My husband and father-in-law built me a raised garden bed for Mother's Day this year. It continues to be one of the best gifts I've ever received.
One of the first plants to grow in our garden was cauliflower. But it was a difficult plant. One morning while checking on the garden I noticed holes in one of the cauliflower leaves. The next day, there were more holes. I couldn't find the bug. The next day, I found a cute, fat little caterpillar on one of the leaves. I picked him off with a spoon and threw him as far as I could. But there were more. One day I picked off 7 caterpillars this way. It seemed to be never ending. I stayed on it and eventually they were gone, but those caterpillars were good hiders and I had to search in every nook and cranny of those leaves to find even the smallest one to rid the plant of these cute little monsters. And in the end, we ate the cauliflower and it was good.
Early on, I planted zucchini, yellow squash, and cucumber seeds. The zucchini and yellow squash took off... they grew and got bigger everyday. And just when I thought they couldn't get bigger, they did. The leaves are hanging out of the garden bed as I type. One day, I noticed a little green bud coming from the ground and I just knew it must be the cucumber plant. But as it grew, I was pretty sure it was a weed instead of a plant. But I didn't want to pick it just in case it actually was the plant. It was there for weeks before I opened up a book to find pictures of cucumber plants to realize it was in fact a weed. But the weird thing was, the weed was pretty. It was lean and tall and a light green color. It seemed to add value to my garden even though I knew it didn't. How crazy is that? After weeks, it was finally pulled.
Since I haven't been gardening long, there are many things I'm learning along the way. I didn't take into account how big some plants would become. So I planted 2 tomato plants right next to 2 pepper plants. The tomato plants grew so big, they towered and blocked the sun to the pepper plants. The pepper plants ended up dying since they never saw the sun.
Then it hit me one day. I was seeing Jesus all over my garden. His creation can't help but point to Him. There He was speaking in a still small voice.
Telling me that He is willing to help me rid the bad things of my life that will destroy me. Telling me He will help me rid each and every bad bug on me and multiple times a day if needed. Sometimes my leaves have holes in them, but in time they will heal.
Telling me that some people grow quicker and some grow slower. And that's ok because everyone works at their own pace with what God has given them. Some people's journey seems easier and some seem to have to overcome more. And it's ok that I don't understand why.
Telling me to pull the weeds, even if they are large and seem useful, but He wants to make room for the best things in my life.
Telling me that in the end, it will be worth the hard work. And the harvest will pay off even when it seems slow-going.
Thank you Jesus for seeking me out in my garden. Thank you for speaking through your amazing creation.
