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Red Tomatoes… At Last
By Rebecca | May 20, 2008
Sometimes it seems like the Lord makes us wait until all hope seems lost before pouring out his blessings on us. I have been struggling to grow a garden in my less-than-ideal backyard. I was blessed to be able to build a primitive garden box and to have it filled with top-grade garden soil. (See earlier posts about the garden.) We planted a variety of seeds and some tomato seedlings.
That’s where things seemed to grind to a halt. Only a couple of the seeds came up. The tomato plants couldn’t get enough sunlight so they grew in all directions trying to reach the sun, but put out very few blossoms. Even after finding a few, tiny green tomatoes, they wouldn’t turn red. They just stayed green for weeks and weeks. The blossoms on the other plants weren’t getting pollinated.
All around the problem seemed to be lack of sunlight. My father-in-law came up and helped my husband to thin the branches of several trees that were shading the garden. (Most of the branches were dead and really needed to be cut down anyway.) Although still somewhat shaded, the garden seemed to be flooded with light that had not been reaching it before. The plants perked up and the number of buds seemed to double.
Then today, when I stepped outside to feed the dogs, I spotted a glimmer of red amid the green tangle of vines. On closer inspection, I found two bright red tomatoes, ready to be picked in the next day or so. There were several others that were turning red and a slew of green tomatoes that are growing rapidly. It seems all they needed was a little more sun.
Watching my garden reach for, and then respond to, the sunlight has caused me to think of the role that light plays in my own life. Not just physical light, of course, but the light of the gospel and the Light of the world. It isn’t a coincidence that Christ is so often referred to as, and compared with, light. No matter what other sources we look to for comfort and direction, we will never reach our potential if we do not have the Light of the Savior in our lives.
It seems ironic that the feminist movement of today seeks to take women away from home and family and religion. When Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society he turned the key for all women in the Latter Days. All the blessings and rights that women have obtained since that time have come from the Lord. And more will come as we follow his commandments.
I guess I got more than just a few tomatoes out of my garden today. I also got a little bit of perspective about my role as wife, mother and a daughter of Heavenly Father. So if you ever doubt that the Lord loves you, maybe you should try planting a garden.
Topics: Blessings, Food, Garden, Inspirational, Life, Relief Society, Young Women |
