Re-Rooted...

Growing up my parents had a garden.  The black Indiana soil was more than accommodating for a beginning gardener.  As an adult I desired to do more of the same, but found that the North Carolina red clay was not as inviting.  Being a lover of all things fruit and veg I found this a bit disheartening.  Nevertheless, several summers ago, a few herbs as well as tomatoes and peppers found their way in to potting soil and away we went.

Life has thrown us one heck of a curve ball in the last 12 months.  When I left the states, we were at the end of my potted garden summer season with just a few stems of basil and a few springs of rosemary staying strong on the scene. I would NEVER have guessed that 12 short months later, I would have traded the red clay and would be growing a gorgeous garden in the fertile red dirt of Northern Uganda.  I would never have guessed that I would be making beet juice from the beets in my backyard and snipping spinach for salad and omelets?!?  

Life twists and turns us upside down.  One minute we are driving carpool and the next minute we are rushing to the hospital learning of a loved one harmed in an accident.  One minute we are making dinner and the next minute our husband walks in and shares that he has lost his job.   Sometimes it takes longer than a moment, but life still takes an unexpected turn.   Whether it be a terminal illness, a separation or divorce, broken friendship or disrupted adoption...somehow dreams are dashed.  We find that our world which seemed so deeply rooted, has now been transplanted, or somehow uprooted and we are left wondering what to do?

Our family transplant to Uganda was even more of a shock and disruption than my original childhood move from Indiana to North Carolina.  You can read more about that here and the end of that sad story and why were are still in UG here if you don't know the history.

Many of our twists and turns in life do not feel like a loving Gardener has tenderly transplanted His little seed from one place to another.   We often feel a bit more like a seed that was dropped from a very tall tree and then blown--(let's be honest)--tossed--by the wind and then pounded by rain until eventually buried under piles of wet leaves and mud.  Straight up honest y'all.  

This begs the question...now what? 

We have options.  Life is not easy.  Trust me...I get it.  One twist or turn may feel like simply too much.  It is our choice to stay on the surface.    To limit ourselves.   To become only a small hard shell of what we were created to be.   Or we can hide.   We can stay mud-caked and buried in wet leaves...never fully allowing the sun to do what it was designed to do.  OR we can recognize we were made for much more.  Though uncomfortable with our new surroundings, we can dig deep...take roots and grow.  We were designed to not only be resilient, but to grow once transplanted.  And not just grow, but flourish.    

My garden speaks to me.  It speaks of health...it speaks of new life. What started as a tiny seed just a few months ago has grown in to something so wonderfully vibrant so wonderfully alive.   

I see beauty but still remember the pain.

I open my front door and see things I have never seen before.

I see bright colors and a bright future... and I still enjoy a good cup of coffee.