I learn a lot of life lessons in my garden. For vegetables and flower to flourish in my garden I have to do a lot of preparation. Feed the soil, plant the seeds, water and weed. To be honest, there are some days that I wonder if all the labor is worth it for the amount of produce I get. And then I taste those sweet, baby peas and I say, "Oh yeah!" Or when I pick that first tender zucchini, "Yum!" This year I planted a little before May long week-end. As a result, with the night temperatures being a bit on the cool side, some plants like the broccoli and cucumber got a bit stunted. And then the Army Cutworms marched in munching all the tender stems of peppers, marigolds, cucumbers and more. I had to get out there and dig them out by hand, as even though I tried different things, that was the most effective. Now I have something bothering my squash and tomatoes. Sheesh! I don't remember having bug problems like this in the past.
However, with all the things that are hard and destructive I have some beauty to counterbalance it all. This lovely begonia has been flowering since the moment I planted it. Through all the rain storms and shifts in spring temperatures it has not faltered.
The same goes for my lilies and clematis. They have endured all that spring has thrown at them and are blooming gloriously.
Not so much my sick squash. I haven't figured out what pest is eating it but I'm hoping to soon so that I can save it.
What do plants have to do with life? Some days we flourish and are able to share our strengths and beauty with the world. Everything is going well and the troubles of the world don't faze us. And then there are times when we get down mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and we struggle to keep our head up.
I feel like that has been me this spring. Covid-19 came along and life as I knew it, changed. For the most part I have been able to work through all the changes and the anxieties, but it came at a time when I was doing some deep emotional work in my mind and heart. The timing was a bit challenging.
So just like with my garden, I have had to tend to my needs. Rooting out the bugs; the lies and old, bad habits, and nourishing myself. For me that is the Bible, prayer, edifying music, deep, cleansing, healing talks with my husband, and learning to balance how I spend my time and energy. As well as eating healthy food, exercising and getting sufficient rest. It's been hard work.
Hopefully though, just like with my garden, the hard work will be worth it and my light will shine in my corner of the world once again.
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