{"id":1278,"date":"2011-07-30T10:33:12","date_gmt":"2011-07-30T14:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=1278"},"modified":"2011-07-30T10:38:27","modified_gmt":"2011-07-30T14:38:27","slug":"master-gardener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/07\/master-gardener.html","title":{"rendered":"Master gardener"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I’ve spent much of the last two afternoons and evening outside working on my garden.\u00a0 This is my\u00a0private\u00a0sanctuary but I’ve spent precious little time out doors these past two years.\u00a0 My husbands failing health and other concerns have made my time outdoors minimal.<\/p>\n

I prefer the English, free-form style of garden. Yet,\u00a0I’ve learned\u00a0this design\u00a0still takes as much work as the more formal, immaculately trimmed Japanese garden.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It appears at times that everything, even God, fights against my maintaining\u00a0the\u00a0garden area.\u00a0 Wind storms insure that the trees are trimmed.\u00a0 However, the winds come, the trees are trimmed and the branches are dropped willi-nilli around the yard.\u00a0 I overheard a Christian neighbor tell her husband.\u00a0 “Dear, when you trim the trees, you remind me of God.”<\/p>\n

“I do?” the husband asked with a grin, his chest rising about a foot.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Yep, you cut it down and throw it on the ground, waiting for me to pick it up.\u00a0 That’s the same way God does it.”<\/p>\n

This morning after hours of weeding, sweeping, raking and pruning, there are new leaves and fresh weeds waiting for my attention.\u00a0 Last week, I remembered that during the years that my garden was well groomed, I seldom spent hours\u00a0 working in my yard.\u00a0 However, each day I was outside–15 to 30 minutes every morning or afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Like most achievements in our lives, it isn’t the bip! bang! wow-wee! method that reaps deep dividends but the slow, methodical, daily work which insures success.\u00a0 Solomon in Proverbs speaks often regarding the wisdom of daily efforts.\u00a0 God, through Isaiah, says that even spiritual and godly\u00a0success is a result of\u00a0“line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One of the most successful pastors and teachers in the world is Rick Warren.\u00a0 I follow him on Twitter.\u00a0 It is astonishing how much he advocates slow, meticulous progress, rather than hyped, whooped-up success.\u00a0 In another area, financial guru, Dave Ramsey, preaches the same\u00a0methods for financial well-being.<\/p>\n

Within the mentally challenged community, these are\u00a0men and women whose learning abilities are developmentally delayed.\u00a0 They are able to learn.\u00a0 However, their learning ability is\u00a0slowed.\u00a0 Yet, when they have a concept or idea, they\u00a0embrace it with\u00a0such a firm grasp that they seldom lose it.\u00a0 Margaret wanted to read all her life.\u00a0 Finally, she found a program that she\u00a0could understand.\u00a0 Margaret learned to read.\u00a0 Each morning and afternoon as\u00a0she rode the bus, she would take out her book and\u00a0read.\u00a0 No spare moment was missed that reading did not fill.\u00a0 Holding her book to her breast, she would grin and remind me, “Do you remember that I can read?”<\/p>\n

Gardening, finances and our spiritual lives have much in common.\u00a0 God often desires slow, daily efforts.\u00a0 This may not be\u00a0easy but the rewards are magnificent flowers, embraced by colorful and fruit-filled lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve spent much of the last two afternoons and evening outside working on my garden.\u00a0 This is my\u00a0private\u00a0sanctuary but I’ve spent precious little time out doors these past two years.\u00a0 My husbands failing health and other concerns have made my time outdoors minimal. I prefer the English, free-form style of garden. Yet,\u00a0I’ve learned\u00a0this design\u00a0still takes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,12],"tags":[688,7,699,230,715,701,694,689,692,6],"class_list":["post-1278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-religion","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-gardening","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-religion","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nMaster gardener - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/07\/master-gardener.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Master gardener - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’ve spent much of the last two afternoons and evening outside working on my garden.\u00a0 This is my\u00a0private\u00a0sanctuary but I’ve spent precious little time out doors these past two years.\u00a0 My husbands failing health and other concerns have made my time outdoors minimal. I prefer the English, free-form style of garden. Yet,\u00a0I’ve learned\u00a0this design\u00a0still takes…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/07\/master-gardener.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-30T14:33:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-07-30T14:38:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/07\/garden-300x229.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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