My Garden Failure

Last year we were blessed with the opportunity to buy a house with a huge backyard. We were very excited not only because our kids would get to enjoy the huge yard, but also because we figured we could try our hand at growing some fruits and vegetables. I don’t have a green thumb. I had never tried growing anything, and have had very few plants in my house. And so little by little, we started trying out planting different things like cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and also herbs like basil, oregano, and sage. Now, the results have been less than stellar. We got a good batch of cucumbers in the summer. They were crunchy and very tasty. But besides the cucumbers, we have struggled with getting another good harvest of anything. We got a couple of tomatoes, but then the cold weather completely killed our plant. We are currently getting a couple of strawberries.

There’s been times where I’ve gotten a little bit discouraged. Gardening takes time, it takes effort, money, and it takes work. And sometimes it feels like all that sacrifice and all that work might not be worth the very few results that we see.

Seems to me like gardening, trying to grow fruit and vegetables, and even plants, it’s a lot like our daily walk. Many times we start something and we’re very excited and we are encouraged but once we realize the amount of time it takes, the amount of sacrifice, work, even maybe money that it takes we get easily discouraged—and we quit. See, there’s people who seem to have a green thumb, and everything they plant grows. However, for some of us, it takes more time, it takes learning, and it takes trying, and trying again and again.

We might even experience this in relationships or things we’re praying for. Maybe you’ve experienced times where you are trying your best, you keep working, you keep praying, and you see very little, and maybe sometimes no results.

The spring is coming and it’s time to start planting new things. And that’s exactly what I will do. I’m gonna start getting the soil ready and I’m gonna try again. And I will learn from this experience, and I will learn from my mistakes. I will be grateful for the harvest we do get.

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9

What has God placed in your hands and in your heart? He’s trusted you with something.

Keep trying, keep working at it, give it your very best. Whatever it is that you’re doing, it doesn’t necessarily have to do with gardening. Whatever the Lord has called you to do, give it your very best. Don’t quit, learn, ask for advice and keep at it.

Don’t get tired of doing what is good. God is faithful and in due time you will reap that harvest.