Gardening Lessons

Gardening is one of my favorite pastimes. I can get lost for hours in the garden, and find that when I emerge, my spirits are revived and I am filled with peace. The soil has soaked up my tears, the flowers have heard my most heart-felt prayers and each living thing, including the birds, has offered its gentle comfort when I've needed a friend and couldn't quite find the words.  During painful periods of my life, I have planted flowers to transform ugliness into beauty. Through the years, I have found that the garden has lessons to teach us about every aspect of life.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Here are some things my garden has taught me:

•  Pruning: which snips off areas that have died and encourages new growth. It is important to use our discernment to determine the correct timing for each plant: roses in the spring, lilacs after blooming, hydrangeas in early summer after the new buds have established themselves.  In our own lives, sometimes we need to "prune" those things that no longer serve us to allow more energy for what really matters. Discernment and timing are key, so it's important to be continually "tuning in" to our spiritual needs through prayer and meditation.
• Soil amendments: our garden soil can become depleted after a season of growth, so it's important to add compost, mulch and fertilizer to make sure that plants have proper nourishment.  Similarly, it is important for us to nourish ourselves with healthy food and uplifting spiritual messages.
• Water:  is of course, essential to all of life, especially plants and people.  The garden needs rain in the spring and watering in the summer to stay healthy. We need to make sure we're properly hydrated with plenty of pure water (use a Pur filter!) for our bodies and the spiritual water of the Spirit for our souls.
• Sunshine: flowers open up and reach for the sun.  Beautiful green growing things need its light to make chlorophyll.  Humans need some sunscreen-free sun each day to make Vitamin D and to revive our spirits, just as we need the Light of God's Spirit to guide and strengthen us.
• Dormancy: plants need periods of dormancy when conditions are not ideal for growth, to conserve energy and adapt to changes.  So too, we sometimes find ourselves in a waiting period, when we need to slow down, be quiet for awhile and rest in order to adapt to change.
• Growth: given ideal conditions and tender loving care, the garden will surely thrive, as we will if we practice self-care and lean on our Master Gardener to provide for our needs.

 “And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.”
― Frances Hodgson Burnett