Cultivate a Mindset of Joyful Abundance

As the dog days of summer wane into early fall, my initial enthusiasm for the vegetable garden is beginning to lag. I’ve planted, hoed, weeded, and harvested until I have little energy and no creativity left. Every year it’s the same. I typically end up with a surplus of vegetables–especially zucchini. Even though I plant only two hills, zucchini grows exponentially until it’s out of control. How can I cultivate a mindset of joyful abundance when all I see is too much of the same thing?

Sometimes I feel like Bubba in a scene from the movie, Forest Gump as he recites all the different ways to prepare shrimp. The recipes on Pinterest for zucchini are endless. Bread. Cake. Pickles. Relish. Marmalade. You can grill, steam, or bake it. And, when all else fails, freeze it. I’ve done it all. It’s not that I don’t like zucchini. I love it. But the abundance is overwhelming. By this time of year, I’m “zucchinied” out (is this even a word?). Can you relate?

Why even plant zucchini at all, you might ask, if the resulting over-abundance repeats itself every year? Because I enjoy the end product and maybe even a bit of the challenge. The act of gardening is a holy endeavor for me. Digging in the soil connects me with the creation and its Creator. It’s therapy for my soul.

The magic of gardening is that it teaches me how to deal with abundance as well as lean times without losing my sense of joy.

For even though, my zucchini harvest is plentiful, it is not endless. Already I see signs of the plants wilting. Soon the squash bugs will find them in the garden and destroy what’s left. Such is the cycle of life. Each one of us experiences periods of overwhelming abundance as well as lean times when we long for more. The Apostle Paul understood how to cultivate a mindset of joyful abundance no matter what his life circumstances. He penned these words in a Roman jail, not long before his execution.

I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.

Philippians 4: 10-13 The Message Bible

I remember a period of time in my life when my children were young and I worked in a full-service medical practice. My basket of tasks was constantly overflowing. There literally were not enough hours in the day to accomplish it all. Without help from other family members like my mother, sister, and mother-in-law, I’m not sure how I would have made it through. But I kept my sanity through those abundant years and look back on them with joy.

Other than my gardening adventures, life is a bit quieter now. I no longer have the constant demands of little voices vying for my attention every moment. In these leaner times, I’ve come to appreciate silence and the opportunity to take a walk, communing with God and nature. Conversations with my husband and friends take on deeper meaning since I don’t feel pressured to rush on to the next event on my agenda. I can spend time playing with my grandchildren. And write. Busyness is good but there is also joy to be found in a slower pace.

To cultivate a mindset of joyful abundance isn’t easy but it is possible. I don’t want to fall into negative thinking that sees life as ‘never enough.’ Social media would have us all unsatisfied and longing for more even when we have everything we need right in front of us. Don’t allow culture to brainwash you. You can choose happiness wherever you are. Mindset matters.

Click on the link in the first paragraph to learn more about growing zucchini.

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