Monday, January 16, 2012

tomatoes all winter long

I'm really not the best gardener. In fact, I dubbed myself the lazy gardener. I love having a garden. My favorite part...picking the fruit of my labor. "Of my labor" that's the part where I have assigned the adjective "lazy". I don't know why once you pull weeds they don't stay away, why you have to retill the ground after each harvest, and why do you have to fight with aphids and birds and other crawling kinds of things that enjoy munching on your hard work?! O yea and composting. Whats wrong with just throwing everything into a pot and leaving it? Why do you have to turn it and keep it moist? My true confessions? That's the way I do things! 
I leave my compost to do its own thing, I do pull weeds when the Spirit moves me and usually my husband is the one who tills the ground. If I have a problem with birds, I whine to my husband and bugs and things can eat as much as they like:) Hey, my garden does alright. I still am reaping tomatoes this winter.
In Arizona you can garden pretty much all year round. But I have never been able to continue to pick tomatoes in the winter. I do believe God likes me. He has prospered my garden despite my "laziness". I have had more volunteer plants(ones you don't plant yourself) come up than I know what to do with...tomatoes, flowers, melons and such. Its really quite amazing. I look out my window and smile at the garden despite my lack of care.
I wish I was more into detail, more of a person of excellence. I wish my garden was perfect so when visitors came over they would say" O My! How beautiful is your garden!" But I'm not.
 In the Song of Solomon, a book in the Bible, the garden  represents our hearts. This is a book that draws us into an understanding of our love relationship with Jesus.  In chapter 4 :16 it says" Awake, o north winds, And come o south! Blow upon my garden. That its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant fruit. "
You see, we all have a garden to keep. Its our hearts. We have weeds that need to be pulled, we have soil that needs to be tilled and we have pests that want to come in and destroy the tenderness of our fruit.
We need to feed and nurture our garden with good food so we will flourish and produce more good fruit.
Of course, the beautiful part is you can have a Master gardener who can perfect your garden even if you aren't so gifted in that area. He knows when to send the cold north winds(times of trial and testing) and when to bring the warm south winds(times of growth and fruit). He knows how to release the hidden aromas of your heart so all will reap the benefits of your fruit. He desires a place to come into your garden to sit with you and enjoy you. He delights in you! He will partner with you to create a beautiful garden! Whew! I don't have to be perfect, He is. I don't have to be all that excellent, He is! Because Jesus is jealous for you He will pursue you passionately so that He will have a place to dwell. All He desires is a volunteer lover.


"You who dwell in the gardens, the companions listen for your voice-Let me hear it! song of solomon 8:13