Several years ago a friend of mine and I had a garden. It was a good size, and we loved it. We would spend hours out there together, listening, talking, just being silent but safe. It was a form of therapy for both of us. I was struggling with through infertility and miscarriage, and she her own journey to walk through.
It was a beautiful garden, and I had a beautiful walkway, beautiful flower beds and I enjoyed them. I had only one child, and my friend had her two (and later 3) and our kids would play while we talked. And many days I would go out to the garden alone and just pray. Mostly I prayed for more children.
In all those prayers, that were one day answered - I never once realized that when I had those more children I would not be able to continue to maintain a garden well.
Here we are, my oldest 9, my second child almost 5 and my youngest home for two years - and my garden still waits full of weeds.
It has been 4 years since our large joined garden. And this year, I am finally planting a couple of vegetables again. I planted strawberries and lettuce today, and I pulled 3 dandelion plants.
That is seriously all I have time for. I don't even have time for writing this. Because our social worker comes for our two year post placement in just a few days and if I spend all my time cleaning up the outside, she will find a very messy inside. It looks as though we have been busy for the past three weekends and sick in between... because that's true.
I am so thankful for these three amazing kids that God has given me. And I'm even thankful that I don't have the time for the meticulously maintained garden and flower beds of my past. Because the friendships have stood the test of time, and the children are growing. Both are a very beautiful thing.
