Putting down roots

Growing up I never liked gardening. Despite my mother's desperate attempts to give me a green thumb or at least help out in the beautifully landscaped yard that we had, I was never interested and actively tried to avoid doing any kind of yard work. After I got married the feelings didn't change. My husband and I lived in apartments and I was perfectly happy not having to mow a lawn or worry about watering plants or (the worst of all) weeding. Even house plants would usually die after a short period of time simply because I would never remember to water them. This all started changing about one year ago.
I cannot put my finger on exactly when or why I started desiring some kind of vegetation in my life but I remember telling my husband that I, for the first time ever, really wanted a house plant. My desires were slightly satiated when we received a bamboo plant from a friend as a gift. I even managed to keep it alive! (I know, bamboo is basically impossible to kill) But my desire did not stop there. It just kept growing.
This past March our family moved back to Oregon and into a wonderful little townhouse with a small yard. Finally I had a place that I could use all of this pent up garden loving desire! I was so excited to see that there was already a raised bed in the corner of the yard and after discussing options with the landlord decided to work towards putting in more garden space in the future. I was psyched! Over the past few months I have managed to plant and keep alive multiple flower pots, three herb gardens, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes and blackberries. I just planted snap peas, string beans, carrots and lettuce. I am so excited about seeing my plants grows!

After working in the garden for a couple of hours today I was reflecting on why I have become so invested in something that had never before interested me. My answer is simple, my life is no longer about doing the easy thing. I hated gardening because it was hard. It took lots of time, effort and patience to grow a good garden. I had so many other easy things to do that gave me immediate gratification that there was no desire to spend so much time on something so mundane as tending a garden. Now, after many years and life lessons I have come to appreciate those things that take time to accomplish.
I just turned 27 and as I reflect on what I have experienced so far in life and look forward to what's ahead I begin to see that the desire to "garden" applies to all areas of my life. My priest has given the analogy many times that our life is very much like tending a garden. We have to make sure that we are getting enough of what we need and be aware of those "weeds" that are choking out the important parts of our life. This applies to my spiritual life, my role as a mother, my relationship with my husband and all my friendships. As I begin my 27th year of life I am realizing that I need to weed out those things that are not important and really start to put down strong roots in the things that are. Not only will I benefit from this but my family will also enjoy the fruits of my labor. It will not be easy and there will be times it will not be fun but I look forward to watching all of my "plants" grow so that I can enjoy a lush garden later in life.