I read this morning: “The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases daydreams lacks sense” (Proverbs 12:6 TLV). This is one of the promises we have for provision. Make sure we grow a garden.
“That’s okay for you,” you say. “You live in the country whereas I live in the city.” However, I have only lived in the country for the last 16 years and I used to grow a garden even when living in the city. In fact, to grow a garden here in the country, we had to purchase our dirt! We live on a hill top and the ground is churt-like. It was hard and impossible to dig. Therefore, we made long raised beds and purchased our dirt to fill them. I have kept them going with manure and constant composting.
In our society where we can buy any vegetable or fruit we could imagine from the supermarket (at any season and from anywhere in the world) we don’t think gardens are important for food. However, where can you purchase food as fresh as harvesting from the garden as you prepare your next meal? Even organic vegetables (which are usually too expensive to purchase) often look old and wilted.
The first home was called the Garden of Eden and it was the prototype of all homes to come. Even when the children of Israel were taken captives to Babylon, God (the Lord of hosts) brought a word to the people through the prophet Jeremiah. He told them that even in captivity that they were to “Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them” (Jeremiah 29:5). In other words, keep doing the plan I gave you at the beginning, even though you are in captivity and life is difficult.
This is now the season to plant. I have planted 106 tomato plants and three rows of sweet and hot peppers, plus cucumbers, kale and lettuce so far. I hope to plant okra, zucchini, golden squash, and more cucumbers today. It’s hard work, but I am encouraged by the promise I read this morning of the wonderful harvest to come.
Can I encourage you that even if you live in the city and only have a tiny piece of earth, to try and plant something. Even if it is a few lettuces or one or two tomato plants. You can even plant these in pots to grow on your deck or verandah. And if you truly don’t have one piece of dirt at all, grow herbs on your window sill. At least have some vestige of a garden, for this is God’s plan from the very beginning.
Happy gardening.
Love from Nancy Campbell
THE WRONG WAY TO GARDEN!
A picture of Evangeline in the garden. Actually, she is a hard-working gardener, but she can work or relax in the garden!