T.I.M.E.--In the Garden

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She considereth a field...with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard

I've been in a bit of funk lately--trying to get settled in to life back at home in my rural small town. My house is a mess--housekeeping is not my forte' to start with, and with all of the extra stuff we acquired while living in other places just dumped back into our small space--I'm overwhelmed and at somewhat of a loss as to what to do with all of it.

I'm having deja-vu, and not in a good way, of what life was like when my husband and son were both gone and I was home alone for weeks and months at a time. I remember thinking then that I may as well get used to it, this was going to be my life from then on. I felt like I was in a rut of going to work and coming home, going to church and coming home, same old routine day after day, week after week, month after month. I didn't think anything would ever change, and I couldn't see any signs of growth or change in myself.

It was depressing, to say the least.

But little did I know, that by the next year, I would quit my job, and travel halfway across a continent (from Louisiana to Alaska) and back again. I ended up spending time in Alaska, Colorado, and Georgia before coming back home to stay, four years later.

And while I'm always glad to be at home among my own things and close to family, I do start to feel somewhat of a let down, just ever-do-slightly. Well, not-so-slightly. I've learned from my years "on the road" that it's not nearly as exciting as it seems, but being the one left behind to hold down the home front isn't a walk in the park, either.

Last week seemed especially bad--unless I think about the week before. But little by little, I'm finding myself starting to enjoy my time "home alone".

Getting my routine going.

Making a schedule to clean and sort, little by little, so that I don't get overwhelmed.

Getting back involved in my home church.

Spending time with extended family.

Finding who I am again as I inhabit a new/old life.

Last time, change came suddenly--like hurricane(!)--this time, more slowly, like watching my garden grow.

These are the squash plants as I watered them last week...

...and this is what they looked like this morning.


Carrots then...

...and now.

My bibb lettuce last week...

...and this week.

Swiss chard before...

...and after.

When I water or even just sit outside or look out the window every day, I don't always notice the changes...

...but they add up, little by little.

My meditation today is on a verse in II Corinthians, 3:18, that states that "We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord, and are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory..."

My intercession is that the Lord would continue to change me--from glory to glory, little by little or by leaps and bounds--into His image.

And my expectation--to see the fruit of those changes.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family