Slow Down and Grow a Garden

There is only so much of city life my heart can handle before it is literally aching to be free of the asphalt playground with manicured lawns. I love it when the sun keeps time; everything just slows down.
This week I sat in the country, with sprawling fields as far as the eye can see, with my children and grandparents... and we just stopped. Stopped running from play date to play date. Stopped checking my social networks. Stopped crossing things off my to-do list. We just WERE.
Fruit tree blossoms flew around the yard with each breath of wind that was heavily scented by my grandma's lilac bushes. We took in the day and enjoyed each other. Balm for any soul.My grandparents are generosity and unconditional love embodied. They give freely.They are the hardest working people I know. Their hearts are bigger than most.
Grandpa holds my sons in the palm of his hand. Papa Alvin still gets down on the floor to wrestle with them and stretch their imaginations with imaginary mice they call "Henry" and "James"... that are carried around inside of their shirts. He calls them out to be "one of the men" - always letting them go to the barn and ride on the tractor, mower, gator, golf cart... (you name it!) with him!My grandma gave me my love for gardening.From the time I was a little girl, I've been running out to the garden to help her plant, weed, and gather the harvest. She would always let me have samples! I think my favorite was her grapes! When she wasn't looking, me and my cousins would sneak handfuls of that concord goodness! We would get dirty and then she would have me wash my hands and feet with cool, well water and a bar of Dial soap.That smell will ALWAYS take me back to being a child.
I'm so blessed to still have her in my life and to share a garden with her, once again, this summer! I'm so glad that my boys can know her in their lifetime. She is a wise, wonderful, wild woman with the heart of an adventurer... I love her. And my children love her food. Who doesn't love grandma's cooking?!We planted so much this week! Bringing forth life from the land... makes my heart happy. God is crazy good to let us share in this creation - fruits and vegetables that will bring life to our bodies!
We planted a garden full of beans, peas, sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, lettuces, herbs, turnips, carrots, onions, cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkins... and my grandma has lots of other wonderful things going on like strawberries, fruit trees, rhubarb, kohlrabi, etc!
I think my favorite moment of the planting day was praying with Isaiah as we put the seeds into the ground. Asking God to bless our work for our family - and thanking Him for providing for our every need.Stay tuned... I'll be gushing about my garden all summer long!