I have loved gardening the summer. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this is the first time we have experienced a generous crop. Tomatoes are still coming in – several a day, and I just picked two massive zucchinis this morning. I even made some raspberry jam (from the 1/2 cup of raspberries that I harvested today) just for fun! (It exploded in the microwave, but that’s a story for another day!). Turns out gardening is fun when you get things to grow! Our other experiences have been much less rewarding. At our last house our soil, after many years of working to amend it, was declared “beach sand” by an expert. But here we are! And I can’t help but exclaiming at dinner “…and the green onions are from our garden, and the tomatoes are from our garden, and the green peppers….”

Every morning for the past month, I have woken up relatively early, let Toffee out of her pen (our border collie/Australian shepherd) put out her food and water, and then went straight to the garden. Each morning I found at least one ripe raspberry. Earlier in the month I found one or two. Today I picked over 10. Each day it has felt like a miracle. How did something delicious like this grow in MY garden? I have eaten more than my share of them, but oh how I have savored each one in the early morning stillness.

Recently I have been thinking about my music room the same way- coming up the stairs to discover what raspberries (ideas) are fully ripe, and which ones need a little more time to incubate. It’s such a miracle when ideas come. Where do they come from? How do I access them? In much the same way as my raspberries. For one thing, we have a Creator who designs all good things. He is the Giver of good gifts. Good, juicy raspberries. But it’s not a free gift in the sense that we can sit on the couch and eat potato chips all day and expect to have some raspberries handed to us. No, with His guidance, we prepare the ground, plant, support the plants, fertilize, water, allow the sun to shine and patiently wait. Music writing is much the same.

As I nurture my garden and my creativity, I feel a guiding hand, helping me to discover true principles and delight in my own growth experiences. I came home a few nights ago and wrote the basic outline for a song with this idea in mind. I feel led by the Master “gardener” who knows all things and is teaching me His ways. It’s called “Gardening with the Gardener” (until I change the title…). Perhaps one of these days I’ll share it.

Love,

Laura