Even though I’m anxious to rototill the garden as soon as warm days arrive, I force myself to wait. Patience is a must this time of year. Tender plants wilted in the frost have taught me a hard lesson. There’s a right time for everything under heaven and gardening in the spring is no exception.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned since moving to the mountains of East Tennessee, it’s that spring is fickle. According to folklore, true spring doesn’t arrive until after five little winters are complete. Redbud, Dogwood, Locust, Blackberry, and Britches are the names attached to each consecutive cold spell from April through May.
The first four correspond to the plant or tree blooming at the time. Figuring out the fifth took a little research. When it’s warm enough to take off your long britches, then the last hard frost is over and it’s safe to sow your cold sensitive plants.
Planting too soon is devastating but planting too late is just as bad. When crops are sown without enough days for growth, the harvest is sparse.
There’s a right time for everything in gardening as well as in life.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
Failing to act when necessary or advancing without prudence have similar consequences. They both lead to disappointment and regret. When my children were little, I remember longing to get through certain difficult stages instead of simply enjoying them where they were. In those early years of my life, I was so busy advancing my own career, family often came second after my patients.
Fortunately, I have the opportunity to relive some of these times through my grandchildren. Now I purposefully take more pleasure in their process of growth instead of desiring them to move ahead of their own developmental timetables. And I advise my own children to do the same.
No one at the end of their life wishes they had worked more and spent less time with their loved ones. It’s important to come to this realization early in our lives rather than wait until it’s too late.
There’s certainly a right time for everything under heaven. But it’s also critical to plant the best seed for a bountiful harvest.
Let the fruit you grow reflect God’s Spirit within your heart.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22 NIV
I would add but one fruit to the list of attributes the Spirit grows within us if we are willing. It’s never too early or too late to sow hope in our hearts.
Hope is the “Miracle Grow” for every other fruit of the Spirit.
May your life’s garden flourish under the power of hope and God’s perfect timing.
