Nuggets of gold

Many of us that live in Texas often comment that if you just "wait 5 minutes the weather will change". I have been watching posts from friends all over the country and this seems to be true in a lot of places, not just Texas.  It is a fact for us though!  In just the last few days, across our small  patch of central Texas heaven, we have had severe hail storms, gentle rain, wind, LOUD thunder with scary lightning, 80+ degree temps and now this morning, on May 3, 49 degrees and sun.  By this afternoon it will be 74 degrees!  From sweaters and socks to flip flops in one day.

I have been sharing our tackling of the overgrown beds in our back yard over the last few weeks.  My husband had done back breaking hard work a few years ago to put in these square foot gardening beds, digging down very deep to try and avoid the 'devil plant' -(Bermuda grass) from taking over.  Around each bed he placed a sheet metal barrier and then the wood bed edges,  filling that space in between the two with crushed granite  We then built the garden beds in various sizes and shapes to be planted with flowers, veggies and herbs.  All of this in the back yard to be protected from the deer that frequently pass through our property and stop to graze in the front yard. The plan was successful, and the beds have stayed relatively free from the Bermuda, but the granite border is another story. We don't water the remainder of our yard, living in the country on well water we simply let whatever grows to exist in that space.  While there is way too much of the much hated Bermuda grass (why anyone would ever plant this runner grass is beyond my understanding!) there is also a mixture of dandelions, lots of weeds and other plants that wash through in the rains that run down the hill from property above ours.  Most of the year the area is nice and green, and when mowed it looks kind of like a lawn. However, since there are many weeds in that 'lawn' when we do mow those seeds are scattered about the yard.  It takes only 1 pass of a lawn mower spraying seed heads over those beautiful granite borders to quickly fill the surface with plants that hide the beauty of the granite.  They are easy to pull, since they are just sitting on the rocks, but it is tedious and needs to be done regularly.  Since we had let them go for so long, the granite was hidden in most cases and we just ignored them - allowing the beds to stand empty and messy.  Yet those center sections, where the fertile soil is, were begging to be planted with plants.  

One of the beds is a fun triangular shape that I plant various things in each year.  Last year it was home to Thai and jalapeno peppers.  This year it is home to squash!  Even in the wild Texas weather it has been fun to see this bed come to life again.  Today we will enjoy our first harvest of yellow squash from this very bed. A week ago the granite border was still covered in weeds, though the center beds were rich with compost and plants that seem to grow a foot overnight.  After a few days work, we not only have some food to eat, but the area surrounding those plants looks pretty again. We can step up to the bed and work in the garden section without the scratching weeds and the sometimes harmful bugs hiding in the mess.  The pretty, productive part is easier to maintain without that ugly and invasive border taking over.

Slowly each of the 11 similar beds in our back yard are getting the same spruce up treatment.  As each one is being cleaned up, the yard looks better and better.  But more importantly, the healthy and pretty plants inside of each bed are not being threatened hostile take-overs from the aggressive weeds that surround them. Even though each bed has 2 borders to protect them those weeds don't give up - the Bermuda was pretty much stopped from invading under all that granite, but runners would creep across the top and seeds from mown weeds would take root in the top of the granite and grow ever closer to that fertile soil in the middle of each bed.  So it goes with our hearts.  We can put all kinds of barriers around us, whether it be isolation and a hard surface so deep that nothing can get through, or a rock barrier that is loose and open to random surface things taking over and crowding out the beauty that is beneath.  When we regularly take time to remove those things the beauty can be evident to all.  Just like our well planned out garden beds, the fertile soil is there, in the middle.  Beautiful things can grow in our hearts - but when we allow the things of this world to overtake the outside, without taking care of the 'border' eventually the ugly stuff will invade the soft inside spaces. The "Bermda" will eventually take root in the center. When that happens it isn't so easy to remove, sometimes even running too deep and causing us to say "I'll just let it go for good- it isn't worth it!"

For me - protecting that rich nourished space of my heart is well worth tending when out of it comes kindness, compassion, joy and sharing of the harvest with others - just like this beautiful nugget of gold that will be on our plates later, so are the nuggets of gold that can come from our hearts ~ the love of God, ready to be shared and enjoyed with those around us.  What are you harvesting today?

Mark 4:14-20 The farmer plants seeds by taking God's word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!