Spring planting...

Parable of the Sower

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” ... "The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." Luke 8: 5-8 & 11-15

With all of the weather this spring, farmers are finally getting their crops in. Here in Rochester, there was a story about the farmers starting planting a couple weeks back. Going with the trend, Thomas thought it would be fun (and fulfilling) to plant a few low-maintenance vegetables along the garage of my apartment. After asking permission from my landlord and now that the weather seems to be consistently warm, Thomas planted a few peppers and cherry-like tomatoes last weekend (the tomatoes did not survive the cold, frost-like mornings last week) and a tomatillo and replaced the cherry-like tomatoes this weekend. The idea of this garden is to keep the plants growing until I leave for MI in mid-July. Then, upon return from our honeymoon in the beginning of August, "my" apartment will become "our" apartment, and we ideally will be able to reap a harvest.

Planting these few plants was not an extremely easy task since the area had some intruders that needed to be removed. Fortunately, the bed contains rich topsoil and is West-facing. Since it is under the eaves of of my garage roof, the plants will likely need to be watered in addition to rainfall. Like the parable above, it is vital for our transplants to receive the proper nutrients and not get choked out by competitors. Planting on good soil is exactly where Thomas and I are starting our marriage - a marriage that is refreshed by the Light, nourished by the Word, and guided by the Holy Spirit.

Thomas and I are now in single-digits (for weeks, at least) - NINE WEEKS REMAINING!