In the Garden
I suppose everyone has that one place they can go that feeds their soul. A place where they are refreshed. For some it’s the beach, for others the mountains. Maybe it’s the golf course. Mine is much closer to home. For me, it’s the garden.
This probably comes as a shock to my parents. As a child, they required my brother and I to work alongside them picking beans, corn, or peas in a garden that went on for miles and miles in summer heat that registered upwards of five hundred degrees. At least that’s the way it seemed.
When Mama called us out to work the rows, I’ll admit a fair amount of whining and complaining took place. I may have accused her of child labor a time or two. It was hot, and getting dirty wasn’t my thing. I would much rather have been inside playing with my Barbie dolls.
When my husband and I bought the house we live in now it came with a small raised bed in the back yard. That little spot beckoned me. Without realizing it, I’d been instilled with a love of growing things. All it took was a square plot of dirt to bring it to life.
I bought some plants, and put them in the ground. Wonder of wonders, they not only grew, but thrived. I tended those plants as though they were newborn babies. I’d inspect each stalk and vine for new growth and ripe produce. A sprouting weed never got a chance to cause mischief. I’d pluck it up as soon as it poked its head above the soil.
To my complete surprise, I looked forward to walking down to the garden each day unhindered by the heat or the threat of dirt under my nails. The summers were several hundred degrees cooler than the ones of my childhood and the grime beneath my nails gave me a feeling of accomplishment.
“The purpose of creation is for us to encounter God — Creator with the created...”
In his book “Aligning with God’s Appointed Times”, Rabbi Jason Sobel says, “Why was Eden a garden? The garden is a symbol of rest. … It was a place of shalom and delight. God designed us for delight — us in Him and Him in us. The purpose of creation is for us to encounter God — Creator with the created, the Lover with the beloved, the Source of joy to be enjoyed, served, and worshiped by us, the beneficiaries.”
In the garden, God breathed life into man. There, God walked with man in the cool of the day. Time in the garden helps put things into perspective. No matter how pervasive the darkness around us may seem, the Creator is still working, still creating.
To this day, working the soil, nurturing the plants, and harvesting the produce stills my mind. That’s when I’m able see the spiritual lessons demonstrated through the tasks gardening requires. Lessons about sowing, reaping, diligent weeding, and pest control just to name a few.
Sometimes when I’m low and my burdens are heavy, I stand at the edge of the garden and remind myself that in the darkness is where the seed begins to grow.