Gardening in July

Mr. M & I's fourteenth wedding anniversary was earlier this month.  I remembered two days after.  
So there was nothing "special" about it, other than what is special every day with my husband.
Part of what's so special, is that our relationship has roots that keep growing deeper.  We're not afraid to turn a little soil to make more room.   It may mean reading a book outside our usual genre so we talk about it.  It may mean getting used to foods we don't "like."  It may mean taking on a community service project together.
Sometimes the soil gets turned for us.   Friends get divorced.  Moving for a job.  Kids in the hospital.
The real question is, once the soil is turned, what are we going to do there?
Are we going to plant discontent about "going out of our way" or it "not being fair"?
Are we going to divide the soil into different pots?  "Saying well it's okay that's HIS thing, I'll just keep my dirt over here."  Not that container gardens can't be beautiful, but they have limited depth.  They need more frequent feeding to thrive, since they can't get natural restoration from the seasons of life.  It's hard to grow a life-long relationship that way.
Or, once the soil has already been turned, we can try to tamp it back down....but that often leaves the ground hard and unable to grow anything at all.  Trying to force things back to the way they were "before" can do this, whether it's before marriage, before kids, before the fight, before the move.
There are other, more positive ways to continue on.  I believe part of why our marriage has not just survived, but thrived through difficulties is Mr. M's permanent contentedness.
The soil is turned.  Can't go back.  Might as well use it for something.
So from the seed of content he always plants, grows a plant of peace.
That peace starts one end of the garden.
Whereas on the other end of the garden, I plant hope.   I cling to the idea that "all things work for the good."   E1's food issues led to us eating healthier.  Losing our house we built led to the one we have now which fulfilled our hearts desires in a home.  All things in this world are temporary.
My mother in law says I see a silver lining around every cloud.  Gardens need the clouds.  Rain and sun are both needed to grow.  Fertilizer stinks, but is necessary as well...and best applied in the preparation of the soil, because it can burn the plants if it comes in direct contact.
We then meet up in the middle of the garden, in full sunlight.  There we plant a tree of thanksgiving.
Being content, hopeful, and grateful, we watch our garden grow.  May it continue to grow for years to come.