Gracegirl

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Is My Thumb Turning Green?

Over the last month or so, oddly enough, a love of gardening has welled up in me where before, there was none. I credit God with this change, however bizarre it may seem, because it is quite the change. And I credit Mom for stirring and motivating this love. She's quite the gardener; when I was little, she tried to get me involved. However, I wasn't too cooperative. The only part I played was patting the flowers on top once she had planted them.

I'm now extremely the other way. The other day, Mom and I were planting some raspberries and marionberries, and needed to get compost out of the compost container to help them grow. In the compost container, red worms turn our compostable materials into, well, dirt. But when you take the compost out, the red worms die if they don't have things to compost. So we would take a shovel full of dirt and pick out all the worms, throw them back in the compost container, and use the dirt. Something Mom said jarred me into realizing just how much of a change had taken place in me. She said, "Wow. Only true gardeners will plunge their hands into compost and pick out worms." And I hadn't thought much about it, but she was right. God has made me enjoy the process of gardening, even though the ground is cursed and requires so much work to improve it.

We are planting a vegetable garden, and Mr. Palmer brought a load of dirt out. I was so excited, I was clapping when he unloaded the dirt. And we've been working hard to shovel wheelbarrows full, wheel them out back to the raised bed, unload them there, and rake it smooth. There's still a mega-mound of dirt out there in our driveway, but we've made a huge dent in it already.

This morning, we went to a ceremony honoring some of the old homes in Everett. Our old house was chosen as an improved and upkept home to be honored in the ceremony, and we got a call yesterday informing us that it was chosen. Normally, they choose to honor the current homeowner, but she told them that my parents were the ones who made all the improvements. (We had lived there 17 years and put lots of blood, sweat, tears and money into that house. It will be 99 years old this year.) So they contacted us and invited us to come. It was so cool to see pictures of so many beautiful old houses, and hear the homeowners' stories of renovation and histories of the homes. I love old architecture, so it really was a treat. Anyway, it just made me realize how much diligence it takes to own a home and be a good steward of it.

It all makes me realize that God will grow me up. I get concerned because I'm so undisciplined, and I lack so many skills that I want right now. But in His time, He will change me and make me who He wants me to be. I never dreamt I would become a gardener, although I'd always hoped to be one! And now, He has created a dramatic change in me, in that area, at least. It just makes me amazed at how he refines us, even in the weird areas like gardening. And I don't say all this to sound proud or anything. Make no mistake, if it had been up to me, obviously there never would've been a change. That's exactly what I'm trying to say. He can change anything or anyone. He turns me from a flower-patter to a worm-picking, dirt-shoveling girl.

1 Comments:

  • At 5/08/2006 10:48 AM, Blogger Leila said…

    YAY KATIE!! Another gardener! I love all the parables, I suppose, that come from gardening - how a seed needs water and light (Word and the Spirit), and it's difficult to push up through the dirt, and the new plant must face the cold of night, insects, rodents, and disease. Not only that, but weeds are always there - when we think the bed is cleaned, new ones poke up...yet, as time goes on, there are less and less, just like sins in our life (hopefully). And in HIS time, this plant (us!) produces wonderful fruit that then makes seeds to continue into new generations. Amazing!

     

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