Thursday, July 7, 2011

"He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that He may bring forth food from the earth......" Psalms 104:14

Sometimes God surprises me! I never thought I would enjoy a garden because I have tried large gardens before and they are alot of work especially when it comes to weeding.  I am not typically an outside person when it is hot unless I am in a swimming pool:-)  I don't sweat much so I get over heated really easy.  So, most of my time to work outside in the summer is early morning or evening.

But, this year my hubby and I planted a raised garden in a small plot. Now, this idea, that I saw in a magazine, was a stretch for him.  "We have acres and acres of land around us and we are going to plant a garden in this small space?", he said. "Well, it's all about managing it," I replied, since I was the one who was going to be taking care of it.  He has a huge sweet corn garden that he maintains mostly with farm equipment and irrigation water.  That is about all he has time for in the summer with all the farm work.  I love to flower garden but huge spaces filled with veggies is not my cup of tea.

Our little garden is soo cute!  We have rows of lettuce, onions, green beans, peas, carrots and kohlrabi.  Also some tomato and pepper plants and two hills of bush cucumbers!  Everything is growing nicely and I am keeping the weeds down by putting mulch in the rows and around the plants. And I am actually enjoying it.  I walk out there every morning to see how much it has grown and if there are any weeds popping their ugly heads up and if so, I just pull them by hand. (no hoe required - yes!!!)  I am surprised by how much it grows in one day alone.  It has been a true blessing to have this veggie patch in the yard of our country home.  Water is just a few feet away too!  

We have enjoyed fresh lettuce in our dinner salads so far - it has been a long time since I have eaten lettuce grown in a home garden.  I enjoy picking it and so far, no rabbits have discovered it!  I can't wait to eat the fruit from the other plants. 

When we planted the seeds it was just some dirt surrounded by wooden logs.   I know people have been doing this for ages but for me to see little seeds pop up from the rich earth and turn into plants was amazing to watch. And a reminder of how grand God has made the place we call home. He has really surprised me - I never thought I would enjoy a garden in a million years.

Planting, growing, harvesting. . . .is somewhat of a miracle my hubby and I decided as we glanced over fields of corn, sugar beets and dry edible beans all around us.  The very fact that man can plant a seed and it turns into a plant and then it becomes food for our bodies.  God had a great plan when He formed this earth. And the miracle - well, perhaps  it is something we take for granted too much. 

How many times do I go to the grocery store not even giving it a thought where the food came from - who grew it or where it was grown?  Someone else's labor has provided food for me many times over and God is the Head Gardener.  Have I remembered to thank Him?  To ask Him to bless those who provided it by their toil? Not often enough.


How about you?  Have you thanked Him lately?  Do you have a veggie garden and has God surprised you in any way lately?