God saw that it was good!!!

Over the past few years, I have encountered a few long term health issues. Being on

some prescribed medications, coping with ongoing pains, sometimes limits activities that I used to love and do.  Doing general chores that were not a problem before, have to be staggered now.

I have always been a lover of nature, and I remembered growing up, my mom’s garden. It was her pride and joy. There were flowers in the front garden and fruits and vegetables in the back. The flower garden was full of exotic flowers which included Hibiscus, Roses and Jasmine, and the fruit and vegetables section had all sorts, banana trees, plantains, lemons and limes, avocados, chillies and so much more.

God has Blessed Maggie and me with a house that has both front and back gardens, which we share with our downstairs neighbour. We subsequently divided up the gardens, so that we can each do what we wanted to do. I did not have a camera phone then, so I cannot show the before pictures. It was awful, as our next door neighbors gardens were really nice. We then decided to do something about it. It started with us buying two chilli pepper plants, which we grew inside, but every time I looked outside the window, I was saddened by the state of the garden. It looked really bad. So Maggie and me went downstairs with trash bags and started weeding. The next thing that happened was mind blowing. It has to be divine intervention from God. Our next door neighbor came over with all sorts of gardening equipment’s and asked if he could be of help. That did not only stop there, after weeding, he dug the soil, raked and remove the stones, and gave us a lot of gardening tips and advice.

Next day, I went out and bought our first plants, which is the Agapanthus! That was the first time I heard about it, but it was so beautiful! Then we ordered two rose bushes, and because we were fledgling amateurs, I went over to borrow some tools from our neighbor, and yet again, he came over and planted the roses for us. Every time we go out, we started looking for plants, we bought Hydrangea and Fuchsia plants. Then another gave us one of his plants to add to our garden. That was last year.

Over the past year, I have subscribed to a lot of garden nurseries, watched gardening shows and late last year we planted our first set of bulbs, Hyacinths, Tulips and Daffodils. It was a joy to see them coming up during spring. More plants have since been added. We’ve got sweet peas and Dahlias.

I am now doing what I love doing in spite of. When I get tired or in pain, I sit on the low fence and just watch God’s creation and beauty. While waiting for the bus a few months ago, I saw this sign posted in front of this garden center.

This is so true!

Apart from the physical ill health that troubled me, which I know is temporary, as I know that I am being healed by the Great Jehovah Rapha! The mighty healer! I have also had to deal with a lot of emotional and psychological issues most of my life. Only God is my witness as I did not want to burden any one with it. I also thought that talking about it will be confirming the negativity my emotions were already dealing with.

I use to beat myself up, because I saw myself as a failure, despite all the advance education I had. I felt that I had nothing to show for all those years. I had to deal with instability, and even relocated to the US for a period of time. At that I felt that it was the worst mistake that I have ever made, and this cause me to suffer bouts of depression, anxiety and panic attacks. I felt rejected and judged, but I was able to disguise this most of the time, as the last thing I needed was to be patronized or pitied!

In retrospect, the best thing that happened to me, was going to the US! While there, I became a member of The Living Hope Christian Center, under the spiritual cover of Bishop Ronald King Sr and Pastor Angela King. I learned so much while I was there, which I never realized until over the past couple of years. I learned so much about my heavenly father; how he sees me, the weapons he has provided for me when the enemy strikes (which will happen), his love for me! I learned about the power of praise and worship and prayer! This has really Blessed me and I don’t know what I would have done without it all.

Doing this gardening with Maggie has allowed me to see God in another dimension! Planting from seeds and bulbs, to seeing them growing and maturing, and to see them adapting as the seasons change is amazing! Some need more care than others, just like us humans, some more food, and some extra shade. Weeds have to be pulled to stop them from choking the fragile plants, this shows me God in his element! We have to do all of this, because we want the plants to grow and survive. That’s exactly what God does. He has planted ,  nurturing and protecting us, and at the appointed time, our beauty will shine through and we will be seen as God intended!

In doing all of this project with my daughter, I have been able to deal with a lot of issues that have been bothering me. My beliefs about the various ways that God heals, nurtures and protects us, has been reinforced. Just when we give up after being damaged and hurt so badly, God takes us in his arms, heals, nurtures and protects us, until we are full recovered and start being fruitful and productive again. This was highlighted in a couple of the plants we had last year. One of them was this beautiful Fuchsia bush, which was damaged by one of our neighbors. I was so upset and was thinking of replacing it and was just waiting for spring, but God allowed me to support, feed, add mulch and compost and water it constantly. Believe you me that plant recovered and is now bigger and bushier than it was before!

Through this humble plant, God is teaching me to never give up no matter what, no matter how badly hurt or damaged you are. God has not finished with you yet!! He always has a plan and at the appointed time, all will be revealed! When you are rejected, written off and you  think that you don’t have what it takes or you are worth anything, SHAKE IT OFF!!! Ask God for Holy amnesia as Bishop Ronald has put it. Don’t wait for someone else to make you happy. Do what you love, even if it means taking a walk and admiring someone else’s garden (I used to do that and still do) I tell you that it’s not easy, but life was never meant to be a breeze, but we were created to love, honor and worship God! We were meant to be thankful and happy, as for every dawning moment, it is a reminder of God’s grace and mercy!

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did not give his life up for us to be always miserable. His life was spent teaching us how to love and forgive. He spent his life sharing and giving and the word of God say “It is better to give than to receive”. I look outside the window now and see people going by, stopping and looking at the flowers in our garden and there are smiles on their faces. A couple of our neighbors tell us about the fragrance, especially in the evenings and we smile. It might not be that big a deal, but doing this garden project with Maggie has enabled us to do something. It has blessed us greatly and if it blesses others then it is good! 
Below is a selection of some of our plants. They are blooming so vibrantly !

Burgundy ice rose

Octavia Hill Rose

Candy Tuft

Sweet Pea

Dahlia

Partial view of the front garden

Maggie laughs every time I look at garden shows and I am sure that she is always wondering what will be coming next. I smile too, as she is addicted to the gardening as well as me. I give thanks to God for everything!!!