The Hunnicutt Homestead

Hand Tilling the Garden

I spent this past week using the hand tiller to do several rows of additional planting.  The tiller is constructed in a triangle, similar to that of a wheelbarrow.  My hand on each handle form one side, the other two sides of the triangle being formed by the handles meeting to a single wheel which has tines directly behind it..  I push as I walk behind my tiller, I guide it, convinced I am tilling a straight row.  I stop to lift the tiller and turn it around to go over the row  a second time.  I brush the hair out of my eyes and look down to survey my work.  The breeze is blowing slightly on this sunny day.  People are driving quickly past our house and I can feel their inquisitive eyes inspecting my efforts.  Thank goodness my rows are parallel to them.  My row of soft brown earth veers off track.  Very slowly and gradually, my "straight" row has ended about 6 inches off to the right of where it should be.  I am reminded of the proverb that says "There is a way that seems right to a man but ends end death."  My row seemed right, it seemed straight, but it didn't end where it should have.

Isn't this typical,  I think.  Nevertheless, I continue with my plowing, determined that when I set up my stakes and string I will correct my row with the seeds I plant.  I use my string to guide me while I plant.  It is apparent that I need a solid reference point other than my own eyeballs!  And so it is with my own life.

I can't help but think that Christ knew that parables relating to agriculture would be so effective and so long lasting, despite all of our grocery stores, wholesale markets, and mass production.  Anyone who has ever attempted to garden, especially in a straight row, quickly realizes that it is very tempting to turn away from the plow and get a drink of lemonade, perhaps even wanting to give up completely.  After all, there is a store on the corner where I can buy whatever I want without all this hassle.  Is this really necessary?  How important to me is it that I work the soil with my own hands, while my children quickly grow tired and cranky after pulling weeds or are begging me to stop, tugging on my arm wanting to go "do" something.  There is also that nasty pile of laundry and dishes in the house, those unanswered phone messages and the paperwork needing to be filled out for a specialist or the school.  Life's demands are always calling us to turn away from the plow.  After all, isn't something in life always calling us to be more, do more, live more (especially for ourselves!).  I can see why Martha complained while Mary sat at Jesus feet.  That would most likely be me, complaining about the work instead of enjoying a relationship with THE GOD of heaven and earth. 

It can be tricky, trying to balance our own spiritual growth and relationships with the birds, weeds, and shallow roots of our lives.  Just like the birds that want my seeds and berries, there is someone who wants to come snatch my faith away, perhaps someone who wants to discount the reality of it.  There are weeds in life that choke out time for learning, living and growing with and through Jesus.  Kids, appointments, phone calls, acitivities, work, etc.  I think this can apply to having shallow roots as well, for when the dry spells come, we are tried or find ourselves dissatisfied, to whom or to what do we turn to to fill that need?  If it is not God then it may satisfy for a moment and then be gone.

Biblically speaking, we were given the task of tending God's garden even before sin entered the world.  Of course, at first  we didn't have any weeds or garden pests and we didn't need to pray for rain or sun.  Christ comes and admonishes us not to give up but to keep our hands to the plow, not turning to look back.  Paul in his letters to the Thessalonians admonishes us to work with our hands and lead a quiet life, that we would be dependant on no one, and able to help others.  Of course, one can take these things quite literally, but what I am getting at is that there is a hidden blessing when we look to God to guide us in our work.

I think that when we do choose to work the soil, whether it be the literal soil in our garden or the soil of our hearts,if we perserve against the odds, the distractions, and the hardships, we can actually see something positive occurring.  After all, it is not how perfectly I plow my rows, but the fact that I am making the effort to do it.  I am working as if it depended on me, but I am also wholeheartedly putting my faith in the Lord to bring the rain, the sun, to make things grow and be fruitful, whether on my insides or in my outdoor garden.  I am counting on Him to "guide my steps and make my path straight."

At the beginning side of my garden I have rocks, weeds, grubs.  If I perservere through the planting, the droughts, the pests, the poor germination and the plentiful weeds, I find that I have an abundance of food, and more to share with anyone than I can find enough people to share with!  I can work even harder to preserve food so that my family has fresh organic produce that is healthier and more flavorful than anything I find at the store.  There is also a satisfaction I feel, knowing I can visibly see the outcome of my hard work.  Knowing that I spent my time adding beauty and contributing to the health of my family and others feels good.

Time to get back to attacking those weeds!