The Garden Grows . . .
October, 2008

Went out to my vegetable garden this week to see what was there. Found the gamut from non-existent (cabbage), to wimpy (broccoli), to “so-so” (corn), to wonderful (huge, red, beefy firm tomatoes)! Our friend the horticulturist told us last year that the soil we brought in was too sterile, and we were “starving” our garden. So, over the winter we worked in bags of manure, and allowed the chickens and ducks to have full access, hoping that would boost the soil’s productivity. Looks like for the tomatoes, we did the right thing! But, the cabbage and broccoli and celery that we planted were exactly the same plants that my mother put into her garden, and she has enormous quantities of produce from them! What we didn’t do was to take soil samples, test them, add the right products for the chemical needs for the various veggies we want to grow, and really do the work of amending our garden soil to boost the possibilities for growth. My mother has been amending her soil in her garden for many years, and can almost always count on good crops! She makes it look easy!

When our scriptures tell us to “prepare the way” for God in our lives, we may take a lesson from the garden: Some preparation helps some of the time, but taking the time to look into our lives, amending our spiritual soil on an ongoing basis will take daily preparation and work (the good kind!), by participating in means of grace: daily prayer, meditation and self-evaluation, holy conversation, worship, and a willingness to change that which is not showing spiritual “fruit” (remember Paul’s list? -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – we could all add to this list as we experience life).