Lessons from The Garden

Well it is no secret that I love the garden. Part of the reason I love it so much is because I learn so much as I spend my time there.

The Path of Love

 This is a narrow pathway, just wide enough for walking. It is actually only just one year old. Prior to this we had nothing more than a trail. The problem was that the trail did not define where the flower beds started and often, particularly during the winter and early spring when things were dormant, the flowers would get trampled.  I love having a well defined path. It marks the way through the yard and keeps everything growing as it should. Life is like a well marked foot path in that when we stick to the teachings of the gospel found in both scripture and from the words of the prophets then we can be assured that we will not harm anything that is lovely and beautiful - particularly others. We are assured of this because the path we are encouraged to walk is one of love.

Always Worth the Wait

 Uniquely beautiful, this white peony is fairly new to my garden. I have had it for about 3 years now. I bought it off a discount rack. It was small and didn't amount to much at the time. Last year it grew but was still to small to produce a flower. Yet knowing that it would eventually flower, and that when it did it would be worth it, I continued to tend it. This year it is still small but it has one glorious blossom on it. An it was definitely worth the wait. It is unlike any peony I have ever seen and it is beautiful in its purity and design. In life we too have to learn to be patient and wait for others to bloom. Certainly there was nothing I could have done last year to make it bloom, it had to do so in it's own time. Timing is important in our own lives as well. The Lord has plead that we will keep ourselves pure and virtuous. Virtue is tossed too and fro these days like a worn out boot, but this flower reminds me that virtue is ALWAYS worth the wait because its fruits are glorious and beautiful!!!

A Flower Family

 Three irises, three uniquely different flowers yet all are from the same family which work together to unify the garden. These flowers remind me each time I look at them that each family member is a wonderfully important individual with great potential and divine worth. Each of these flowers have developed different qualities of colors, size and style. Families are similar in that each member develops different talents and qualities that complement the rest of the family.

No such thing as 'fast food' Faith!

 I am not always a patient gardener - sometimes I feel like I need to dig up a seed or two to see if it is actually beginning to grow or not. However, I usually manage to stop myself before I can damage any tender young shoots. Sometimes faith can feel like this. Life is filled with many experiences, some hard and some not so hard, but most require faith and when faith is needing stretched it is important to remember to water it and let it develop. Faith never develops overnight and always requires constant attention and tending much like a young garden. I know that over time this garden will produce a wonderful array of delicious food.

From a Different Angle

 This is not a spectacular garden. In fact, if you look at the pathway picture above you will see it the way I see it almost every day. However, I was out taking photos the other day and discovered a very pleasing angle in which to view this garden. I find it stunning. I am reminded that when we look at a situation in life from the same old angle all the time, we sometimes miss the blessings and joys we might have otherwise enjoyed.

Climbing Upward in Happiness

This is a first time flower this year as well. I fell in love with clematis several years ago for it's vine-like qualities and large showy blossoms. In fact some clematis flowers bloom twice in the same year. I love the determination of this plant. Not only does it grow 6-8 feet in a year, but it is so filled with joy that it blossoms twice during the year as well. It reminds me to always look upward, no matter what is underfoot, if I focus on my Savior and strengthen my faith, making corrections as needed, I too will be filled with enough joy to figuratively 'bloom twice a year' which is more than is usually expected from a perennial flower.