What Gardening Taught Me About Intentional Living
As we enter into the colder season here in Texas, my patio garden is beginning to end its blooming season. Most plants are ready for harvest, although for my bell peppers and jalapenos, the time for flourishing is right now. The peppers will be ready for harvesting in the coming weeks.
I’ve already harvested my thyme and sage, and the rosemary will come next. The blooms on my vincas and petunias are coming to a halt, ready for their winter rest. My strawberry begonia and asparagus fern are growing steadily, grateful for the cooler weather. The lemon tree is growing steadily and growing stronger as it prepares to eventually bear fruit. And my Chinese hibiscus is getting ready for its last few blooms to fall.
Caring for my patio garden has taught me many lessons this year, many of which remind me of our faith journey. The way the plants change with the seasons reminds me that we all change with the seasons as well. We all have seasons that are good for growth, while others are a kind of hibernation or dormancy. Sometimes we even endure seasons of pruning.
But most of all, caring for this garden reminds me that no two people or plants are exactly the same. We all have our own needs when it comes to being filled spiritually (or with water or sunlight). Each person connects with God in such a unique way. And every person has been given a purpose from God that can’t compare with those around them.
Gardening–even on a patio–has been spiritual for me, as I have the honor to bring forth new life. I also have the responsibility of taking away life through pruning and harvest. But even in the pain, flourishing comes forth. There is flourishing in the breaking. Out of hibernation and pruning comes an even more fruitful plant (and person). In my care of my garden, I’m reassured that God looks after us in this way too, meeting our individual needs right where we are.
Of the many lessons I’ve learned from my patio garden, these are the ones that have impacted my heart the most:
There are seasons for planting, growing, pruning, and hibernating.
Planting Seasons
Last spring, I planted herbs and purchased small bell pepper plants. I also purchased a new asparagus fern, a strawberry begonia, and a lemon tree. My petunias and vincas were gifted to me. I found the perfect planters and soil, laid the seeds and small plants in them, and continued to nurture them until they started to grow.
Just as in gardening, we are given specific seasons in life where we are called to plant seeds. God gives us the specific words to give to others, and he guides us as we do so. I’ve found that mothering a small infant or toddler is sometimes a planting season. The fruit isn’t evident quite yet, but we are constantly planting seeds by showing love, demonstrating how to do things, and teaching obedience. Planting seasons have their place in the circle of life. There will never be growth if a seed wasn’t planted first—and sometimes, the seed that grows isn’t even one we knew we planted.
Growing Seasons
As I continued to nurture my plants, ensuring that they had the right amount of water and sunlight, they began to grow. The petunias and vincas bloomed all summer long. The herbs grew quickly, leaving a fragrant smell in their wake. My baby lemon tree continued to grow stronger branches and new large leaves, preparing for fruit someday. Now, in the cooler weather, the peppers are finally growing and thriving.
While we grow in every season of life we encounter, I believe that God sometimes places us in seasons where he is encouraging us to grow exponentially. He provides challenges and just the right conditions to help us learn more about Him and His ways in this world. God nurtures us and gives us what we need so that we can grow spiritually.
Pruning Seasons
The fall months means that the pruning season for most of my garden is here. I’ve already begun to harvest my herbs and cut back my petunias. After the peppers are harvested, I’ll cut back again on those plants too. When I rescued the Chinese hibiscus from my apartment complex’s dumpster, I pruned it way back because it needed some major encouragement.
We all have experienced pruning seasons in life where something is taken away or we have to rid ourselves of something that is holding us back from a deeper life. Pruning my plants reminds me that there is always flourishing that comes from the breaking. Pruning is not done without purpose or the long haul in mind. Welcome God’s pruning, knowing that there is a purpose for it.
Hibernating Seasons
We will soon be entering into winter, and once we do, most of my patio plants will enter a type of hibernation or dormancy. None of my plants grow very much in the winter, but it’s still an important season. They need time to rest and soak in nutrients that will benefit them once the growing season comes. They need to heal from being pruned. Their hibernation impacts their future growth.
I believe the same is true for us. I often find myself in a season of hibernation when the winter comes. Life slows down. It’s a season of growing and learning right where we’re at and storing up that knowledge for later use. Hibernation seasons may seem slow and without purpose, but the growth we experience within them will shoot through the soil when the growing season comes.
We can’t compare our journey or growth with anyone else’s.
While the growing season for most of my plants was the summer months, my peppers are just now beginning to grow. They thrive in the cooler weather, and they had to wait until it was their turn. While they were still in hibernation, the plants around them were in their growing season. But they didn’t allow that to discourage them from flourishing in their own time.
When I think about my peppers and their journey, I’m reminded that we are all on our own journey in life. We often feel tempted to compare our lives with someone else’s, our low points to their high points. But we were not made to be like everyone else. When we remember that we are all made uniquely with our own individual growing seasons, we can live out our own journey even better. It’s not fair to compare our growth with anyone else other than our past self.
The nutrients we require to survive won’t be the same as what the person next to you needs.
It’s funny to me whenever I see quotes that are like “we’re like houseplants but with more complicated emotions” or “even as humans we need water and sunlight to thrive” because they’re true. We all need our basic needs to be met (and water and sunlight definitely help a bad mood). But we have to remember that what we need in our faith journey is not going to be the same as what the person next to you or the person you follow on Instagram needs.
Just as my peppers require cooler weather to finally grow, we each have specific needs when it comes to connecting with God, showing and receiving love, and being encouraged. And sometimes, it takes trial and error to see what works best for us. One plant may require an every day watering while another only needs water once every few weeks. It takes time and focus on our own journey to find out what we need to thrive.
In My Garden
As I harvest, begin to prune, and prepare my plants for the coming winter, I’m reminded of the intentionality it has taken to keep them alive. It’s taken diligence to water them on time, nurse them back to health after an encounter with a squirrel, and find the best care for each one. But it has been work worthwhile to watch them bloom.
Sometimes I wonder if God sees us that way too. He pursues us, pours into us, and guides us as we go. He gives us direction and cares for us in the ways that are individual and purposed for us. God is diligent in his pursuit and care of us. Maybe God sees this world as a garden in which everything grows in its time. We are his masterpiece, going through the changing seasons of the world, dark cold to warm light, seed to seedling to thriving tree.
Gardening has shown me that my hands can create beauty by getting a little dirty first. It’s shown me that every season is part of the process and has purpose beyond what we could ever imagine. Day by day, we are growing, even if the growth isn’t visible to the eye quite yet. In my garden, God is with me. And He continues to open my eyes to His ways in the most ordinary of things. May your eyes be opened as you grow too.