The Garden

In a recent Bible study, a group of women and I were discussing the book of Philippians. Paul, the writer, expresses that he desires to focus on giving God glory. As we were talking, I asked if our garden was a God-glorifying activity. We expanded our plots this year, and I wanted to know if spending a lot of time out there was the best use of our resources. I received a lot of positive feedback about how God may be glorified by gardening with my children.

1. They will learn the value of hard work.
2. We can have great discussions without the distraction of noise and TV.
3. The children can watch God turn small seeds into giant plants to nourish us.
4. The children will receive quality time.

Those all sound great to me, so I did not hesitate to plant our veggies.

Keegan and Serena have helped me a great deal. First, we planted potatoes. Both kids were exuberant to help dig holes and drop the seed potatoes into the ground. On another day, we planted peas, beans, squash, pumpkins, lettuce, onions, and watermelon. We also moved some Rhubarb plants and put in a peach tree, some grape vines, and two cherry trees. Last night, we decided to tackle the hard work of the tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

We started the tomatoes and peppers indoors a long time ago. We've watered and watched them sprout up into sturdy plants. Well, putting already started plants into the ground is not so easy.

At first, we each dug a hole, put in some plant food, and got our own plants. Later, I found it was much more efficient to have me dig the holes, providing deep enough digging and even spacing. Keegan and Serena raced to place plants in each hole and keep up with the flying dirt.

Most of the evening, Keegan and Serena were bickering and telling each other what to do, so they were shouting at each other to move to another hole and such. I joked with Serena that they would never finish before me. She responded that they might possibly be done before me. I laughed, and Keegan just shook his head. Finally, I asked him what he thought, and he said, "Nope, we'll never beat you." Of course, Serena proceeded to argue with him. Finally he stopped arguing and explained why they wouldn't win the race. I laughed. A few plants were snapped and trampled along the way in their hurry, so we learned how to replace the vegetable plants as well.

We made cucumber mounds, and the children argued about how to do it. Since Keegan has helped me plant them for the past two years, I asked him to show her how to do it. She argued with him, and then she deliberately did things contrary to what he said. I sat her in time out. A few time outs later, she decided that she would listen about how to plant them. We successfully put in our cucumbers.

Towards the end, I told the kiddos to start picking up our tools while I went about 20 feet away to spray the grass around the grape vines. I couldn't see them, but all of the sudden, I hear Keegan yelling, "Don't you dare. Don't do it. STOP! KNOCK IT OFF! SERENA! NOOOOOOOO!"

Highly motivated, I came back to the area to see what was happening. Apparently, Serena decided to blow a bunch of dandelion wisps over the garden. Alas, if nothing else, we will learn the value of hard work this summer.