Making Way For Beauty

My back is sore... my legs are sore... my arms are sore... I could probably just sum it up by saying practically all of me is sore!!

Why am I a wreck? Because I've been outside for hours making a way for beauty.

The privacy fence on the western side of our patio -- which blew down spring break of 2011 & my husband said he'd repair right away -- well, it's still standing in the pole barn... and "privacy" is limited in that area of our back patio.  Don't get me wrong, the LOML is a wonderful man.  However, we don't always see eye-to-eye on the urgency of things :)

I've learned in the past two summers without that fence, more than our privacy has suffered. The area beyond that fence is what I had termed as my Secret Garden. It was a winding path of paver stones leading from our back garage door around the south side of the house to the patio & deck.

My Secret Garden was framed with tall decorative grasses, a few shrubs & lush day lillies which bloomed vibrant orange most of the spring & summer. Covering the floor of my Secret Garden -- a thick carpet of English ivy. As the dark green ivy grew, it thoroughly covered the soil in that area & choked out any weeds that tried to creep in.

As the path near the privacy fence made the turn to enter the patio area, a few small prairie roses bloomed that first spring of 2010 when we closed on the house. They added just the perfect amount of color to the deep green of the ivy. But, that was before the fence blew down! 

In the subsequent summers, I learned that prairie roses flourish in full sun -- unlike English ivy. Not only was the privacy fence keeping our patio a bit more secluded, it was keeping the full sun out of that part of my Secret Garden & allowing the dark, green ivy to flourish while keeping the prairie roses in check. With the demise of the fence, the prairie roses flourished, the ivy declined & other weeds began to appear.

I see almost everything around me as a lesson about life.  And, here are some of my related thoughts:

• When something falls down, you should probably fix it in a timely manner.
  - When your quiet time with the Lord gets pushed aside for life, then your life will end up suffering.
  - If you've spent time & energy to build something, like a relationship, it needs constant attention & should not be taken for granted.  If it begins to fall, begin fixing it!
• Life is a matter of balance.
  - Though those prairie daisies were beautiful, they were invasive for the design of the garden.  Too much of a "good thing" might not always be so good!
  - Doing good things should never replace seeking the source of all good things (good gifts), our Father God. We need to seek our balance in Him!
• The longer you neglect a "red flag" or problem, the more effort it will take & longer it will take to reconcile the situation.
  - I noticed LAST summer that the prairie roses were flourishing & the ivy was declining.  But, I didn't take the time to keep them controlled by weeding some out.
  - There's definitely something to that saying our grandma's spoke, "You need to nip that in the bud."  Get things when they are small -- don't let them grow out of control!
• There's a design for our lives... that will result in the best possible life -- just like the ivy being planned for the beauty of my "Secret Garden"
  - Things don't just happen randomly.  There's something bigger. There is a plan for a future & a hope!
  - We can be a part of making our best life happen -- with just yielding to the Author of All things good! Just be still in His presence & learn.

So, the sore muscles today & the hard work have reminded me of a few things I need to be practicing daily. And, yes, my "Secret Garden" is taking shape.  The pulled excess prairie roses were thrown on a barren area by the pole barn which gets GREAT sun. I'm expecting a lovely garden next summer -- a reminder that today's hard work was making way for beauty!  That's a good life lesson!