Song of Solomon 2: 12
Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
Lessons From My Garden

Weeding, turning the soil, fertilizing, pruning, and even mowing the lawn are all tasks I absolutely love.  Give me a lawn mower over a sweeper any day!  Being outside makes me happy!  As I work in the fresh air I often think of different Bible lessons I've learned over the years that have to do with gardening.  The parable of the sower comes to mind when I am pulling thistles.   While training my flowering vines to travel up the trellis, I’m reminded of the wonderful passage in John, about the vine and the branches.  Sometimes gardening makes me remember old hymns.  Last week working in the deep mud and wearing my rubber boots, my right leg sunk down into the mud up to my shin, and I started singing "He lifted me from the miry clay".    All these thoughts swarm around my head while I am working outside.  Some of my favorite lessons from the garden, however, are those I hear when I stop working every once in a while, and just enjoy it.

The past two weeks have been riddled with stress as a result of knowing someone dear to me has been quite ill.  Thankfully my loved one is safe at home as I write this, but after one particularly tense day spent with her at the hospital while they "ruled out" different health issues, I came home in the evening, too tired emotionally and physically to do any yard work. Walking to my favorite garden at the back of my yard I sat on the old beat up bench that I love.  Sighing, my gaze was drawn to my left, where the intense color of an iris greeted me with a smile only a flower can give.  It seemed so beautiful there, in the quiet.  How kind and comforting for God to give me that moment, that beauty.  Tears of relief came softly and I sat there for quite some time, admiring the flowers and breathing in the warm evening air.  That evening, God reminded me of His constant presence, grace and love, and He did it there in the garden, with a flower.               ©2014jcd


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