I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I am VERY GOOD at
growing weeds! :-) Vegetables, not so much! Once I regained my mobility a few years ago, I
decided that I would once again pursue my love of gardening and attempt to grow
my own vegetables, and every year, for the past 4 or 5, I have been
disappointed at the harvest. While the old cliché’, “you reap what you sow”,
might be true for virtues and such, it doesn’t always hold true for
gardening. Nonetheless, every year, I set
out with a renewed spirit and commitment that “THIS YEAR I will finally have an
abundance of the summertime treats”. I
told myself that I would not let past disappointments hinder my excitement.
Last year I was certain that planting my crops in large
containers to keep the critters out of them, and enable me to grow them in rich
black soil would lead to success. Even
moving them to a sunny location was a sure-fire way to get more cucumbers and
zucchini than I could eat. I was certain
that LAST YEAR would be the year. I even planted watermelon! Every morning I would faithfully water my
plants and even spoke sweetly to them, but like most other years, I would end
up with flowers on the plants that would soon fizzle away before producing fruit.
The weather didn’t cooperate: too dry; too hot; too cold; late frost. The growing season is too short in northern Michigan.
The containers didn’t keep the critters out; they just made it so the deer didn’t
have to bend down to take a bite out of each little squash that managed to
sprout. In spite of all of this,
however, I did manage to get a few green beans, a couple of zucchini, and a few
tomatoes, but certainly not the harvest I had hoped….or expected. Weeds, on the other hand, grew in abundance!
In the early fall, disappointment set in when I realized
that I was not successful AGAIN…and I headed out to the farmer’s market on a
regular basis to enjoy their harvest. I told
myself that I would just give up on the idea of growing vegetables and stick to
my perennials. By December, though, after
purchasing soggy cucumbers and hard, tasteless tomatoes, I began to think about
trying again this year. After all, I did get great joy out of caring for my
plants and watching them grow, with hope and anticipation. So I read what I could
about gardening over the winter; thought about new strategies; found my
motivation once again, and decided to try AGAIN. Certainly, I wouldn’t give up this easy;
after all, I’m stubborn and determined. And so…last week, I gave it another
shot. I decided to try planting them directly in the ground in the sunniest
spot in my yard so I reworked the soil, mixed manure into the sandy soil, and
planted a few different kinds of squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, and green
beans. Of course, like I always do, I planted them WAY TOO CLOSE to each other
simply because I was limited on space. I probably planted them too early as
well because we ALWAYS get a late frost in early June. Very likely I will run
into several of the same issues as in the past, but at least I didn’t give up
completely. Score one for determination.
As I planted, I began to think about how similar gardening
is to my personal journey, and how important determination and the resolve to
keep trying again and again is to our success. I
had tried and failed to lose and keep weight off many times in my younger
years, but had I completely given up on my desire to be healthier, it wouldn’t
even be possible for me to plant anything. Likely, I would be dead by now. Every single day of my life, I have to
remember why I’m not going to eat a donut for breakfast. I have to remember why
I’m going to remain faithful to my plan. I have to remember why I began my
journey to begin with, and I have to offer all of it up to God with
gratitude. If I focus on past mistakes
or failings; if I dwell on hurts and disappointments; if I give in to temptation
and complacency, then I will falter; give up, and eventually fail. Sometimes,
even when we do everything right on our journey, we still don’t see the results
we want. We still gain or become stagnant. We still can’t reach those goals or
get through to that person who is giving us so much pain. And yet….giving up
after a bad day….will NEVER get us to the place we want to be, physically,
mentally, emotionally….and so forth. We simply have to try again….and again….and
again.
Unless I put a plant in the ground, I can’t expect to grow a
watermelon (unless some stray seed grows miraculously, but you get the
drift.). Unless I water/nurture those
plants and pay careful attention to protect them from the elements, I’ll never
enjoy the taste of a home-grown tomato. Unless I do whatever I can to set them
up to be successful, I’m certain to fail.
Likewise, we face the same thing each day. Unless you TRY to change our
life by taking small steps in the right direction, you will never see results.
Unless you take care of yourself, being gentle, get enough rest, eat good,
nutritious food, you’ll never have the healthy body you seek. Unless you do whatever you can, planning
ahead, surrounding yourself with like-minded, supportive people, asking for God’s
help, and being grateful for all things, you will certainly never reach your
goals.
Today, I encourage you to make a decision to start over or recommit
to a better life. It doesn’t matter how many times you failed before. It doesn’t
matter how many reasons you can come up with why it won’t work. It doesn’t
matter how hard it seems; how long it will take; or how impossible it is. I
truly believe, with God’s grace, you CAN and you WILL change your life. Will I successfully grow vegetables this
year? Perhaps, but even if I don’t, I will be grateful that I can try and I
certainly will enjoy the process with anticipation and hope.
