Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. -May Sarton
I find more of myself and more unspoken lessons from this little garden. Apart from all of life’s distractions and finding myself still in the silence of this farm, I am able to hear revelations and wisdom that on most days seem so jumbled. Places like this, position my heart into a place where I am bound to hear the very things that God intends. Simple or complex, positioning ourselves in a still place gives space to move the whispers from our head, deep into our heart.
This garden has come with grand teaching and lessons to life. In a season where I needed them greatly. It’s taught patience and careful watchfulness. It’s taught diligence without laziness. It’s taught us to play in the dirt like kids again and to not be afraid of the crawling creatures that are good for this place. This garden has been a friend in a tough season and it’s brought insurmountable joy in seeing the fruits from the work of our hands.
The metaphors of life wisdom keep pouring into my soul to stay with every bit of blessing that we get out of it and they go like this…
May the garden remind us why the rain is so necessary- Dry and withered. Feeble and weak. Life without rain leaves us hungry for the very thing that gives us life. Sometimes the rain storms to life are the very thing that wash over us and revive us. Rain gives us heart beating life again. Let it wash over you. {Remember it’s the valleys where we are fed and grow, not the mountain tops.}
No consistency, no fruit– It’s that simple. It’s something that we all desire in life- Not only from ourselves but from others. Everything that has value in life is laid with a foundation of consistency and diligence. There are days when distractions get in the way, even distractions that seem good, but if we allow those to step into a place away from the consistency from nurturing progression, weeds will come in and choke what was meant to be beautiful, out.
{Don’t forget, they never look like distractions until they are done distracting you.}
Don’t forget to remove the weeds– It’s funny how quickly weeds can come in and choke the life out of something, including our very own lives. Weeds can be under rocks and under plants that we don’t see until we dig deep down and flip places over that maybe we haven’t checked in a while. It takes work, every day work to take the weeds out of our lives that aren’t meant to be there. Things like Facebook and social media, work, and relationships can suck us dry. Before we know, those weeds and distractions can choke the life out of the most important things to our time here on earth. If we let weeds take over the garden, we will never see the fruit.
{Get the weeds out before you miss out on some of the greatest gifts that were meant for YOU.}
Nurture with care– I’ve learned living out here in Tennessee farm country that there aren’t many things that you can just plant and let grow on their own. Just like life, we can’t just plant and expect it to grow and provide fruit without taking our part to nurture and cultivate it. What you put in, you get out.
{The more we nurture, the easier it grows and the better the fruit.}
When a seed is planted, growth is happening whether we see it or not– This came with a lesson of patience and believing even without seeing. When I look back at pictures of the beginning of the garden, it seemed so small and simple and now it’s full and bountiful. We didn’t see in the midst what was happening but every second of every day, progress was happening. Some of the best experiences come after a time of waiting where everything seems desolate. Where we feel as if we’ve touched hell and even in that, growth is happening. From barren to fruit filled…
{Have faith and trust even when you don’t see.}
Many days I want to sit out in this garden with music or a podcast on, but those times when I allow myself to sit in the silence are the richest. Often times I think about how I used to be terrified to sit in silence. I used to be scared to death to hear the things that were inside of me that I hadn’t dealt with. I ran from my own thoughts until I was willing to look them straight on no matter how much it hurt. Moments like these whisper how beautiful the hard work has been. The days of digging out and standing face to face with my past, my fears, my scars, and my mistakes. The silence screams overcomer from days when I had to face things that I was terrified to. The gentle whispers in those places telling me that I’m ok and will always be no matter how dark the nights get. Silence is special and life changing, but we have to position ourselves there or else the chaos of this world will drown out some of life’s most precious lessons.
My heart dreams in big ways out here and my mind has a quietness to it as I pick weed after weed and fruit after fruit. It still offers moments where I have to look at scary things in an honest and vulnerable way but it gives me a safe place to do so as I pluck out weed by weed, distraction by distraction.
Take time today to sit in the quiet. To put every distraction aside. Don’t be afraid of the lack of noise. Face things that you don’t necessarily want to face, look them in the eye and tell them that you are not scared of them. That you have power over them. Pull weeds, even the ones that you’d really like to hold on to because they are choking the blessings right out of you. Dysfunctional comfort can bring a dysfunctional life robbed of the very joys that we were intended to have.
It’s a season of unknown and struggle for many, but don’t forget… what the enemy meant for evil, God WILL make good. Simplify to prosper. Remove the weeds not meant for you and not feeding you and let Him make your season sweet. It’s not always easy but with diligence, you WILL eat of the fruits of your labors and enjoy the sweetness of the garden of your life.
With Love from the garden,
C. Elizabeth
Faith For Miracles 