This is my first year in organizing a community garden in our county. I am past the half way mark for the season and I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learned during my long hours in the garden.

1) We plowed a field of grass and clover to establish the garden this year behind the YMCA. It did not take long for the weeds to sprout and give the vegetables competition. I discovered only in the plowed area a velvetleaf weed sprouting. There were none growing in surrounding fields. Obviously disturbing the land created an opportunity for a weed seed that had been lying dormant for 50 years to take off and grow. And grow it did. I’ve spent hours and hours pulling weeds to make sure they would not re-seed another year.

~When things change in my life and become disturbed and disrupted, it often allows things to spring up that should not be there. Bad attitudes, frustrations, despair, sin, selfishness…the list is endless. It takes hard, relentless work to deal with those things before they take seed and show up in my life year after year and before they choke out the good things that should be the hallmark of my walk with Christ.

2) Sometimes I need to water the weeds in order to pull them out by the root. When the ground got too dry, weeds tended to break off at the root and the next week, I have to deal with the same weed again. It pays to wait for the rain to soften the ground in order to deal with the weed only once. And it pays to not allow the weeds to grow and steal water and nutrients from my vegetables.

~It is important to address and deal with the sins in my life to get to the root of their presence and stop their growth. Just covering them up or not dealing with the root causes of my sin, selfishness, and failures leaves them to grow at another time. And letting them grow steals from the good my life could and should produce in this world.

3) My plot in the community garden reflects and affects my neighbor’s plot. If I let my weeds get out of control, they spread seeds in my neighbors plot. If I do not take care of my garden plot, if I fail to plant it in a timely manner, keep it weeded and harvested, it makes the whole community garden look unkempt and unused. My failure to abide by the bylaws and regulations sends a message they don't matter. Since this is the first year in our community for a community garden and since we are using land belonging to the YMCA, our success this first year helps ensure a community garden for years to come. Our success also encourages others to join this effort next year.

~Living in community is difficult and hard work. The actions I choose and my desire to work for the common good affects those around me. If I claim to be a follower of Christ and my life does not reflect that fact in all I do and say, it affects what people think of Christ and what they think of Christians. The same holds true of my faith community and my Quaker community. Disregarding covenants or the Faith and Practice, choosing to act alone and not in community creates negative impressions in the community that affect the whole faith community. A growing, loving, giving faith community is a witness to a living, loving relationship with God. Making a visible difference in the world out of that living, loving relationship with God in turn encourages others to join the faith community.

4) The community garden’s purpose is to encourage a return to the soil and the basics of life, to increase fresh food in the farmer’s market, and to increase fresh food donations to the local food pantry. All make a difference in the health of our county, saves limited resources of oil, money, and health care in addition to creating opportunities to be good stewards of the earth. Another goal was to provide a place for people work together and get to know one another in a new and deeper way and to encourage stewardship of the land we walk and work each day.

~It can be too easy at times for the non essentials of religion and the entertainment of culture to creep into the faith community to distract from the real work of the church. It is too easy thoughtlessly to waste limited resources on buildings, salaries and “stuff”, to focus on things that do not really make a difference in the world for Christ. Worship with integrity requires a return to the basics of faith and the basics of a relationship with Christ. Worship with integrity encourages service to arise out of that relationship. Service with integrity focuses on creating a better world and life for everyone, not just those of our own faith community.

5) Harvest is hard work that requires consistency and perseverance. I’ve been a bit disappointed that some gardeners are lax in harvesting vegetables when they are ripe. I recently read a statistic that 40-50% of food harvested in the US never gets eaten. In a world where many are hungry, waste like that is sin. I’m excited and blessed to regularly serve meals made from my locally grown produce and to give bushels of fresh produce to our local food pantry each week. I am sad when other gardeners miss the joy and satisfaction of harvest. The hard work is worth it all when I add the benefit of fresh, chemical-free produce to my diet, lower grocery bills and the joy of sharing what I grow. My harvest benefits the food pantry and makes a difference in other kitchens across our county. I work hard in the garden because I want my harvest and the community garden to bless the world and our community.

~Discipleship is hard work. Living with integrity is hard work. Walking with Christ is not about what benefits me, but about what changes and blesses the world for Christ and what brings people to God. I had a friend once confess he wished being a Christian was easier and he could just do what he wanted. He was tired of being accountable to God and the faith community for every decision or choice he made. I was sad over his struggle. I personally experience God in community. I experience God in the work of discipleship and accountability. I long for the fruit of my life with God here on earth to make a difference to the world. It is all hard work, but life with God and life lived in community bring me joy and peace and give meaning to my life. I pray it blesses the world.