This picture is not glamorous, but I post it as a reminder that stewardship is a process of learning, and gardening and tending the earth are not simple. In Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve to be stewards of the garden He has given to them. “Take care of the earth,” God says. We do not always know how to do this well, or what that even means on a personal level. We are also told in the Bible, “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat,” so the promise of a lush garden without work is ludicrous.
I have always loved to garden. As a child, one of my favorite activities was to help my mother in the garden. I pulled weeds, cultivated, watered, picked vegetables, dead-headed flowers. Taking care of the garden was second nature to me. As I grew older, my mother would task me with preparing the garden area for planting. “Turn over the garden, please.” I would happily go out to the yard with a spade and turn over the rich, New Jersey soil that had sat dormant all winter. I would expand the border just a bit. Surely my mom would not notice I added 10 square feet to the garden. She did. “Susan!,” she would exclaim, “why is the garden so big?!” I would smile and reply that I would take care of it. I would. I did.
Few things in life bring simple joy. Having my hands in the earth is one of them. We are called to be stewards of the earth. We must tend it with care and love. We must be disciplined if we want the earth to yield for us. I want to encourage good stewardship. Everyone can be a good steward. Yes, it is about planting and nourishing the land, but it is also about being a responsible caretaker of all we are given. Make less waste. Consume less. Recycle. Go without. Use what is on hand. The list goes on.
Thank you for visiting my page. I hope you come back often to explore what it means to be a good steward of your time, your talents, and your treasures.
Good Steward Living 