"Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:11-12
"Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." Genesis 1:29
God sure knew what He was doing, didn't he? I've often wondered at what exact moment it was that I decided I wanted to grow vegetables. I can't pinpoint it at all. I clearly remember growing up, watching Mom garden, and not being interested in working in the dirt. I also clearly remember walking through gardens tended by both my grandfathers. I recall my first attempts at gardening- we were living in a place with no space for a garden, so I tried growing herbs in pots. I also planted a small tomato plant and a fennel bulb in pots- none of them were uber successful.
Then we moved here, and honestly, I didn't plan to plant a garden. In fact, it was our landlord's fault, because she mentioned that she didn't mind us planting a garden or doing things to the yard- as long as we planted grass seed when we were done with the gardening. Then one day, as I was grocery shopping, and wishing I could save money, I picked up some seeds. I came home, marked out a space on the lawn, and when Andy got home from work, I set him to work tilling up the dirt and building me a raised bed. And I've been in love ever since.
Somewhere along this simple journey, God woke up in me this huge desire to work the earth and coax produce to grow from it. My garden is my baby, which I work on, really, twelve months of the year. As I put it to bed in the late fall, I'm already mentally making plans for next year. The seed-starting begins as early as February, after the seed orders have been placed in January. And now, now, the best part has begun.
Last night, I had grilled up a pair of salmon fillets for dinner, but I wasn't yet sure what to do with them. A quick rummage through the fridge found a small pile of spinach, but not quite enough. So I went to the garden with my bowl and filled it to the brim with assorted greens and lettuces. I felt like a kid at Christmas, as I filled my bowl with tender greens that were seeds not all that long ago. With a pile of mixed greens, a handful of leftovers, and some flaked salmon, we had the perfect summer dinner, and I just felt so loved while eating it. Doesn't that sound silly? I felt like God really knew what He was doing when he gave me this desire to garden. It just felt like such a blessing to be able to walk out the back door and gather dinner! And the best part is that this wasn't a one time shot! I'm looking forward to many, many nights of dinner from the backdoor, and only God made it all possible.
Only God created such a wonderful variety of plants and vegetables. Only God could create that perfect relationship of plant to earth. I thank God all the time for my garden. On the days where I am out working the dirt, pulling a few weeds and tying up a few vines, I spend time thanking God for the ability to grow these plants. So this Tuesday morning, I am remembering to be grateful for the gardening bug. As I remember walking through the garden with both my grandfathers, it would be easy to think that I have the gardening bug in my genes. Except that if I look all the way back to Genesis, it's clear that I DO have gardening DNA, only it's not a grandparent that shared it with me- it's my Heavenly Father, who was the first one to do the gardening.
Don't forget to check out the other Gratituesday posts over atHeavenly Homemakers this morning. You'll really feel blessed reading Laura's post today- it brought tears to my eyes, and I was thankful right along with her. And if you have a blog, feel free to post your own Gratituesday post- and if you don't have a blog, why don't you leave a comment here? Tell my what you're grateful for this beautiful Tuesday!
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