The Master Gardener

Take a deep breath and fill your lungs with the glorious smell of spring! There is something refreshing about this time of year. The sunshine and warmer temperatures are an invitation to get outside and walk around the neighborhood, read a book on the deck, or, if you have a toddler like me, dig! My daughter LOVES digging in our garden bed. 

My husband and daughter working in the garden.

I am filled with a bittersweet excitement knowing that in a few months she won’t have a place to dig. Her favorite spot will be covered with vining cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots! I am feeling optimistic about our garden this year. After a hard lesson learned last year, I have decided to keep our garden small and in our very own backyard.

Let me take you back to spring 2024….

My sister and I had the brilliant idea of having a combined garden at the home farm. We started off strong by having a ‘strategic planning’ meeting where we discussed which vegetables we wanted to plant. We spent a morning at a greenhouse selecting the healthiest-looking plants and strategically planted each seed or seedling. Our garden started off looking amazing! 

My husband working with the tomato plants while my daughter enjoys a snack.

But as the summer days passed, we experienced more and more obstacles. 

The bunnies completely ate our tomato plants, leaving little stumps where the luscious plants once stood. The weeds consumed our strawberry patch to the point we had to accept defeat. We had to replant the beans, peas, and zucchini because they never sprouted. Half of the lettuce got pulled due to confusion with weeds, and a solid third of our potato row was run over by a skid loader. The pigs got to enjoy the crop of radishes because we pulled them out a few weeks too late, and to this day (April 27, 2025), there are STILL potatoes in the ground...

On top of all the horticultural drama, I was unable to keep up with the weeds at 9 months pregnant, and my sister's time was consumed with her farming responsibilities. My husband helped out as much as he could, but eventually, our garden took a back seat on the priority list. We had big ambitions, but the 2024 gardening season was full of physical, environmental, and mental limitations… we ended up giving up. 

Giving up on His garden is something the Master Gardener would never do. We find so much rich imagery about Our Lord as the Gardener in the Bible. From Psalm 104 praising the Lord for His creation, to Isaiah comparing God’s people to a well-watered garden (Isaiah 58:11), and the parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), to the famous narrative of the Vine and Branches found in John's gospel, the Master Gardener makes Himself available to the cultivation of our souls wherever we are in our spiritual journey. There is no gardening duty that is too burdensome for Him.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. -John 15:1-2

His capacity exceeds our understanding! He can be tilling the soil of one person's heart, fertilizing the sprout of another person's faith, weeding out undesirable distractions or vices from someone's life, all while pruning your heart and harvesting the fruit of your neighbor on mission. As the Curator of Creation, He has the ability to nurture an intimate relationship with every single person at every single moment!

In the upcoming weeks, our blog is going to explore the many titles and roles of the Master Gardener.  As we prepare the soil and plant our gardens this spring, may the Lord prepare our hearts for the spiritual growth He has in store for us!

Until next week, your sister in Christ,

Abby