I believe that deep inside all of us is a gardener. As women we love to nurture and cultivate things. We nurture our children, and relationships. We cultivate those things which are important to us. We love to have house plants, plant a window box and some of us love to plant a summer garden to harvest bouquets of flowers and fresh vegetables. This is our DNA.
When we plant flowers the flower must “die” in order for the seed to form so that new life can spring forth. I remember the first time I really understood this principle. My parents both had very green thumbs. When we would drive through our neighborhood say after church on Sunday’s, when we got to our home, the grass was several shades greener and our plants were huge compared to our neighbors. I can remember babysitting the three little boys next door and looking at the houseplants and examining them and wondering why they were in such bad shape and ours were vibrant.
When I had my first home, I planted some marigolds and in the late summer we went away for a week and when we got back home the flowers had dried up and attached to the end of the bloom was a long black seed. Then I got this principle. The flowers dries up and the seed is left to be blown away by the wind to lay dormant until next spring and then the cycle begins all over again. This is true for the plant world and for our lives. The “flower” of your “self” must die before the fruit can become evident in your life.
What else goes along with gardening? Well, we must be vigilant about pests, weeds, water, warmth and light. When we do not weed and prune in our own garden the weeds crowd out everything else. Our home is surrounded by deep woods. It is beautiful back there, so my husband and I built a lovey path deep in the woods for long walks. I was recently out there in the woods and the wild roses and weeds were taking over the path. With the constant spring rains and pruning and weeding not taking place, the weeds and wildness have begun to take over the beautiful path. Even if it is rainy and conditions do not make weeing and cultivating ideal, we must do it, otherwise we run the risk of loosing that which we love and cherish.
How can you apply these principles in your life today?
