Messy Love

My mom stooped by today with some scraps for our pigs.  It must have been just one of her errands for the day, because she happened to be wearing white pants.  I'm sure it seemed okay to her, since she was just tossing the scraps across the fence, and the pigs were safely on the other side.  However, as she lingered, talking with Jerry, one of the piglets got in the way of the big pig, Penelope, and she gave him a toss with her snout.  As the little pig bounced against the fence, fresh mud splattered all over Mom's white pants!

Many of our friends and family are excited about our new pigs, and they want to be helpful by bringing by food scraps, but we can't expect to feed muddy pigs without getting a little dirty.  Likewise, we can't expect to be active in loving others if we aren't willing to get a little messy.  As believers, we have been washed white as snow, but when we wash the dirty feet of fellow travelers, as Jesus demonstrated, some of the dust is bound to rub off.  

God does ask us to be cleansed and rid of our filthy garments of sin, but He never suggests that we shouldn't brush up against sinners in the midst of our busy lives.  Instead, he sets for us an example of just the opposite, showing us how to act in love by eating with tax collectors, touching lepers, and accepting an anointing by a woman with a questionable reputation.  Love - real love - is messy.

Of course, after Mom got home, she spent some time with a stain stick, cleaning the mud from her pants.  Time with Father will do the same for us.  No matter how much filth gets slung or how much dust rubs off, the blood of Jesus keeps us clean and restores to us our righteousness.  

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Experience

Well, if I wasn't really a farm girl before, I surely am now!  We did something on the funny farm this week that I certainly never thought of before - we castrated pigs!  Before you worry about the little piggies, let me assure you that they are just fine.  They did squeal like stuck pigs, but I am pretty sure that they just didn't like being held down!  As soon as we let them go, they ran around as happy as before.

I use the "we" term pretty liberally when talking about farm work.  I do help with most things, but when it comes to stuff like this, I am just the videographer and gate holder.  I will spare you the video of this process though.  Jerry researched and learned all about the technique for "cutting pigs".  He felt very confident that he could do the job, but God blessed him with a gift that day.  Our neighbor comes from a pig farm and her son was visiting on the very day we planned to do the cutting.  He showed up just in time to help!

Jerry was so pleased to have the help of someone with experience.  I'm sure he would have done just fine, but it definitely would have taken us a lot longer to do what they were able to accomplish in just a few minutes.  It was also comforting to have someone who had done this thing before and could say, "That went well!"

When our neighbor's son offered his experience, we could have refused his help.  We could have said, "No, we want to do it ourselves."  We could have been stubborn and said, "We don't need your help."  We could have been proud, and said, "We know what we are doing."  We could have said, "We don't want to bother you with our messy job."  We could have turned away his gracious offer, but why?  God gives us experience so that we can help each other - a blessing to the one helping and a blessing to the one being helped!

Whenever we find ourselves in a new or uncomfortable situation, we should look for people who have been there.  We should be grateful for their experience and accept their help.  As we learn from them, we are building relationships and developing our own experience so that we can in turn help others!

Life Lessons I Learned In the Garden

Lesson # 6 - Blessings Multiply

Many years ago, when I dreamed about gardening but didn't have a clue how to begin, my friend's  mom, Libby, shared some plants with me.  At first, she just gave me a few plants in a pot, but she invited me to come back over once I had some beds prepared.  The next time I visited, Libby walked around her beautiful flower gardens and introduced me to her many plants. As, we strolled through the yard, she named each one, as if they were old friends.  Every once in a while, Libby would mark a plant with a piece of ribbon or a slip of paper.  "You can take a piece of that," she would say, or " take a couple of those."

After our walk, Libby left me to my task of digging.  "Just don't leave any holes," was her only request. I spent the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the beauty that she and God had created in her gardens, and gathering a little piece of it to create my own.  I went home with a van full of plants that would become to me, as they were to Libby, my old friends.

I have moved several times since my last visit to Libby's garden.  My friends, those treasured plants, have traveled with me, spending years at a time in pots.  I was delighted, once we came to Cornercopia, to let my plants spread their roots at last.  Over the last seven years, I have cultivated and divided my perennials, many of them those same old friends.  It gives me great joy to do for others what Libby did for me more than a decade ago - bless them with a gift from my garden.

I have shared many of my plants through the years.  As they grow and spread, it keeps the plants healthy to thin them out or separate pieces.  A couple of years ago, I shared a piece of a favorite plant, a Bachelor Button called "Centaura Montana", with my mom.  Curiously, after sharing with her, all of my plants died off.  Last year, she was able to divide hers and now I have one of my beloved plants back again.

Blessing others usually has a way if working out like that.  Whenever we share with others, we will often be blessed in return.  Libby blessed me by sharing her love for gardening and the knowledge she gained through her experience.  Though I have not had the opportunity to give back to her directly, I hope that she has been blessed many times over.  In the meantime, stop by for a visit, I would love to walk around with you and introduce you to some of my old friends.  Who knows, maybe you will even leave with a few of your own!

Life Lessons I Learned In The Garden

Lesson # 5 - Overplanting

Last year, I had two new raised beds with a cattle panel in between.  I was excited about using this space well, so I planted as much as I could fit.  I placed six cucumber plants and six pole bean plants on each side of the cattle panel.  The plants were small when I put them in and there seemed to be plenty of room, so I added bush bean plants along the edges and a couple of tomato plants on the ends.

The cucumber plants took off immediately and produced like crazy!  The bush beans were also quick producers, and we got a nice bean harvest from them.  The tomato plants grew tall, but never produced much fruit.  By the time the pole beans climbed the panels, all of the nutrients had been sapped from the soil by the other plants. We only picked a handful of beans from the stalks, and they shriveled up and died early.

It was a good lesson.  Just because there seems to be room in the dirt when the plants are small, a gardener must remember that the plants will grow and take up quite a bit more space.  Even more important to consider than the space above the soil, is the space below ground.  Plants use nutrients from the dirt, and especially in raised beds, there is only enough to support so many plants.

I garden very much like I live.  Every once in a while, there seems to be extra space in my life.  As things come along that seem small and good, I happily plant them wherever I find space.  The problem begins when those small, good things grow and take up more and more room in my already overcrowded life!  Each thing also draws from my energy, brainpower, and creativity.  Before long, I am overwhelmed, exhausted, and confused.  My life just can't hold but so many good things.

This year, we determined to spread out our plants as we build more beds.  Even if I over plant, I hope to notice before it is too late so I can strategically thin out my garden.  I am working on doing the same thing in my life right now.  I am involved in too many good things - some of them will have to be thinned 

So that I can continue to produce good fruit.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15:2

Life lessons I Learned In the Garden

Lesson #4 - Don't Leave the Gate Open

Life on the Funny Farm is full of exciting things and big disappointments.  Our exciting thing today was the arrival of the pigs!  They are finally here!

I am not sure how this is going to work out.  Their pen is right next to my garden and I have a feeling that the smell is not going to be pleasant!

My big disappointment came this afternoon when I came home to find that I had not secured my garden gate.  One of my chickens found her way through the opening, and alas, my Baby Leaf Spinach is no more!  I was really looking forward to harvesting some of that spinach in another week, but I guess my little red hen beat me to it.

I may have learned my lesson about setting boundaries, but boundaries are of no use if the gate is left open.  Unfortunately, now that the boundary has been set, the off limits area seems even more attractive.  It only takes one small crack for my chickens to slip in and create a disaster!

I am trying to be conscious of this very thing in my life as well.  Once boundaries are set, I must be careful to guard them closely.  One breach of a boundary could leave me feeling invaded or worse.  Whether it is my expectation of respect from my students, or uninterrupted quiet time between my God and myself, I need to be clear about my boundaries with others, and I need to be consistent.  When I protect sacred places and times in my life, I am sure to harvest the blessings in due time!

Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely.

Leviticus 26:5

A Reflection of Peace

This is a picture of a reflection in my pond.  So peaceful!

Today was not that peaceful!  I have been on my feet at school all day.  I started with my Art class at 8:45 and, with the exception of time in the library with my Creative Writing class, I spent most of the rest of it in the gym, helping to hang our annual Art Show.  I left school at 5:30, made a quick trip to Walmart (it actually was quick this time) and headed home.  After a little time outside and a while on my feet in the kitchen, I finally sat down around 9:00 this evening!

My legs were throbbing, I had a cramp in my foot that just would not go away, and I was just plain worn out!  I tried a heating pad on my foot, took some Ibuprofin, and just tried to relax, but it didn't seem to be working.  Then I remembered - we have a hot tub!  A hand-me-down from a friend, but it works.  It seems crazy that I would have forgotten that I have a warm, churning tub of relaxation available to me at any time.

After a few moments in the hot tub, I was able to go in and lay down.  I am still worn out, but my muscle are throbbing a little less.  More than I can say for my head and my heart.  

There are some days that I feel like I have the weight of the world on my heart.  This has been one of those days.  There are some things going on in my life that feel so incredibly heavy.  On top of those things, I have four tween to teenagers, and the stuff never quits!  Good kids, but kids nevertheless!  I have tried thinking about other things.  I have tried worrying (one might think this is my favorite pastime).  I have tried figuring it all out.  These things never seem to work.  Then I remember - I have the peace that passes all understanding - I have God!

I really hate to hear people say that God never gives us more than we can handle.  The Bible does say that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear without offering us a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13), but he often places us in the midst of difficulties and trials that we cannot handle without His intervention.  In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  How could I have forgotten that I have a tower of strength and power available to me at any time?

I may not have had a peaceful day, but just a few moments of resting and trusting in him, and my heart and mind feel just like that photo above - a reflection of peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Mother Hen

Do you see what I see?  Look closely, right underneath Roadrunner's wing!

Even though I knew she wouldn't like it, I crept into her coop to get a closer look.  She clucked at me with her low warning sounds.  Roadrunner trusts us to care for and feed her, but she will protect those babies even from us. 

I guess this is why the image of a mother hen comes to mind when we mothers feel protective of our kids.  Even when dealing with someone we normally trust, it only takes a hint of danger to our brood (physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually) to get our feathers ruffled.  If I had stepped any closer to Roadrunner and her chicks, or dared reach out my hand, she wouldn't have hesitated to peck me with her sharp beak.  And I can't say that I would blame her.  My motherly instincts can sometimes cause me to attack in defense as well.

It is a godly trait to protect my children, but I must be careful that I don't take that too far!  Just today, I lashed out in defense and already regret some of my words.  Even though I feel justified in my efforts to protect my young, that is never an excuse to be careless with my words. 

After a few moments, Roadrunner did let her chicks out to forage, but she never took her eye off of me!  We moms know that we have to let them out from under our wing at some time or another, but we will always be the mother hen!

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Psalm 91:4