It has been some time since I last posted. So much has happened and I'm not at all sure how yet to process all of it.
Our summer has been great--temperature-wise--for those of us who melt into grouchiness when the temps get above 86. However, the garden has suffered from the damp, cool summer. We lost all our tomato plants to the late blight, which came early. A groundhog decided to take up residence nearby and ate off our edemame, sweet potatoes and parsley and carrot tops. After he was eliminated, the carrots and parsley and a few sweet potatoes came back.
All this was going on while I was confined to the sofa (later on the porch) with a broken ankle. Yes, it is amazing what can happen in the blink of an eye. One false step on the stairs and you're in the ER deciding on when to have surgery. At least, after all these years, I am finally screwed together!
So, I've had to let go of a great many things. I have been unable to cut the grass. I miss the hours of solitude and the time of prayer. I have had to ask for help...ugh. I was unable to share from our garden, that I so enjoy doing...not much anyway. My husband dug the potatoes. Digging potatoes is like Christmas. When you dig in the ground you never know what you will get! I love the surprise. It made me sad to miss it. We did get a good crop, though, for which I am very thankful. My husband know little about the garden, so trying to explain how some vegetables should look when they are ready was quite a challenge. Also, trying to remember where I planted things was a challenge. He would come back to the house trying to describe a plant in the garden and where it was planted and then I would try and remember what I planted there. Needless to say, there has been some level of frustration. The dear guy picked all the beans! I would snap most of them and then, after a crash course in canning, he was able to can all our beans. He also canned all the beets. I think he was pretty proud. I am so thankful that he didn't just let everything go to weeds.
It was very difficult for me to be on the sidelines. A good friend reminded me that my worth is not in what I do....but it sure feels like it. Since I was unable to be on my feet, dear neighbors and friends from our church supplied us with meals so that my husband did not have to cook anything for a month! I love to bake bread, but have been unable to stand long enough to tackle that task. But, the garden was the big thing. That's my 'job'. Perhaps the garden was becoming a pride issue. I'm not real sure. Like I said, I'm still processing all this. What does God want me to learn? Or are the lessons still in progress.
What I am sure of is that good friends bring great movies and book for you when you're down. They come just to visit, because you are incredibly lonely. They say, "I love you" with food and phone calls and cards full of well wishes. My church family is just that--family. I couldn't be more thankful and grateful for each of them.
So, while I remain on the DL and still have physical therapy to go through, I am looking for the lessons that I need to learn from this particular session of God's school.
I bless thee for tempering every distress with joy;
too much of the former might weigh me down,
too much of the latter might puff me up;
Thou art wise to give me a taste of both.
But thou art all I need.
Let me continually grasp the promise,
'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'
--excerpt from Blessings from The Valley of Vision
