That barren spot...a story from my garden

Back before winter was over, we made the decision to take down the old plum tree. It didn't bare edible fruit. It just dropped dirty plops on the cement that stained the concrete, stunted all the plant growth around and under it and blocked the light from hitting the boys window. I tend to the think this is the effect of sin in our lives, so this tree has been a teaching example to me. Since becoming homeowners, there has always been a temptation to not be content in what we have, wanting more, (being tempted to think we NEED more), but this one spot in the garden has been a huge instrument in teaching me all we need is Christ. When we come in humility to the grace-filled Savior, we come face to face with light; we are a new creation. Let me explain in terms of my garden.

The barren spot I wrote about in my last post is now flooded with wild flowers planted from seed! They seemed to sprout so slow that I was tempted to think nothing would come of them. I complained about the soil, damaged from the tree and all it dropped and left behind...(I'm still finding twigs and shoots from that tree in the same way I still find places of sin in my life. While they are no longer my master, they often come out in times of selfishness and fear. The weeds tend to come out when I've neglected my garden or busyness draws me away. What an illustration that is for how we should tenderly care for our spiritual growth.) But, this spot is FULL of beauty and wildness. It isn't planned like the rest of my garden. It hasn't been trained to look a certain way. I didn't plan for water needs, light needs, hardiness. I scattered seeds and let them be and now look at them! So many beautiful colors, some dainty stems and some thick and strong. The flowers are surrounded by foxglove, clematis and columbine finished blooming for their season so their wildflower friends can fully show off their colors and demand all the attention.

This is the light of Christ, being grafted into Him, displaying a new creation, what once was barren is now blooming with the proof of the gospel. Derek is currently preaching through a series on evangelism: telling the truth. It's been powerful in reminding me that we respond to God's grace by proclaiming Him in ALL we do. This garden proclaims Him, so should I! For all I did was scatter the seeds and water them occasionally. But oh man, what if the seeds I scatter are gospel truths scattered in soil ready for planting by someone else who has tilled the ground with gospel truths, and someone else waters the ground with gospel truth. All of this is accomplished by the grace of God. No longer would we see a rotten-fruit bearing tree, but a harvest of beautiful wild flowers eager to display the glory of God.

Maybe that is a lot to get out of a barren spot in my garden, but oh how thankful I am.

Stories from my garden

Derek and I bought our first home in the summer of 2016.  The first thing we did was buy paint! A 5 gallon bucket of paint! We painted the walls which made our home really our home. We had never painted walls before, so over the last year we've painted all but one wall in our house. And that one wall has limited time left to contemplate it's beige state.

Before becoming homeowners I had never grown a vegetable or flower. I had planted some annuals for Mother's Day gifts, but never tended a garden, sowed a seed, or considered the acidity of soil, the hours of sun in a particular spot, or the heritage of seeds. That has all changed. I watched, pregnant with my daughter and eager to dig in to the soil, a full year, tracking the sun, tracking the first and last frost, tracking the flowers and shrubs already in the garden, making my plan, second guessing it, and then committing my husband to some instesive physical labor.

First to go was the ornamental plum tree, a.k.a. The mullet tree, from our front garden patch. It was such a hard decision that I debated with myself, chop it down, leave it up, try to prune it, that can never be pruned! But, alas, after a year or talking myself into it, the tree came down and the flowers bloomed! Bearded iris that didn't get enough sun in the shade of the tree sprung up with gusto and bloomed beautifully! Creeping myrtle that really was creeping slowly, stunted, started marathon covering the ground with purple flowers and evergreen foliage. Bachelor's button that wasn't amazing in the first place seemed to grow a foot higher than the previous summer. But left behind was a big brown, dirt spot too shaded for anything to have grown previously.

This has been the absolute best barren area of my life! Where there was nothing, there are some many things growing now! There are plants from friends, family, volunteers from the bees and a family hobby "taking root!"