Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Gardening

(This is my actual backyard garden)

When Gary was candidating to come to Platte, some of the ladies asked me, "Do you garden?"

I stammered out an apologetic, "No, not really."

They recovered quickly and said that was fine. "Beth loved flowers," they explained.

My heart sank as I wondered how disappointed some would be if I didn't garden like the previous pastor's wife. I put it out of my mind and forgot about it until we moved in.

One of our new friends proudly showed me the garden spot out back that she and some other ladies had graciously weeded before we came. I smiled and thanked her, but honestly, I had no idea what was growing there. Nothing was blooming, and all I could think about was how I would disappoint her when I let it get overgrown with weeds.

Well, lo and behold, I started to spend a few minutes most days looking at those plants and pulling a few weeds. I could recognize grass and thistles. Gary pointed out a few trees that were started to grow, so I chopped those off.

We've gotten lots of moisture this spring and summer, so the garden has done well. Things started to get buds and then they bloomed:

And as they bloomed, I got more and more interested in my garden.

 I spent a little more time each day. I pulled off the wilted petals and watched to see when more would open,

The phlox is just starting to bloom!

 I asked a friend to come look at it and tell me for sure which plants were weeds. She pointed some out and I cleaned up my garden a little more.

I thought these tall plants might be weeds, but they started blooming and they're so pretty!

As we've done house visits, I've taken notice of people's flowers. I've admired them and asked questions. 

On Tuesday I went along with a new friend on a garden tour. I saw so many neat things that I could hardly sleep that night. My mind was racing with ideas for what I could plant in our yard!

We went to lots of homes on that tour, and it seems like almost every place had something they pointed out that had died. They talked about replanting trees or plants that just hadn't made it. I was reassured that I could garden even if I didn't do it perfectly.

I also heard lots of talk about "creeping jenny" and how it can threaten to take over a garden if you're not careful.

Don't let that cute little flower fool you - this is an annoying weed!

Several times I heard women murmur behind me, "They look happy." I thought that was so cute that they judged the plants with such a human emotion, but as I looked, I could see it. The healthy plants really did look happy.

Besides spending time in my garden, I also find myself wanting to reread some fiction books that deal with gardening. The Secret of the Rose series by Michael Phillips, Some Wildflower in My Heart by Jamie Langston Turner, and A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner are some of my favorites.

I remember these christian authors beautifully explaining many spiritual principles as they used flowers and gardening in their novels. I want to visit those stories again and take note of the little details I probably missed before, now that I have more of a gardener mindset.

I know I want to make sure I'm spending just as much time in the garden of my heart as I am out in my literal garden. I need to water it with a steady soaking of God's word. There are stubborn habits and negative thoughts to pull, and I need to ask for help when I'm not sure what's growing there. I need to take notice of the promising buds that appear out of nowhere, and enjoy the beauty when God allows something to finally bloom in my heart.

I hope I'll remember that every time I look at the flowers in my back yard. 

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." (Isaiah 40:8 NIV)

Do you like to garden? How can focusing on God help you to grow the garden of your heart with as much care as a flower or vegetable garden?

(You can check out a few more of my garden pictures in my Facebook gardening album)

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Asking for Help

I don't like asking for help.

I'll struggle with something for far too long before I finally admit that I can't do it myself.

It can be little things like pickle jars that won't open or not being able to move a piece of furniture on my own.

It can also be bigger things, usually more emotional than physical.

That was part of the problem when I got so depressed about four years ago. I was struggling with different aspects of a teaching job and I wouldn't ask for help. Even worse, people were offering help and I was just too sick to accept it.

I've been experiencing some of those same feelings lately. Oh, don't worry, it won't turn into depression this time. I'm healthy enough to notice how I'm thinking and feeling, and I'm going to do what I need to do to stay healthy emotionally.

Part of that is asking for help.

I need to talk to Gary about everything and not just hope these annoying anxious thoughts go away on their own.

I need to reach out to others when I'm not sure how to do something, so I don't get stressed out about whatever it is.

Gardening, for example.

I've been feeling a bit of stress about "my" garden.

I put my in quotes because it was actually the previous pastor's wife who planted some flowers in the backyard. Before we got here, some of the ladies weeded the area. Only one plant was blooming, but it looked very nice.

I went out there several times, but I didn't really know what was growing. Then I was gone last week, and we've gotten lots of rain, and suddenly the spot looked like this:

 It doesn't look so nice, does it?

The thing is, I decided I really do want to keep it up. I've walked around Platte and there are so many pretty flower gardens. I want to have one, too!

But I don't know how. And I've been too proud to ask for help. 

I know that some of the things growing out there are weeds, like thistles and grass.

But I don't know what some of the rest of it is. I didn't want to pull out flowers, so I left it all alone.

This morning I took a walk, and on my way home I saw my neighbor Suzy working in her yard. She has lots of flowers, so I stopped to talk to her. She showed me how she was cutting some of her plants back so they would keep growing. 

I told her how I wanted to garden, but I didn't know how. "I didn't know how at first, either," she said.

"How did you learn?"

She thought a moment and said that she had a couple of sisters-in-law that gardened and she learned from them.

I went home and spent a little time in my garden. I was dismayed by all of the weeds I saw, but I was also encouraged when I saw buds on some of the plants and realized I'll see some flowers soon.

(I don't know what this is, but I think it has buds)

Look, a lily!

I think these are something, too, but I don't know what.

It's time to ask for help. I can keep showing up at Suzy's and ask lots of questions. I know there are lots of ladies at church that like to garden and would be happy to help me.

It's just getting past that initial embarrassment of admitting that I don't know what I'm doing. I'll have to be willing to laugh at myself if they come over and can't believe I didn't know that a certain plant was just a weed. 

I can't compare my efforts with the beautiful yards some people have. I just need to learn with the small area that someone planted for me and see if I like gardening enough to expand in the years ahead.

I can ask when I get stuck in other areas of my life and I know someone else has the knowledge or talent to help me.

Most of all, I can ask God for help when I'm feeling anxious or uncertain. He'll show me what to do so I can get back to feeling His peace.

God, do you know anything about gardening?

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (James 1:5 NIV)

Do you find it difficult to ask for help? How can focusing on God help you to reach out to others when you're stuck in some area and need help?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Weeds

I've been noticing weeds this week. My daughter Allison and I have been taking long walks almost every morning lately. After a few walks I finally noticed these pretty plants blooming in someone's yard.

They were so bright and red...and there was a whole row of them. However, I also noticed one poor plant that didn't look like the others.

This one had a little clump of blooms, but it seemed that most of the plant had been choked out by the grass and weeds that had grown around it. I thought it was interesting and took some pictures with my phone because my sanctified imagination was already making some comparisons with how we think.

I've been studying the Bible with a group of ladies on Monday nights using the book The Search For Significance by Robert S. McGee. This past week we talked about ways that Satan deceives us and tried to start recognizing the lies that he tells us. He tells us things like: "You're not good enough," "You're too fat," "Noone likes you," "You're such a failure!" "________" (fill in the blank with whatever lies he tells you)

As I think about those lies and the weeds I saw, I think there's a strong link between the two. When we believe Satan's lies, we let them grow in our heads and our hearts and they choke out whatever emotional or spiritual growth we hope to see. 

Oh, we might see some good things in our lives, like the plant above with its little cluster of red blooms, but if we allow those "weedy" thoughts to take over, we miss out on the brilliant, beautiful display that we could be enjoying and sharing with those around us.

I thought even more about this concept when the mood finally struck me to weed my strawberry patch. I had been letting it go for weeks and weeks, but Gary still keeps bringing in a few berries every once in a while. We thought maybe we'd just let it go and mow over it since the grass and clover were really overtaking it. Here's a pic in case you think I'm exaggerating (and this is after I spent a little time pulling some of the weeds!).

As I grabbed at clumps of weeds and pulled them out, I wavered between feeling "This is hopeless" and "I think if I keep this up my strawberries will be able to grow!" It was hard to pull just the weeds, but I was encouraged as I saw lots of strawberry vines still going strong. I even saw quite a few berries growing down under the clover. I comforted myself with the fact that maybe I had saved some from getting eaten by the birds by letting the weeds grow like that. (I had to do something so I didn't feel quite so lazy, didn't I?) I plucked several that were nicely ripe and took them inside to enjoy later.

I'm going to spend some more time plucking the many weeds out of that patch and see if my plants produce a little more while they can. As I do, I'm going to think about the weeds I may be allowing to grow in my head and in my heart and I'm going to do my best to get rid of those, too.

With Satan's lies gone, my head and heart will be free to focus on God's truth instead. I can't wait to see what will bloom as a result.

"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man [or woman] who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." (from the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 - New American Standard Bible, italics mine)

Are there any lies that are choking out God's truth in your mind or heart? How can focusing on God's truth get rid of those lies so that you can bloom in whatever ways God has planned for you?