As I walk through my garden I find lots of little "surprises"! There is cilantro and purslane among the peppers, dill and tomatoes among the potatoes, a pumpkin next to a tomato plant, amaranth here and there, and wildflowers everywhere! I sometimes struggle with how much control to exert over these "gifts"!
This control issue also occurs when making decisions regarding my bees. Do I leave the queen cell and let nature take its course or do I remove it so my hive won't swarm? Do I feed the bees sugar syrup or allow natural selection to weed out strains that are unable to endure drought?
Relationships are also peppered with these decisions. Do I stay with people who are hard to deal with or should I protect myself and move on? Do I allow friends to be flawed or look for new friends?
Over time I've found that it is often emotionally better to let it be. A Christian might say, "Let go, let God!" It is still a struggle to discern when to fight change or when to relax and look for the blessing. When we trust in God, we realize that He sees the bigger picture and knows what is truly best. Naturally, we see through the lens of our own perspective and understand at our own level of maturity. God, who knows us intimately and loves us unconditionally, sees everything and knows what we actually need! When we care about God's will and try to understand it, we can stop fighting people and circumstances when they turn out to not be what we would choose.
One of my latest garden choices had to do with the swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. In past years I have reluctantly accepted the loss of my dill and fennel once the caterpillars appeared. I was always torn between continuing to have the plants and allowing the caterpillars to mature. This year I heard about a win/win solution via a radio garden show. I now have a few dill plants separated from my other dill and fennel. I move the caterpillars off of the plants I want to save and on to the dill I have kept as a host plant! In this way, allowing the problem to continue while searching for acceptable solutions produced a decision I am at peace with!
God's lessons often come to us in small events. When we allow the lessons, we experience personal growth and a changed perspective!
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| Cilantro in the peppers |
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| Amaranth |
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| Pumpkin next to a tomato plant |
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| Horse Mint, Mexican Hats and Indian Blankets everywhere |
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| Dill with swallowtail caterpillars |
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New King James Version
What a great post! Choices, choices. It all boils down to that, doesn't it? I had to chuckle at your comment about surprises in the garden, as the kids walked through my garden with the seed box, spilling out as they went. I'm finding the plants growing in the strangest places, LOL. Some need to be pulled, some I'm leaving. Just like what your post is saying. I left you a return comment on my blog post. Have an awesome weekend! God Bless, Jackie
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