My garden

[toad]

“Every garden may have some weeds.”
English proverb

“Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, but any fool will quarrel.”
Proverbs 20:3 NASB

I love my garden. Sometimes I find myself stressing over it when it is in need of tilling and weeding, but I still love it. I think that everyone who is recovering from alcohol and drug addictions should find a spot somewhere to grow plants. It teaches us responsibility for other living things. The garden spot that I have has been in my family for many years. My great grandfather had a garden there, my grandfather had a garden there, my mother growing up worked in the same garden, and now I have the privilege of using the garden spot for my summer vegetables. The garden size is 45 feet by 80 feet, and takes time to tend. Nine years ago when I first sobered up, by the grace of God, I planted a vegetable garden. It produced, but not really very well. The ground had lain fallow for several years and was what I would consider unhealthy soil. I see this in myself also at that time in my life. After years of personal neglect due to my self-centered addictions my physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life was very unhealthy. I planted the next year with the same results, a below average harvest. The next two years after that were a little better, improvement was slow. Then I started using straw around some of the plants during the growing season to help keep the weeds down and I found that as I plowed it under the next year the soil developed a different texture, it appeared healthier. The next few years I applied lime and fertilizer and the results are very noticeable. Healthy plants don’t just spring up and produce a harvest; they must be cared for on a regular basis. One thing I have noticed about gardens is that you have to prepare the ground and sow seeds to produce vegetables, but weeds they just grow without any help at all. Strange isn’t it? I have noticed changes in my own life similar to my gardens over the past nine years. Most meaningful changes in our lives take time and continual care and maintenance. As I daily read the word of God, don’t drink or use, attend church, go to meeting and become willing to help others, the quality of my harvest is good, and seems to improve from year to year. There are many factors in having a healthy garden, soil, light, water, nutrition, but one of the most important factors is continual care. Neglect will overtake us very quickly when allowed. The weeds in our lives, which I call character defects, will overtake our gardens if we don’t daily tend to them. I am so grateful for the lessons that God has taught me about myself through the everyday things in my life. God is doing for me what I could not do for myself………………toad

[sugarssweetpea]

WOW!! Thank you so much Toad for that awesome God inspired post. God really spoke to me today through your post. He is speaking to me a lot lately. Really working on some issues I have. He has continued through you. Thank you for your obedience.

[cmc]

Amen! Thanks toad, sooo much for sharing such a wonderful post. I like this part alot:

The weeds in our lives, which I call character defects, will overtake our gardens if we don’t daily tend to them.

Where I live we have more of those weeds and they seem to pop up faster and die out harder. All the elements and surrounding environment in the garden has alot to do with that. My own recovery is about the same thing-changing what happens within and protecting myself from what happens without.

[sugarssweetpea]

Our garden did not fair very well this year. We got a few squash, about 10 cucumbers & the tomatoes seem to be doing well, but the lettuce, watermelon, carrots, canteloupe & peppers did not make it. The soil was not very fertilized. It was not cultivated very well & I personally had a hard time keeping up with the weeds. It does remind me of my own recovery as well, if I do not keep up with the "weeds" (character defects) and keep myself "fertilized" by reading my bible, prayer & the filling of the Holy Spirit in obedience to God, then I do not fair very well either. The "weeds" start to take over & I start slipping back into addictive behavior.

Thank you again Toad for this wonderful analogy.

[BUTTERFLY-7]

you are so right toad it was told to me
once in the rooms that to get my self a plant and planted
and if withing a year the plant makes it it means I've grown
and was ready for a)a commitment b)or ready for the next level