It was full of weeds, thistles, long matted grass and tall flowers. It took a couple of weeks to discover a little pond, two apple trees (with eating apples- yum) and that we did in fact have a compost bin. I started picking the dandelion heads to stop them clocking and spreading (I didn't have a spade yet), the neighbours kids would come across and collect handfuls of weeds for the rabbits and to poke around at the frogs in the pond.
In late August, it felt like a prophetic and a spiritual act of warfare to pull out vast amounts of sticky weed and discover plants, even small trees concealed beneath them. It coincided with my summer of freedom (I wrote a poem about it, read it in Pondering Poetry) so the act of setting plants free from the oppression and stronghold of the sticky weed had huge personal and spiritual resonances in working out and maintaining that spiritual freedom in me.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Bible, NIV)Lately, I've been busy in the garden again, after a winter of not doing much. I brought back a spade and a slightly bent gardening fork from my parents before Christmas, so we could work on the weeds and turn the dream of a vegetable patch into a reality (gardening without tools isn't very effective); We seem to have succeeded in getting rid of the thistles already (fork deep around the roots and pour boiling water into the plant- seemed to work fairly well!), but the lawn was full of dandelions and goosegrass (sticky weed) trying to take hold and some other weedy things that were a big job to sort out.
Underground; particularly in the area set aside for a vegetable patch; as well as lots of weed roots, the ground was full of big bits of rubble, broken up concrete, bricks, glass and pottery and a few random items like plastic cups, an old toothbrush and a tiny dinosaur figurine. I decided it wise to make sure I was up to date on my tetanus jabs despite not being a big fan of needles (but who is?! Thankfully the dead arm from the booster has recovered and the pain is rarely as bad as the anxiety beforehand), I continued scrabbling about in the ground to pull out the unwanted roots and clear the rubble that has also meant my spade in near breaking point! Oops!
In the garden, I was going about actions that were symbolic and even prophetic for what I was working out internally and spiritually. Sometimes, I think we are so disconnected from soul stuff or that it seems so 'other', that physical actions can often engage and activate what can often feel unreachable. I thinks it's Biblical too; gardening provides so many faith analogies and Jesus told stories and parables about the Sower, wheat and weeds, bringing in the Harvest, and in John 15, Jesus said, he was the vine and his Father is the Gardener. Aside from that in the Old Testament there are a number of occasions when God would tell Prophets to do symbolic actions, one of these was Jeremiah; after years of prophesying despair, destruction and exile (Jeremiah was not known for his cheerfulness), he bought a field to symbolise and prophesy that after the exile they would return again.
I feel the garden of Eden needs a mention too. We were suppose to get involved with God and the gardening from the beginning, but when it all went wrong it became hard work and difficult. But that tends to happen when we think we can do it all on our own, as Paul pointed out, we still need to work together with God in our gardens and in our lives;
"So neither he who plants nor him who waters is anything, but only God makes things grow." 1 Corinthians 3:7It should probably be mentioned that Paul is considering himself and Apollos as the 'spiritual sower and waterer' in the early Corinth church and people are unnecessarily dividing themselves and arguing over whose leadership they come under, of course the answer is not Apollos or Paul; they are co-workers in one purpose and we, as described in the following verses, are God's field.
Clearing the weeds from the middle of the garden were quite successful, but preparing the veg patch was an endless task. Finally having cleared to the necessary depth and breadth I have begun to plant; I've put in a row of potatoes, some spinach seeds, chard, broad beans, a few onions and garlic cloves (these had started sprouting in the cupboard so I put them back in the ground!); I 've also planted some tomato seeds, strawberry plants and a raspberry stick and now I may plant another row of potatoes and some more veg but I have done my part. Hopefully the bugs won't eat it all and I'll remember to water it with a bit of help from the clouds, but there is something amazing and also liberating about trusting your garden and yourself to God,
Do you ever get out in the garden?
Are you a garden warrior- where it feels like a spiritual battle?
Are you a happy go lucky gardener where you bung things in the ground and hope for the best?
Are you a considered gardener, preparing the ground, measuring the trenches, sowing and planting in the right seasons and the right conditions
Maybe you're a potter? Little pots on window sills, or big pots on patios!
Or maybe you forever seem to be digging and never planting or planting but never harvesting, or perhaps even doing anything or everything except the garden!
In some way or another, I have considered myself each of these (although for me the 'considered gardener' is only in theory and intention), and my battle with weeds and bugs and rocks is not over, but I hope you feel inspired to get outside or get potting things for your patio or window sill, whether you have produce to eat as a result or not; Gardening is definitely good for the soul!
I hope you get a harvest in your garden or perhaps in the metaphorical gardens you are putting down roots, but God is as much in the process as he is in the outputs and outcomes, so, whether anything actually grows or not, I'm going to join in with Habbakkuk* and rejoice in God, my Creator, my Saviour and the greatest Gardener ever.
Happy Gardening.... in the Garden and the Soul!
*Habbakkuk (one of the OT prophets) wrestled with a lot of life's big questions about justice and suffering and God answers him... by the end, this is where he's at...
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."
Habbakkuk 3:17-19
No comments:
Post a Comment