*fruit forthcoming

Gardening is something I come by honestly.  My parents have always had beautiful gardens that produce an abundance of goods. I would consider both my  mom and dad master gardeners and I am so grateful that I learned so much about gardening by their sides.   When I was a little girl, you could find me outside working with momma and daddy while you would find my older sister inside doing a jam up job completing the daily household chores.  Not much has changed.  She is still a great cleaner and I am a pretty good gardener.

Last year we did not have a garden. We thought we were moving earlier than we are, so we forwent the whole gardening thing.  We ended up traveling quite a bit last summer so it all worked out for the best. This year however, while we still did not know our move date, we tilled an area closer to the house and on the upper part of our property instead of our normal gardening spot. I am so glad we did.  As I linger in the small garden, pulling weeds and checking the plants, I am realizing now just how much I missed the garden last year. 

These pictures were taken just yesterday afternoon when the plants had just gotten their evening watering. The plants, though slow going at first, are looking just beautiful.  Some of them when first put in the ground, wilted so heavily that parts of the plant dried up and fell off. I was so ready to pull the plant up... toss it aside and plant another in its place. But I did not do so, ONLY because my dear husband told me to just leave them and give them a little longer.  He was right, the tomato  plants are just gorgeous and a few of them have fruit already.   Last night we had a S T O R M.  The weather forecast had been predicting rain for days now, though it has not rained in weeks.  I think it all came at one time last night along with some very high winds.  As it was pouring down, Eric and I were at the windows looking as if we might be able to see in the dark whether our plants were being beat up by the hail or not.  Turns out the plants seems to have only taken little damage.  There are a few holes in the leaves on the squash plants and a few of the tomato plants were a bit blown over.. but not to the degree that one might think.  The storm was sure to decimate it all.

Do you ever feel this way in life, real life? Like the storm is so heavy that you are going to have such dints in your armor which make you wonder if your armor is any good at all anymore? Just like gardening and the things the plants have to endure - sometimes internal attacks then again sometimes external, we sometimes in life have to endure these things too.  Our attacks come from without and from within.  The gardener who has tended and waited and waited a bit more knows how much the growth of the garden is outside of his human hands. The sprouting of the tiny seeds, the elements, external conditions, the plant reaching maturity then blooming and bearing fruit.. these things and much else lie beyond the  work of the hands of the gardener.  But in His tender care, through the  every day life and what it brings, through the storm much fruit will be forthcoming if we can just hold on.