Spiritual Gardening

Recently, I have been blogging fairly consistently, but it all revolves around the incoming baby. 

I definitely think adding to my family takes precedence over the other things in life, but I figured I'd shake things up a little bit.

So here's a blog without a belly picture in it!

Instead, ramblings!

(if you're weighing whether or not that was an improvement, I don't blame you!)

I have a lot of opinions.

Now that my pregnancy filter, which is to say the filter that doesn't exist, has kicked in, it's hard to restrain my opinions.

Thankfully, my sweet husband lets me complain. And my sister. And my mom. And sometimes poor friends who get in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But this time, I'm heading down a more spiritual alley of thought.

When I was younger, my mom would pull me outside to weed. 

I hated it. 

I still do.

However, I now see the benefit firsthand, I like how it looks after, I like knowing I'm not being judged when it's freshly groomed, and I sometimes even enjoy it. (GASP!)

So really, getting outside to do it is what I hate. And that it's a recurring problem. 

Shouldn't they just disappear??

Anyway, when my mom would pull me out to weed, she told me of the times that her dad would weed and come up with connections to things spiritual.

Now, I ALWAYS think about spiritual things while I'm weeding.

(along with imagining that my Morning Glory problem is like Devil's Snare from Harry Potter…)

Recently, I was weeding and I found a little surprise.

I planted Snapdragons at the front of my garden. I planted pink, purple, and fuchsia, I think.

I found some white Snapdragons about 8 feet away, at the very back, coming out from under a rock.

How did they do that??

I was very impressed.

Of course, while in nature and in my garden, I started thinking about how it relates to us in the gospel.

How are we like this snapdragon?
How are we like the rock?

I've always loved the phrase "bloom where you're planted."
You're put somewhere, so deal with it and enjoy it! I had senioritis as a high schooler and as a senior in college, but I wasn't just excited to get out. I was just tired. I am pretty sure I liked where I was. I like change, but I am also content.So I think that we can be like the snapdragon if we are trying our best to be our beautiful, wonderful self through adversity (rocks and away from where we might want to be).
I think the rock can be struggles. It can be death, loss of income, loss of things that are important to us… anyway you put it, it's a struggle in our lives.
Another thing I think our snapdragon could be is our testimony.
This especially works for the rock=adversity part.
Our testimonies are delicate. They can be sturdy in some situations and in some subjects, but they need to be nurtured. Otherwise, they end up looking like my poor basil from the back yard-gone to seed and brown. However, we won't be able to go through life without adversity and struggle. There will be tragedies. There will be tests. That's why we're here. We knew that when we chose to come here to earth. Our testimonies will usually need to grow from under a rock. We may need to help that plant grow through the adversity. Sometimes it's because of the adversity that our testimony grows.

I am thankful for the rocks in my life that encourage growth in my testimony.
I am thankful that I've been taught to bloom where you're planted.
I am thankful that I was taught to look for spiritual analogies in the things around me.
I am thankful for a Savior who teaches me through small, simple, sweet tender reminders.
I know that my Savior lives. He died for me. He suffered for me. I am thankful for the things He has done for me.
I know that I have been given His restored gospel. I am so very grateful for it and for the blessings I've been given through the gospel.

Now go find your spiritual analogy!