Sometimes it just takes a little faith to sustain us as we patiently await the cow manure, fertilizer, and water to be added.

Lessons from the Garden

I was not a big fan of the television network war coverage. Television network coverage of military conflicts and events leading to war are only helpful to a limited degree. Televised war coverage may help individuals understand cultural differences and similarities creating conflict within the global community.

Dan Rather’s televised interview with ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for the network news broadcast 60 Minutes proved to be fascinating to me. After listening to ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein discuss Iraq’s fundamentalist Islamic values I devised a peace plan outlining a democratic process to protect ultra-conservative religious values of the Iraqi people.

In some ways I may have gone off the deep end in becoming engrossed in these affairs. I hate politics and none of this mess is any of my business.

I am not an overly religious spiritual person. In my mind and heart I know that I have sinned against God. Many Muslim Clerics, Jewish Rabbi’s, Roman Catholic Priest, Monks, Protestant Ministers, Hindu clergy, Buddhists Monks, Tribal Indian Leaders, etc. are tenfold more spiritual and pious than I am.

As Job stated, “I know my Redeemer Lives”. When a person has an opportunity to testify about the Divine Providence of God, I believe the person should take the opportunity. Perhaps my thinking about God’s ways and trying to see signs in nature is an effort to relate to God in a way which is not prescribed by preset conventional religious ideology. The Spirit of Truth and Disconcertment attest that an all-powerful God can find new ways to communication to an individual.

God blessed the area where I live with an early spring. I believe God is keenly aware I became too engrossed in the political mess leading to the Iraq war. Dan Rather’s 60 Minute Interview with ex-president Saddam Hussein sparked my interest. God sent an early spring to save me from witnessing brutality of war displayed upon the television screen and inspired me to write about it as testimony.

I love the dazzling color of beautiful spring flowers splashing hills, valleys, and filling shelves of retail outlets selling greenhouse supplies. Gardening can be a spiritual exercise.

A person can learn many spiritual lessons while gardening. I often wish the synagogues, mosque, cathedrals, and places of worship throughout the middle east could have acres of beautiful gardens to glorify God, who is One and the same as Yahweh and Allah.

During the course of my early spring gardening I was digging up Iris crocus to be re-transplanted. According to the oriental Buddhist concept of Tao, every living entity even a blade of grass, possess a life force.

It dawned on me that from the perspective of the Iris crocus in the process of being dug up the Iris crocus may have consider itself enduring a horrible fate. The Iris crocus more than likely thought great misfortune befell on it as I dug the Iris crocus up to be re-transplanted.

As I dug the Iris crocus up, the Iris crocus is completely unaware that I planned to re-transplant the Iris

The Iris crocus that was once surrounded by thorns and thistle brush choking the life out of the crocus is now enriched with fine gardening products available at a retail outlet near you.

In recent months millions of factory workers have lost their job and joined the ranks of the unemployed. The course of human history includes many turbulent tumultuous trying times during which the hearts of men and women are dug up to be re-transplanted.

The difficulties that we endure in life may make life on earth initially appear dark, bleak, empty, and hopeless, as we are dug up to be re-transplanted. Sometimes it just takes a little faith to sustain us as we patiently await the cow manure, fertilizer, and water to be added. I just hope no one views my freelance article content as the cow manure.

Originally, my plan was to include only one lesson I learned from the garden in the content of this freelance feature article. If we are patient and do not take matters into our own hands God can direct us on the right path.

As I cultivated the soil with my garden hoe, rake, and shovel a brave little brush thatch flittered here and there with quick sharp movements. The brush thatch is the kind of flittering bird one expects to see in fables such as Cinderella or Hansel and Grettle.

My most immediate reaction is to shoo the brave little brush thatch away in fear the bird will pluck my flower seeds out of the ground. The brush thatch hopped here and there as if it was lost after my gardening moved everything familiar to the brush thatch around.

I looked up and saw the little brush thatch light on the gabble of the house. Long wiry thin filaments of the legs of a big plump juicy mosquito dangled from the beak of the brush thatch in every twisted unnatural tangled direction.

The mosquito the little brush thatch ate may have been a carrier of the deadly West Nile virus. At that moment, I felt the presence of God.

About the Author

Author byline and Bio: Mark Gaffney is a contributing freelance writer. Mark has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a concentration of coursework in physiology, biology, and computer science. Mark is in the process of trying to start a new Not-for-Profit Foundation entitled, Wonderful Life Foundation. Mark plans to submit his online work as a thesis project to earn his Doctorate (PhD.) degree and officially become a Nanotechnology Sociologist. Bookmark this page now and click here to review preliminary plans for organizational development of Wonderful Life Foundation currently published on www.ServeNet.org. ServeNet.org, Idealist.org, and Network-for-Good.org are associated with the government web site portal, www.freedomcorp.gov, an initiative of President George W. Bush to promote volunteerism and provide services to help Not-for-Profit organizations.