Faith is Like the Plants from the Nursery

For the first time in our marriage Jeff and I have a back yard that will accommodate a garden. Jeff spent hours both alone and with his dad building planter boxes, filling them with dirt, and instituting a drip system. When it was all finished it was late in the season to plant seeds. I'm counting the garden as my faith project. I planted corn seeds but the other plants that went in were partially grown from the nursery. We have squash, melons, pumpkins, corn, beans, onions, eggplant, and more. I also planted some Petunias with the kids.

We had no time in the day to plant everything so I did it by lantern light one night with Jeff directing me. It's amazing how many rules these plants have. Some must be 4 feet apart from friends, others only 19 inches. Some plants must be planted into a little hill and others must have at least four rows of their own kind so as to germinate. While I was planting Jeff talked of how the plants might grow so bounteous that the stems and leaves would leave the planter box and grow down the hill behind our house. It was interesting how tender I felt towards all of the plants as I positioned them in their little holes. We have such high hopes for them.

Now the worries start. Despite our best watering efforts, some of the leaves died on the squash and other leaves turned a bit yellow. The tomatoes are struggling. We water plenty but we're not sure if the water is running down the planter box and not saturating the dirt around the roots. To top it off Jeff has spied a rat stalking our garden. I'm sure he's waiting for the crop as anxiously as we are.

Anyhow here is the yellowing squash along with the corn I planted from seeds.

I've thought a lot about faith as I watch the garden. I've forgotten my morning prayers a lot and to finish up the value I know I must remember my prayers for three weeks straight. I suppose it's a lot like watering these fellows. If we don't water, they die. If I don't pray, my faith won't grow. Pretty straight forward. The garden is reminding me to pray.

I'm hoping for more insights into faith as the garden continues to grow or not grow.