My Eden

I've put off my yard work long enough. I've completely ignored my backyard for almost three years. First I was pregnant--that's a good excuse , right? Then I had a little baby. Then, when I finally got into a situation that I could go out in the yard and clean it out, I realized it was too overwhelming and I ignored it. Well, the day of reckoning has come. The weather is finally mild and Kate is old enough to play while I work so I got started Saturday.

Since then, except Sunday, I have spent hours every day working in the yard and LOVED IT! I'm addicted to it. I can't get enough moments in the day to run out there and do the little I can before I have to attend to other matters. All I'm doing is tearing up all the dead growth and piling it up, but I've already learned so much.

I really thought I would have to go to the library and research all the stuff about my yard. I was surprised to find the keys of how to work the land were just sitting out there waiting to be discovered. Just looking at the bushes, I could see how they liked to be pruned. After looking at all the dead ground cover shoots and runners underneath a layer of new growth, I knew how I was supposed to trim it in the fall.

As I tore up my yard, analogies came to my mind. I could relate my yard work to spirituality, sin, and repentance. I was having "ah-ha" moments!

I thought my siblings and parents were insane for wasting so much of their precious time here on earth working in the yard. But now, I see that it really is a way for us to communicate with nature--it's exercise for mind body and spirit! They all told me it was, but now, I know.