Pulling the Weeds

Every year about this time the world goes nuts with talk of gardens and flowers.  I am no different.  Well maybe on the flowers part.  I have a strict If it doesn't produce food don't plant it rule.

Spring has definitely sprung and it is indeed time to plant.  We work so hard to get the soil ready and to build rows.  I weed.  I plan the layouts.  I even drew a map.  And then we carefully place these plants and seeds into the ground.

And then we wait.  And wait.  Harvest doesn't come for quite some time.  In the meantime we have to keep up with weeds and watering.  We have to fertilize.  It's hard work and it feels like forever before any fruits of our labor are seen.

Then the fruits begin to show up.  A few at a time at first.  And then it feels like you are overrun with all this food.  I struggle to keep up with the canning and freezing.  But I do it anyway. 

And then there comes a time when I feel like I just can't do it anymore.  The weeds are high.  The pantry is almost full.  The garden doesn't look all nice and neat anymore.  It looks like a mess.  Where there used to be 9 distinct tomato plants is now just a mangled mess of vines and tomato cages.  Some are falling to the ground rotten. 

But we must press on.  There is more food in there.  More vegetables to be harvested.  It was during this time last year that I really wanted to give up.  I was running out of steam.  But I pressed on.  I picked that last batch of tomatoes and ended up with another 12 pints of salsa. 

And I am thankful I pressed on.  That salsa tasted good yesterday on my rice and beans.  My hard work paid off.

There are so many areas of life that this can compare to.  I think about parenting.  I think about my job.  I think about my husband.  I think about my friends.  I think about the call to evangelism.  I think about my own spiritual journey.

There is work to be done. There is watering and weeding.  There is fertilizing.  There is harvesting.  There is preserving.  And there is joy in the fruit.

I have been in the world of newborn baby.  There have been many areas of my life that have been neglected.  The weeds are high in some areas of my life.  I am looking forward to pulling out those weeds and digging into the other areas of my life.  It will take work but I am ready for it.