to find that people you thought were friends weren’t. Or people you thought loved you didn’t. It kills my trust and once I feel that can’t trust you, everything changes. I won’t let you close enough to hurt me like that again. I can forgive a man for stealing my wallet but, I would not leave him alone in a room with my purse again. Some would say that is not true forgiveness. Maybe it isn’t. But to me, there is a difference between trust and forgiveness. There is some damage that we can do in this life that it may be difficult or impossible to undo. Broken trust is always a hard one. It’s not impossible to restore trust, but for me it would take some time before I could open that outer protective shell and trust you near my vulnerable self again. Let us value and respect the trust others out in us by being trustworthy. Trust once broken, is not easily restored.

Psalm 55:12-16

12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God

Psalms 41:9

9 Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

Killing Me Softly

2010-02-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

I have always liked snow. Like a beautiful white blanket, a thick layer of snow can cover even the most unsightly objects and transform them into billowy creations that warm my heart and give me a sense of peace and comfort, even on the coldest days. Abandoned cars become horizontals works of art draped in fine white linen. Trash and litter blend invisibly into the landscape, completely erased from view. Neighborhood vacant lots that may go un-mowed regularly during the summer look like winter wonderlands complete with sparkling lights courtesy of the glistening snow.

Normally a snowy, cold winter would also mean less pests and fungal problems in my mostly clay-soiled and damp back yard. It would mean the death of many annual weeds, and the freezing of many of their seeds. In addition it would mean plenty of needed water for my sleeping gardens from the thawing snow. But last fall, due to circumstances beyond my control , I was unable to properly bed my garden before the snow and winter cold arrived.

Looking out my window, now that the snow has melted, I am reminded of the things I that I didn’t get done in my garden last fall. Un- weeded, uncut, un-raked and un-mulched, I groan at the sight of it. I expect many things to live that I wanted to die, and many things to die that I would like to live. Once the covering beauty of the snow was gone, the reality of what lay underneath came back.

We all have things in our lives that we have left un- weeded, uncut, un-raked and un-mulched. Things we should have said or done; but we didn’t. Things we shouldn’t have said or done; but we did. We can spend the rest of our lives feeling guilty about how we wronged others or angry about how others wronged us. When it’s all said and done, someone else has already paid the price for all the wrong that’s been done to us and by us. The Word of God says: “Have fervent love for one another.” Fervent means showing ardent or extremely passionate enthusiasm for someone or something. Before it’s too late, let’s push past the feelings of our flesh and remember the calling of our spirit. Let go of hurt and anger. Let's comfort each other. Let's protect each other. Let’s find fervent love for one another and hold on to it no matter what. Just like a thick blanket of fresh snow, fervent love will cover and transform everything; including us.1 Peter 4:7-9 (New King James Version)Serving for God’s Glory
7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[a] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

Is it Good Enough?

2009-12-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

People have often asked me why I garden. They can only see that there is a lot of work involved, and as far as they can tell, it seems to go on continuously throughout the season. Although they may enjoy the beauty of flowers blooming, they say mowed lawns and trimmed hedges are “Good enough” for them. Adding flowers will only make for more work. That attitude is perfectly fine when it comes to the personal preference of whether or not add a garden to your yard. However it is not the best mind-set when doing things for others.

How often have you heard a co-worker say “That’s good enough for them” when giving less than their best for their employer? How many people give less than their best when giving to or serving the poor? How often have we treated others as though they don’t deserve to have they same courtesies and considerations that we ourselves want to receive? We give them as little as possible and say that it’s “Good enough”

It doesn’t matter how much money you have to give, how much time you have to spend, or what other gifts and talents you can contribute to make someone else’s time better. What matters most is that you give the best you have to give at all times. Only the best you have to offer at that time is “Good enough”

Colossians 3:17 (New King James Version)

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Love Endures All Things: 1 Corinthians 13: 7

2009-12-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

In 2002 I planted a quart sized Wine and Roses weigela bush. I was excited at the idea of watching it grow into a healthy thriving bush bursting with deep rose-colored blooms against its green-tinged burgundy leaves. But by 2008 the bush had only grown to a little more than twice its original size. Every spring it leafed out very sparsely and only got a few sad-looking blooms on it.

One of the first things that I learned about gardening is: Don’t waste time on underperforming plants! If it doesn’t do well, don’t be afraid to rip it out and discard it or give it away. I waited for what seemed like forever for something to happen that apparently wasn’t going to happen. I tried everything: more fertilizer, less fertilizer, mixed fertilizers, sprays, and powders. Nothing seemed to help it grow better, yet it continued to live.

I decided that 2009 is the last year that I would try to grow the little bush. I have wasted enough time, money and energy on this one bush. I mixed my final mixture: compost, manure, rain water, and coffee grounds; the largest batch I have ever mixed. I carefully dug a trench around the bush and poured my concoction into it. I covered the trench with topsoil, tamping it lightly to help it stay in place. After that, I slowly soaked the ground around the bush with water using a garden hose.

This year my weigela tripled in size and bloomed profusely! It’s December and the beautiful burgundy leaves are still clinging to its branches. I had finally found the right combination of ingredients it needed to thrive! Seeing it succeed was well worth the trouble.

How many times have there been people in our lives that seem to be more trouble than they are worth? They may be believers who don’t seem able to mature past spiritual infancy or adolescence, or friends and family members whose thoughts and actions go against what you believe to be right. Society and our flesh tell us to discard these people; they are not worth the trouble. But people are not plants. Those that don’t perform as expected shouldn’t be ripped out and discarded. Some people just take longer to grow than others. Difficult as it may be, it often requires continuous effort to find just the right combination of prayer, patience, admonition, accountability, endurance, and most importantly, love to help people grow to their fullest potential. Believe me, it's worth it.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (New King James Version)4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails…

Short Comings

2009-11-21T11:17:00.000-08:00

I want to be a good gardener. I read everything I can find about the subject. I’ve studied my plants so well that I can identify them be their leaves, long before they are mature enough to produce anything. I follow advice I get from experts in the field, from books to the internet, I strive to be the best I can be. There are times when my garden is so beautiful and full of magnificent blooms, that I pat myself on the back and give myself accolades for what an accomplished gardener I’ve become. It was I, after all, who transformed this barren wasteland of a yard from a hot smoldering field of drying grass and rock; into a colorful oasis of ponds, flowers, fountains and feeders for man, beast, bird, and butterfly to enjoy. It feels really good to step back and enjoy the works of my hands. Then, like an inexperienced novice, I do something stupid.

Once, frustrated with a family of wasps that overtook my patio and refused to leave, I grabbed a can of wasp spray and sprayed at one in mid-flight. The thick foamy spray landed on everything; my beautiful jackmanii clematis, my lovely orange profusion zinnias, and worst of all, my small patio fish pond. I had to scramble frantically to save my fish! Another time, annoyed with a weed the kept coming back, I sprayed a little squirt of weed killer, that drifted onto a beloved perennial and almost killed it.

I find myself sometimes impressed with how much I’ve grown spiritually through the years. Things I used to do and ways I used to act are very far removed from me now. I am glad I’m not the person I used to be. And just when I think I am no longer capable of certain thoughts and actions; temptation pops up to challenge me. I recognize that, given the right mix of internal and external circumstances, my initial knee-jerk reactions can occasionally surprise me. My first thoughts are not always godly thoughts. These situations remind me that I am constantly in a growth process in my spiritual life. I am reminded that as I read, as I study, as I grow; I am still wrapped in flesh, so I must also make a conscious, constant, and concerted effort to apply the biblical principles and attitudes that I’ve learned. Sometimes Believers get so caught up in what we “know”; we don’t always consider what we “show”

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.. Philippians 3:12-14 (New King James Version)

Reaping What You Sow

2009-11-14T08:11:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I bought a pack of wildflower seeds. Looking at the packet I saw it was a mixed variety of seeds, about many of which I didn't have a clue. I tried looking up some of the species on the Internet, but that started to become very time consuming. Anyway, I never met a flower I didn't love. It was already midsummer and I just wanted to add a little more color for late season,without being worried about transplant stress for seedings. Besides, if anything grew that I didn't like, I could always just pull them up. So, loving flowers the way I do, I cast these unfamiliar seeds onto a bare spot in the corner of my sun garden.

It didn't take long for the seeds to sprout. I watched with great anticipation as they grew and spread rapidly, some reaching up 3ft tall and just as wide. Then they began to bloom! There was an explosion colors, textures and sizes. I was fascinated, until...

I noticed the now familiar leaf shape of some of the wildflowers were growing in places where I hadn't planted them. Not just here or there like you might think, but dozens of them, eveywhere! Blown by wind? Carried by birds? Who knows how the seeds spread? Daily, I found myself plucking them from flowerpots, walkways, other flowerbeds, you name it. They insinuated themselves into every area of my yard. I tried to pull the mother plants up, but for some, the roots were so deep, and the stems so tough, that I had to have them cut down as if they where woody shrubs.

It's been three summers since I first cast those seeds. I still spent time this year pulling upshoots from their seedlings. In retrospect, it was silly to abitrarily casts seeds not knowing (or caring) what they may produce. It was even more silly to assume that I could easily correct it if the outcome was adverse. The time I would have spent gaining full knowledge of the seeds and the characteristics of the flowers they produce, pales in comparison to the time I've spent correcting my mistake.

As Christians we sometimes use our "love" as an excuse to carelessly say or do things that are more often for our own personal satisfaction than anything else. Most likely, these comments and actions will negatively affect everyone and everything they touch, taking years to overcome.

My wildflowers turned out to be weeds. What seeds are you sowing?

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows
Galatians 6:7 (New International Version)

Getting Well

2009-11-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

I haven’t been able to work in my garden for two months. At the end of August I came down with a little cough that turned into bronchitis, then turned into pneumonia. On days when I feel good, I forget that I’m not well yet so I start doing stuff; until I start feeling like I can’t breathe, then I remember. I'm like a little child; I want to go outside and play!

I sit near the window or look longingly through the sliding glass patio doors and sigh, wishing I could go out and pull up some of the weeds that are trying to take over. My plants need me! My “friends” as I call them, seem to be calling out “WHERE ARE YOU? It’s getting cold and we can’t go to bed without you!” Stuff needs to be cut down, stuff needs to be mulched over, stuff needs to be dug up and put away, and stuff needs to be planted! Thinking about all of the things I need to do was beginning to overwhelm me. I know what you’re thinking; Why not just hire someone else to do it for you? Well for me that’s almost like hiring someone to put your kids to bed. Someone else may be able do it but will they add on the loving touches that can only come from you? I am particularly worried about my sixty or so potted perennials. They especially need protection from the upcoming winter.

I wrestled with the dilemma: Do I go take care of it myself, and risk getting sicker or do I leave it alone and hope they survive? The weather is very nice today, so maybe it won’t hurt me to be out there. These are my “friends” after all… As I fought off the urge to put on a face mask and head for the yard, I heard as plain as day, a quiet voice say to my heart: "Be still, and know that I am God…” In that instant, I realized that I was doing it again; Not recognizing when to let go and let God. That’s a habit I have; always pushing for My will be done. Proverb 3:5-6 says: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. It is foolish to even consider jeopardizing my health in such a way.

My nephew and his friend are here moving the pots to the place I designated to protect them from the wind and cold. My friends will be fine and if for some reason they are not, everything will still be okay.

The Serenity Prayer
by Reinhold Niebuhr

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.

Amen.

In the beginning...

2009-10-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

In order to grow anything, the first and most important thing, is good soil. Healthy soil is the foundation that gives all plants the best opportunity to develop a strong root system. In turn, a strong root system will give the plant the best chance to overcome any adverse conditions and reach it's fullest growth potential. If the soil where you plan to plant is not suitable for what you plan to plant, you must take the necessary steps to make it suitable, or move the plant to a more acceptable environment. There is no substitute for a good foundation. The same can be said for parenting.While raising our children, let's consider whether or not we are providing the best possible foundation that will allow them to develop a strong healthy root system, so when adverse conditions arise, they may overcome them and live to reach their fullest growth potential. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6