A peony bush I planted a few years ago. It took a year to take off, but every year since it has put on more and more blooms that are breathtaking. (Journal photo by Lacey Vilhauer.)
I love springtime. It’s that unmistakable time of year when the sun warms your skin, the grass starts to come back to life and the birds chirp in celebration of the warm weather. I’m a gardener, and I start working on my flower beds as soon as I can.
I was clearing out beds and watering my newly emerging plants just last week, and I was trying to identify a green sprout that was popping out of the ground.
I was thinking about when I must have sown the seeds—it had to have been at least a year ago—and how I had undoubtedly envisioned this plant’s future when it would bolt out of ground and display its long-awaited beauty. This made me ponder the process of planting and waiting for something to mature and flourish before your very eyes.
Gardening is not a high-speed hobby—unless you transplant established plants, and even that takes days or weeks for the roots to take hold. Horticulture as a whole takes time, energy, commitment, and patience to see the payoff.
I see many parallels between gardening and life. Planting a seed in the soil and waiting for it to emerge is much like entering into a marriage, starting a family, purchasing a home, beginning a new job or making a financial investment for the future.
Furthermore, not everything we plant comes to fruition—it’s the same with gardening and life. And there are always unwanted weeds to pull that can block the sun if they are left unchecked.
Unlike horticulture, it’s not just a certain time of year that we can take the time to sow seeds. We don’t have to watch for the last frost to start something new in our lives, or the lives of our friends and family.
I challenge you to plant something this spring—and not just petunias. Begin something new within yourself—make a commitment, learn a new trade or accept Jesus as your personal savior. The sun is always out and ready to germinate the seeds we plant today, and they have the potential to bloom into the dreams of tomorrow.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
