Our Garden

Joel and I have always wanted a garden; in fact, when we lived in Michigan, we spent a couple weeks attempting to plant vegetables. We planted lettuce and tomatoes and beans, and waited with expectation. However, it turned out that we had planted in a bad location, with very little sunlight, and almost nothing grew. The few little leaves of lettuce that did peek out of the dirt were quickly consumed by rabbits, and we were able to harvest a total of two small cherry tomatoes. The beans never appeared at all. When it comes to gardening, we just don't have it in us. In fact, even our house plants quickly died, and we pretty much gave up on having anything alive and green in our home.

But we now have a home with a large garden; when we moved in, the corn was towering above our heads, cucumbers peeked from underneath spiky leaves, purple eggplants hung from heavy branches, kale sprang from the dirt, papaya and mango trees promised that fruit was on its way. The yard itself is full of flowers, the colors vibrant shades of orange, pink, purple, red, and blue. I have never in my life had a yard this beautiful.

Fortunately, Elias Phiri is in charge of keeping the yard and garden beautiful; for that reason, I think that we will continue to enjoy the fruits and vegetables and flowers in the years to come. We have hired Mr. Phiri to come to our home twice a week as our gardener. He is a young man with two little children, a 6 month old baby and a two year old boy. He has done an amazing job so far and we are delighted with his work, and with his kindness. 

Mr. Phiri speaks very little English, and so we speak primarily in Chichewa. I enjoy the challenge very much, and he is patient with my terrible grammar and very limited vocabulary. Last week, when we ate together, we had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with apples, green beans, and chips. Today, we ate nshima and relish, a totally Zambian meal. It is such a blessing to share parts of our lives with one another.

The reality is that we employ Mr. Phiri, but that we feed one another. With the money that we pay him, he can buy food for his family and have a more reliable source of sustenance. With the skills that he offers us, we get to eat fresh vegetables and fruit, and enjoy the beauty of vibrant flowers. I think that God made us that way, with the gifts we need to feed each other. I can't grow anything, in fact, I kill anything green, but Mr. Phiri is an amazing gardener. Mr. Phiri will probably never lead workshops on holistic ministry, but that is something I can do. And I will never, ever, build a website, but that is something Joel can do. It is so wonderful that God gives us different gifts, and such a blessing when we feed each other!

I hope to look at the world with these eyes; I hope we all can. When we see that we are meant to feed one another, that we all have different gifts, beautiful things to offer, perhaps then we can learn to love ourselves, and love one another, even more fully. What is it that you have to offer? How do you feed others? Who is feeding you? I hope you are feeling fed and blessed today; as for me, I am looking forward to eating eggplant for dinner!