Once Upon a Time

The Garden

Everything is planted in a garden. Most gardens can't be seen or even shared. These are the gardens that hold thoughts, feelings, emotions, and a sense of self. Everyone belongs to these gardens, and each one began the growing season with the right amount of light, shade, water, and the nutrients to keep it pure. The gardener of these secret, unseen places began to take for granted that the garden would grow and become beautiful no matter how he neglected it, whether he was even present. The garden, he assumed, would grow simply because it existed.

Most gardens are neglected at various stages in their lifespans, and this alters the landscaping that was set by God before the gardener took over tending to the plants he was entrusted to care for and to nourish. After all, God never had a problem in the garden, so the gardener believed it would also be the same for him as caretaker of the garden.

But, as time progressed, the garden slowly began to change. It started with a tiny weed that took root in the garden next to the tallest flower and flourished into many weeds. Soon, other gardeners noticed that this garden was not as beautiful as other gardens they had passed. It did not get as much sun as the neighboring gardens. The clouds that appeared above the garden did not rain as the clouds above other gardens. And the nutrients in the soil began to be depleted.

And the gardener took no notice.

The garden's landscape began to change. Weeds strangled the plants that God had placed in the garden for the enjoyment of the gardener. Gates that once protected the garden from trespassers broke, allowing all who wished to enter access the garden. The lock on the shed that held the tools so that the gardener could work in the garden fell away, letting the trespassers pluck whatever flowers they wanted with ease. The rake that once cleared debris from the paths that traveled through the garden, lost its tines, rendering it useless. The tiny pebbles that outlined the flowerbeds scattered in the wind, exposing the roots of the remaining plants.

Still, the gardener did not notice.

When all of the beautiful flowers faded from the garden and the garden was filled with invasive weeds, broken flowerpots, and decaying shrubs and trees, the gardener looked upon the garden and cried. Where had the beautiful plants gone? Why was his garden so barren? Who had killed all the vegetation? Who allowed all the careful landscaping that God had created to crumble into ruins?

Then the gardener understood. The garden was his responsibility, his only obligation. And he had not tended to it. Instead, he had given tiny pieces of the garden to anyone who wanted it, regardless of the reasons the trespassers had desired it. The gardener had given away parts of himself until there was nothing left but the weeds everyone who had visited had left behind.

When the gardener needed the garden the most, nothing remained but the shadow and ash of clouds long since rained out. No light came from the sun because the clouds were too tired to move out of the way to let any rays shine through.

The gardener decided to find out when the garden had started to die. Finally, the gardener came upon an idea. He traced every snip of a plant he had given away, each plant that became different because of the missing pieces of itself that the gardener had squandered. He decided to try to mend the flowers he had plucked by placing a bandage on each stem. He fixed the gate, picked up the discarded tools, and bought a new lock for the shed. He carefully carried all the pebbles back to the flower gardens, replaced the broken flowerpots, and pulled all the weeds. He desired the garden to become a safe haven again, free of trespassers, free of weeds, and full of the flowers that once grew so happily in the sun.

That seed of hope was the first he carried back to his broken garden. When he had finished planting it, a single ray of sunshine broke free from the blanket of clouds and a single drop of rain fell upon the seed. Each day, the gardener returned to the garden to pull weeds and to replant the flowers that he had given away. Every day, he allowed the garden to heal, a little at a time, hoping that one day he would visit the garden and it would be beautiful and safe again, that the sun wouldn't hide, and rain would come in gentle waves to help the flowers grow. He knew it would not be easy, but it would be worth it to watch the awakening of a soul long asleep and in need of nourishment.

What the gardener did know is that he would never again leave his responsibility and his obligation to the care of strangers trespassing in his garden. He would not take for granted the garden's needs. Instead, he vowed to discover the garden's needs and help the garden experiment with colors as it painted itself in the cool breeze of acceptance. Not of someone else, but rather the acceptance the gardener had for his own garden. That is where it had to begin, by accepting his own garden for what it was and to find enjoyment within himself. Then and only then would the garden fully return to its former state, before it was given away, neglected, and cast aside for someone else's desires.