“And the Lord God planted a garden …” —Genesis 2:8.
Last summer we did this one thing like the Lord and planted a garden at Morningside High Park, Toronto. Considering the abundance of wisdom and insight into life processes we gleaned from this venture, it is no wonder that He Himself used a garden as a stage for our understanding of scriptures.
With no great controversy we started with the minister’s blessings and two enthusiastic young women undaunted by criticism and jokes. One Sunday I had a good laugh when I heard someone say the squirrels would get those tomatoes. Another said the raccoons around here just love sweet corn. And the Sunday school children? Oh, they’ll run over everything! I myself wondered, is that soil good enough? Did they dig past the lawn grass? It all reminded me of comments made when the temple wall was being rebuilt at Jerusalem in Nehemiah 4:3.
The garden flourished and the harvest was abundant, everything from hot habaneros to cool cucumbers, Jamaican callaloo to leafy green kale, and tomatoes in big, red bunches. In practically every inch of the plot something grew. I think everyone who attended church that summer ate something from the garden after services and/or took some produce home. It became a topic of conversation during lemonade hour—everything from theology (how the Creator makes the plants grow and what is good for us to eat), to science (“can a zucchini plant walk to the sunshine?”). It was a blessing that helped us see how our faith is alive and growing through this slower season in the church. It was a gift we were able to share with neighbours who stopped by to see what we were doing.
One of the things that thrilled us was how this garden grew so well with minimal watering, but with great attention. It seemed like the excessive touching from the many hands made the plants feel loved and they grew better. We learned so much—even the weeds (as they hid amongst the plants trying to look like them) taught us something. We learned the weeds were not really weeds but medicinal plants that we had not yet found out about!
One hot Sunday, Gina rushed to water the plants before the church service, as they lay lifeless and withered. After the service, the whole plot revived, everything looking alive and green once more. Ruth said it is the same way we need God; as water is to the plants so is the Holy Spirit to our soul (Psalm 63:1).
As we seek to review this experience and look towards more gardening in the future, we look forward to planning and setting goals for this summer.
