What I Learned in the Garden…

…..and it’s not what you might expect!

Yesterday knowing that winter was finally arriving, I set out to glean and clean up the garden. As I strolled through my little patch of land (and I do mean little). I began cutting down dead vines from the trellis my husband built and pulling up plants that I knew had seen better days.

I began feeling extremely sad. Seriously, just cleaning the garden I was almost in tears. I began to think about the day we planted everything and how happy and excited we were. As the seedlings grew and began reaching up to the sky, I dreamed of all the things I was going to do with my blessed little harvest.

But then it ended up that I didn’t find as much time to do a lot of those tasks… and I really did feel sad about that. I let work and a seemingly never-ending schedule of other “to-do’s”, keep me from fulfilling all the plans I had.

I thought about the blessings I had been given in that little garden and how older generations loved and more importantly, depended on growing their own food. I actually wondered what they might think of my neglectful behavior?

I pictured families digging and planting, then harvesting their own food together. Not to just have a little hobby garden, but because it was their means of survival. I imagined them all lugging in baskets of vegetables and preparing them to can, dry, or to put in their root cellar. I became a bit ashamed of myself.

This made me think…..

Have you ever stood in awe admiring something so beautiful and realized… ‘That. is. God’?  I Have.

One time many years ago at a pet store looking into a huge salt water aquarium, I stood there looking at the assortment of beautiful fish. I watched as a clown fish playfully swam in and out of an anemone. Then I noticed tiny little copepods busily scurrying around the bottom of the tank and found myself thinking ‘that is God’. How else could these little miracles of life come to be? He has made everything of every size perfectly and purposefully.

Then there was yesterday in my garden, and how amazing a garden truly is! An important part (to me) about gardening has to do with faith. I’m serious, whether you have faith in a higher power or not (don’t worry I won’t judge), it takes some amount of faith to even begin planting a garden.

You sow a seed, nurture and tend to it, in hopes that it will grow and provide for your family. Then as it is growing you continue nurturing until voila! one day, you have food.

I don’t know about you, but to me the circle of life is fascinating. So after all this rambling, you may be wondering…but what did you actually learn?

The first thing I learned was that being in the garden and getting your hands dirty, is very good for the soul! For me, it is relaxing and reduces my stress levels.

The second thing I ..not really learned but realized, is that I feel closer to God there. It’s just you and Him out there and that really makes me appreciate this gift of life I’ve been given.

The third thing I learned was that I matter. In this world that seems to spin sometimes out of control, I can make a difference to the health and well being of my family. That’s right, just by taking control and growing a portion of our food.

So that’s it friends: Faith, Family and Food, that’s what I learned about in my garden.

Have you learned anything in yours?

Guest Author: Sharon Pannell of The Trailer Park Homesteader