I LOVE this time of year. For me it is perfect to be outside because I love milder temperatures and spring flowers. So far the mosquitoes haven't been too bad (though they were vicious last night) and the flowers are beginning to thrive. My yard, filled with growing things, living space, and more, is so much like life. For me I like being in the garden. I spend sacred time there every day. It speaks peace to my soul and joy to my heart - yet - every time I walk through the garden, whether my heart is singing or my hands are working, I always notice that there is something that yet needs done. It doesn't matter what time of year it is, or what time of day it is, there is always something that needs done.
These are the rewards of the garden. I love the bright, cheerful colors that greet me each time I venture out in the yard. These remind me of my many blessings and the richness of them, and they never fail to envelop me in a deep, peaceful contentment with life.
Now, as lovely as these flowers are, lets take a closer look at the yellow tulips...
This is the garden where the yellow tulips grow. Already, you can see work that needs done, cords that need put away and a few spots of green that don't quite fit into the layout of the plan yet it still looks pretty good... Let's take a closer look...
This is what you see behind the tulips. Tiger lilies are growing and with them are hosts of tiny little weeds that have to be taken care of. These little weeds remind me of the little things - usually thoughts - that are distasteful. A thought of procrastination, unkindness, unwillingness, annoyance etc. Everybody experiences hundreds of these little thoughts every day. Usually it is easy to suppress them and uproot them. These little weeds, though there are lots, will only take a small amount of time to take out of the garden. However, if they were left to be nourished, their roots would take firm hold and before long the garden would lose it's beauty.
This part of the garden is nearly weed free, though there are a few sneaky ones trying to hide among the plants. However, you can see empty spaces that have yet to be planted. This garden reminds me that we need to fill our lives with good things. Time is so important to use wisely as it is our greatest resource. As this garden is filled with plants, it will actually be harder for weeds to grow in their shadow.
The next three pictures depict different gardens that each need different types of care.
This garden has a problem with dandelions. It doesn't seem to matter how many dandelions I kill, there always seem to be more coming up. However, for the most part it is a semi-controlled garden that I quite enjoy. It is unique in that it is in nearly total shade so it has been a struggle to find plants to grow there. Life parallels this when we try and try again and again in an effort to overcome or change something we are working on. I have found that through the years I have found plants that do quite well in this location, but it has been a very slow process. Sometimes our challenges feel slow, but as the months and years pass, we will be able to one day look back and see our progress and we will be amazed at the changes that came so gradually that it was hard to measure the growth. I am confident that this garden will flourish and be just as beautiful as I hope it to be some day.
This garden has had a huge problem with grass. There is still a little lingering there that I hope to eradicate this year, but it makes it hard to plant because all the old roots are still there. As such it has way to much open space that makes it hard to care for. There have been lots of years that I have just had to go in with the mower or weed eater and cut everything down to control it. Life is like that. Grass in an of itself is not a weed - but in a flower garden it is a nuisance. Life offers so many good things that it is hard sometimes to balance everything we want to do. It's kind of like grass growing in a flower bed. It doesn't actually look bad until the grass is taller than the flowers! When we prioritize, it offers us the opportunity to bring the grass back into perspective. We may find that as we take some things out of our lives we actually have more room for flowers to grow.
This garden has had huge problems for a number of years. It's biggest problem was that it was too big. Using landscape ties and 4x4's I sectioned this garden down into manageable size chunks. Now when I work in this garden I only do one section at a time. This year I tamed the last section! Victory for me. I LOVE it!
Some areas of our lives are a work in progress as we seek to develop talents and abilities. This is our latest yard project. If you look closely you can see the tiny little bushes growing just in front of the fence. You can also see that the floor of this area is just dirt, there are still building paraphernalia on site and if you could see up close you would see that the ground hasn't even been leveled yet. However, if you could see what it looked like before it was started, you would be amazed at the change. Even in its unfinished state, this area looks really good compared to what it was. Life is like that. Each of us is working toward perfection in one area or another, or even in multiple areas at a time. However, the older we get, the more polished we become, and while we are still a work in progress, we are beautiful to the Lord.
Some areas of our lives have yet to be developed and in the case of this area of our yard, it even needs to be decluttered before it will look very nice. The scriptures teach that there is a time and a season for all things, and this may not be the season for this area of our yard yet for a year or two. However, we do keep it mowed and the clutter will be cleaned up, but it won't be groomed and manicured like the rest of the yard for a few years yet. In life, most of us have a few rough edges that still need to be worked on. As with this area, preventing them from getting worse is important. At some point in our lives we will be prompted to focus on those things and feel the need to groom and beautify even those less obvious parts of our lives.
Now this area. This is actually the front yard. It is probably the most obvious portion of our yard to random passers by. This area was once beautiful, and even in this picture it doesn't look too bad, however, it is overgrown with undesirable plants, volunteer trees and grasses that prevent it from looking good. This project is actually one that has taken two years so far to come to this point. We are hopeful that this will be the year we can get it completed. How did it get this way you might ask? It was simply neglected. Life was too busy for gardening and it got away on me. Some times habits are like this. A bad habit, which may at first appear as one or two undesirable plants in a garden, will quickly multiply and when left unchecked, that habit runs the risk of overtaking something that once was beautiful. Smoking and drinking can overtake health. Profanity can overtake grace and kindness. Judgement and negativity can overtake ones own happiness and joy for life. It is important to recognize bad habits and to begin the process of eliminating them from our lives. When we are finished with this garden, it will be easy to care for and we will never again allow so many weeds to overtake it.
This is just another portion of the front yard. It is further along than the previous picture, but as you can see there is lots of space that needs plants before it will be truly beautiful.
So my garden teaches me. It's lessons bring a singing joy to my soul. I love to see it change throughout each growing season. Ultimately, from my garden, I have learned that if I want it to be beautiful I must stay close to it. Walk through it and enjoy it every day while at the same time keeping an open eye for potential problems like drought, Canadian thistle, and weeds. By catching those problems early, I am able to maintain my garden.
We can maintain happiness and joy in our lives in a similar manner. As we are aware of our own weaknesses and struggles, we can work toward eradicating undesirable behavior, thoughts and acts before they become a sorrow filled problem. Pulling weeks in the garden is like repenting in life. It gets rid of those problems consistently every day as often as they appear. This brings our lives to a point of great happiness and satisfaction. We love life and the people that fill our lives. We experience joy that uplifts and invigorates our souls beyond what our imagination can conceive.
Life is like a garden - full of wonder and joy!
