A small 16ft by 4ft plot can yield many kinds of vegetables

During early spring of 2014, I turned a part of my lawn into vegetable plot. I have written how I started my vegetable garden and documented some of my experiences.

Since then, I took care of my garden almost every morning before going to work and almost every evening as soon as I get home. I weed it, water it, prune it, fertilize it and aerate it. It has become my habit and started to enjoy the process. I would look at the flowers and observe the growth of the cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, etc.

My appreciation grew deeper in the uniqueness of every plant and specie, their character and design, and the different fragrance that they emit in the atmosphere.

One morning, I was looking at a plant. I was admiring how the shoots are so long and then, a thought came to me. I enjoyed looking at it although there are no flowers on it. “Of course“, I said to myself, it is not their nature to bear flowers. They have uniqueness in themselves and they are beautiful in their own way. That’s the way the Creator created them. I cannot expect flowers from them because they are not suppose to have flowers.

I know that my argument with myself seems crazy but if we apply this same observation with our families, friends, volunteers, employees, etc. they make a lot of sense. How many times have we catch ourselves expecting others to become just like another person? How can we expect a donkey to run like a thoroughbred and a chihuahua to grow bigger than what they’re suppose to be? Then why do we expect John to be like Paul?

If we can learn how to appreciate the uniqueness of each individual, we can avoid the stress of trying to change other people. What if we slow down and observe others and learn about them for the first time again?

God had created us to be different from each other and to realize that our differences complement one another. As the famous saying goes, “slow down and smell the roses” is very true – to see the importance and the value in each of us. This is also a reminder for ourselves to learn more about ourselves, to appreciate who we are and to celebrate how God had created us.

– Merlin