How Does Your Garden Grow?

You may not garden, but hang on, this post is still for you. I grew up with my family gardening, and it has always been a source of joy for me. And delicious food, of course. It took my husband a bit to understand my enthusiasm about it (maybe he still doesn't). Why do all that work when you could just buy the produce, all clean and bug free, from the store? Do you really save money when you consider the fertilizer and water that has to go into raising it?

I don't know. But I still think gardening is worth it. I like this quote:

I feel closer to God and more peaceful when I am gardening. Pulling weeds is a constructive way to get out some frustration, and standing with your bare feet in the soil has been scientifically proven to be healthful. Not to mention, it was the first job that God gave to mankind.

I guess that isn't technically true. As soon as I wrote that, I realized that there was a command given before God told Adam to tend the garden. And that is what my post is really about:

listening.place

My years of pain have made it really hard to keep up with my garden the way I would like. For instance, right now, the weeds are about as big as the vegetables. This does bother me quite a bit, but what can I do? I know I can have the kids help, but they are pretty busy helping with the more essential chores around the house and enjoying their summer time as kids. Plus, there are a few of them that I wouldn't trust to work in my garden, haha. 

Instead of feeling guilty or discouraged, I have been reminding myself of this: I am raising children, anything else I raise is a bonus.

My personal calling in life is to be a wife to my husband and a mother to my children. There are other little callings that God has put in my heart, but those are really my priority. 

I refuse to let guilt about the other things I can't do completely the way I would like tarnish that calling.

We mamas often feel like we are behind in a lot of things. We feel like we are hindered from doing other things that we would like because it's hard to get beyond the basics that life requires of us.

But mama, you are doing the most important thing! You are raising human beings who will know what it is to be loved well, and in return will love others well, and teach their own children to love well.

That is something that will last longer than any tree you could plant, any skyscraper you could build, any painting you could create. It is love giving birth to love giving birth to love for as long as the earth exists.

That is powerful. That is quite an accomplishment!

Lots of love, mamas,

Lee