Grateful Garden

On April 7, 2024, I excitedly opened a new pack of seeds determined to successfully grow broccoli once again. The back of the seed packet stated that it would take approximately 48 days for the seeds to grow to harvest. Wow, that’s just about a month and a half I thought to myself. Still, I was excited! I selected four broccoli seeds to place in seed trays. I imagined the scrumptious dishes that I would prepare with the broccoli. Broccoli sautéed in rich butter. Broccoli smothered in alfredo sauce. Broccoli and cheddar casserole served at Christmas dinner. These are just a few of the many side dishes that I’ve mastered.

I grew the seeds in seed trays inside my home under grow lights and eventually transferred healthy broccoli seedlings to my outside greenhouse. It would be no time before the seedlings would develop into starter plants and be transferred to the large backyard garden.

Finally, the day came to transplant the broccoli starter plants into the grow bags in my garden. Day-by-day, I watched the broccoli grow large leaves tripling in size as weeks went by. I had been watering, fertilizing and nurturing the broccoli plants for weeks now

Suddenly, after weeks of great progress, I started to see large holes appear on the healthy broccoli leaves. Over time, garden pests had taken over the broccoli plants and the leaves started to resemble Swiss Cheese. I used every organic pesticide that I could think of to get rid of the pests. But, alas, all of my efforts were to no avail. I was saddened to let the broccoli plants go and have to pull them out of my garden.

As I prepared to remove the plants, a pleasant and timely thought came across my mind. I whispered to myself, “You can always plant new seeds and grow new broccoli. Or, try growing a new vegetable all together. Just do a new thing! Regardless, of this current situation you can start again.”

This reminded me of the verse Isaiah 43:19. Behold, I will do a new thing…

Sometimes, starting over is difficult, especially when you’ve invested so much time, money, effort and hard work. The thought of a new job, moving to a new state and finding a new home, new relationship, or developing a new perspective can seem daunting. Seek the Lord on how to accept and navigate the new thing He has in store for you. You’re not alone.

Question: What old thing do you need to let go and new thing you need to start?

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