. . . because I am impatient. I want to plant something already grown. Something I can see. But seeds are cheaper, so I go with seeds. Seeds, tiny bits of flower DNA, some small as a pencil dot, germinate buried for days unseen. Some never come up. What’s up with that? Did I plant too deep? Bad seeds? But hold on. First, must prepare the flower bed. I don’t like a lot of preparation. Want to get right to it. But I want to do it right, so I remove weeds, chop, loosen ground, rid sticks and stones, rake clean and neat. Then, must read package planting instructions. Come on, I hate instructions! Fine print. Where’s my glasses? Back in the house. Track in the house. Gloves off. Gloves back on. Plant this deep, space this far apart. Really? They can’t touch?
Once bed is ready, use a stick and draw straight line or circle area where planting. Open package. I can do this. May as well pour into your hand, they’ll spill eventually. The little darlings are the color of dirt, they blend and confuse me. Don’t care how well I prepare my rows, I lose my place when I start sowing. Sometimes frustrated, I just tear open the package, shake and scatter all over. Rub dirt back over, pat ground to cover. Some directions say step on the area. Whoa! What? Water. Walk away. Watch for sprouts. Wait. And I don’t like waiting. Because I am, you know, impatient.
When our kids were growing up, we tried to sow wisdom seeds into their hearts. Prepared their ground best we could. They did not come with packaged instructions. I probably wouldn’t have had time to read anyway. We had to get right to it! But we tried to rid their lives of weeds, sticks and stones, and plant them in neat rows and circles. Their teenage seeds blended and confused me. I lost my place many times, felt frustrated, shaken and scattered. We patted down, walked over, made sure to cover all areas. Watered with love, watched, and waited. Years later, many seeds have grown, flowered and come back year after year. Some may be so deep they are still germinating! If there were bad seeds, hope they’ll forgive. We did our best. Some seeds may never come up. But the gardener must not be anxious for results. Prepare, sow, shake and scatter if you must…then leave the flower to God. I am learning to be patient.
ConnieLakeyMartin
Editor
5/25/2022
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