Living the Garden Life

How do you view life? 


Like it's a race—whizzing by. Or a roller coaster ride—hanging on for dear life. Or maybe a canoe—floating on the tide. 

Through the years, I've experienced a closer connection to the roller coaster and longed for the drift of the canoe.

But my absolute favorite way to view life is like a garden. 

Here's how I see it.

The Master Gardener gives everyone their own unique garden spot. He provides us with fertile soil, fresh clean water, and warm sunshine. He smiles. And then He steps back and sees what we will do with our patch. We humans give call this LIFE.

Now we all have the same natural elements to deal with—

• like those pesky birds of the air that can drop unwanted weed seeds or the winds that sweep in leaves and debris. 
• like dry, long days of summer which can scorch our foliage, as well as the torrential amounts of rain that can flood our plants. 

These elements are universal to all LIFE. And we don't have control over dropping seeds, flying limbs, extreme heat, or the over abundance of rain.

Mint

But we do have a choice in how we deal with those elements.

• We can stomp our feet and scream, "Noooo!" Again and again.
• We can cover our eyes with our hands and pretend the damage is not done.
• We can give up, set in the dirt, and just stop tending to our plot.

Most of us have probably done all three at one time or another.

Late crop of Bok Choy

But what really matters in the end, is not staying at those options.

I've learned (the hard way), that after expressing my angst over the chaos on my land, it's best to brush myself off, survey the damage, and set about restoring order to my spot.

That's not always easy.

It requires getting on our knees and weeding. Or hauling off debris. Or plucking out damaged plants. 

Or maybe the hardest, patiently waiting for the swampy marsh to evaporate. 

But all of that requires action on our part.

Pallet gardening

After all, it's our mess--I mean--garden--I mean--LIFE.

And it's a beautiful gift from the Master Gardener.

When the total of my days arrive, I want Him to look down at my garden and see vibrant colors of beauty and blooming vegetation.

And more than anything, I want Him smiling.

So how do you view life? What gives you hope and energy to live the best life possible? We can learn and grow from each other when we share.

Tammy Van Gils plants words and grows insightful stories blooming with hope. She is a thriving survivor of abuse, abandonment and adversity. How? By the Master Gardener's grace, the Vine's love, and the Advocate's renewal—emotionally and spiritually. She is sowing life with her husband of 35 years, a Yorkie Poo named Moose, and a dozen chickens. Her life harvest includes two sons and four grandsons. She enjoys gardening, quilting, and writing. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She's honored to be a guest blogger and also a contributor to The Wonders of Nature Devotion Book (Dec 2016) and So God Made a Dog (July 2017), Worthy Inspired.