We moved out to a little acreage in Tennessee four years ago this October and call our little haven Rockin’ N Farms. We have added animals (cows, goats, donkeys, chickens)–and have many stories to tell………..
One of our first summers out here, my husband Jody decided to plow up some land for me to have a garden. It was massive (which may have been in the eyes of the beholder)…and I lost total control of it. Household duties, summer activities, you name it– I couldn’t keep up with the work and time it deserved (and perhaps living in Rockvale–which means some rock right under the light layer of topsoil). This year we decided to “simplify” our life and it became a joint family effort of buildling six different raised garden beds for a combined Mother’s Day and birthday present.
We carefully planted favorites–cucumbers, tomatotoes (8 or so varieties), bell peppers, jalepenos, squash, zucchini, green beans, okra, and corn. It was incredible to see these come to LIFE (Genesis 1:12) and grow. 
Until one morning when I went out to check on things and….many of the plants were ripped from the roots and hoof prints were around. Deer had invaded and pretty much destroyed every hour of hard work, tears, and sweat we had invested into the harvest for this year. Cucumbers, okra, bell peppers, and green beans had completely vanished and the tomatoes, squash, and zucchini had been gnawed on from the top down. With ONE exception. They steered CLEAR from the jalepenos.
Although this may have not turned out how we quite intended it to be this summer, looking at it with a glass half-full brings about some observations from this learning experience :)………
First, we are no longer dead but alive. When those seeds first went into the ground, they were considered DEAD. After being planted, rooted, watered, and cared for, they grew and became ALIVE. Ezekiel 37 where the dry bones come alive is just one of the beautiful places in scripture that I love to go to reflect this thought. God does this to us. He breathes life into us. We go from being dead in our trespasses to being ALIVE in Him.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…Ephesians 2:4-5
Instead of fear, we have hope. Instead of timidity, we have strength, power, and self-discipliine. We crucify our fleshly passions and possess joy, love, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. God gave us Christ and now we are ALIVE.
Second, when we are tempted, we don’t succumb and sin. You know the green leaves had to tempt those deer from eating those jalepenos. But, they thought about the consequences and chose not to partake in something that would cause some major havoc for them later on. They knew how to decipher good from evil. For us to do this, we need to have His word hidden in our heart (Psalm 119:11) and make sure we have the full armor on (Eph 6:10-11). God will take care of us (1 Corinthians 10:13) when we face whatever may be pulling us down. My love for Jesus must be more than any earthly desire I may have. Instead of thinking temporary, I must think eternally.
Last, we must keep weeding. If the garden would have kept producing and I wouldn’t have tilled the weeds away, I wouldn’t have had a garden. We must make sure we rooted in the right soil (Matthew 13) and our transformation is from Him and not of the world (Romans 12:2). This will take HONEST reflection and a willing desire to change for Him–letting His Word mold us and not the things (or people) that may surround us.
Next year’s garden will look a little different–we are slowly coming up with a game plan (and are welcome to some suggestions). Fencing and definitely a lot more jalepenos–which I could use some new recipes–are definitely at the top of our list.
Anchored to Him,
Leigh Ann
