He called our garden "LEGIT"

If you value homegrown goodness like I do, you’ve probably spent some of your time gardening. The thing about a garden is; if you don’t pay enough of the right kind of attention to it, it’ll stop producing for you, eventually. Last year’s garden can become this year’s briar patch in less time than you might think. It doesn’t matter if the soil is fertile and the seeds you planted last year were good; without the tender care of the master gardener’s hand, the wilderness will creep in and overtake even the most beautiful and fruitful field. Case in point: Last year, our garden was (according to our son), “legit." Last year we had everything we wanted (and everything our kids wanted), growing in our garden, and the harvest was plentiful. This year (the year of a few set backs due to some health issues), we have ¾ acre full of mostly ragweed, milkweed and numerous other such plants…and that’s the way it will remain until we do something about it. To be fair, my little nine-year-old son did help me put in one set of tomatoes and one set of bell peppers, and we’re getting a few little fruits from those, but for the most part, we passed on the gardening this year. A person can learn a lot about life from a garden. One might say relationships are like gardens. If you put in the effort, the results will be a blessing to you. If you take the relationship for granted, if you starve it, neglect it or allow weeds to creep in, it won’t be so much of a blessing. As a matter of fact, relationships that are not tended properly can become burdensome or uncomfortable in many ways. That’s why it’s imperative that we tend our relationships with care. What we value, we handle with care, don’t we? What is more valuable than a brother or sister, a mother or father, a beloved husband or wife, a friend? Nothing that money can buy compares to the worth of a loving human bond. Relationship weeds can grow too easily, and just as easily, good things can die, if we let them. Weeds are anger and sarcasm, selfishness and a sense of entitlement. Weeds are lazy and overindulgent. Weeds are intolerance and manipulation. Let’s not plant weeds. Instead, let us regularly sow seeds of compassion and forgiveness, service and unconditional love. Let us grow relationships based on quality time together, treasuring the differences that make us unique. Let us invite the Lord into our relationships and look to Him for guidance in the exercise of our stewardships in relationships. Let the hours of our days be spent in the pursuit of things that matter most. Let the work of our lives be a testimony to what we value. When we stand at the edge of the field, looking back on the work we did here, let us have reason to be glad for all we have accomplished and to be proud of the fruits with which we have blessed those who are coming along after our days are spent. Let our children and grandchildren remember us with great love and respect. May it be said and remembered over the generations: “My parents’ garden was legit.”