Pondering about a garden.

This is the season of freshly tilled dirt and seedlings.

We used to have a roto-tiller. When we lived in Central Oregon, we had a very nice tiller. But we moved and didn’t have room to pack it.

So, we gave our tiller away – practically.

Since then, we have had small postage stamp size garden plots.

Big enough to grow tomatoes, and maybe something else.

Last year, in our current house, I wanted some tomatoes. We had a overgrown garden spot tucked into the back corner of our back yard.

The ground was unyielding. Upon inspection, I noticed small strawberry plants.

I dug out the shovel, and began to weed.

I was impressed that this little area could grow tomatoes and a few more vegetables. I began to dig up more than just the weeds in the strawberries.

I told Craig about it and it became a family project.

We tilled the garden with just a shovel and lots of sweat.

It took a long time.

It was exhausting.

My arms ached after a session with the shovel.

I didn’t want to do that again this year.

This year, I noticed a friend tilling his garden spot. I approached him, very brazenly, and said, “I see you have a roto-tiller.” I tried my nicest smile.

He smiled back and said it belonged to another neighbor, but he was almost done with it.

“Oh,” I smiled again and said, “I will go and ask him if I can use it. Thank you.”

Within minutes, I secured permission to borrow the amazing machine.

Craig was very accommodating and postponed his plans for about an hour and tilled my little garden. I wanted to be helpful, so I picked rocks.

The whole point to this story is that it took less than an hour to do what it had taken over a week the year before.

And, it was done better. It took less effort. Less sweat was involved. My arms didn’t ache from digging and digging and digging some more.

I have been thinking about one of my favorite scriptures. Alma is talking about faith. There is a much overlooked part of verse 28 (Chapter 32)  that I am thinking of. “Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, . . .”

How do we give place in our hearts? What does that mean?

For knowledgeable gardeners, the ground must be prepared before seeds are planted. Sometimes that is more work than the actual planting.

Weeds cleared, rocks dug up, fertilizer worked into the soil.

How do we do that spiritually?

Sins repented of and forgiven, bad habits dug out of our souls, doubts cleared.

If we don’t do the prep work before we plant, our little seeds will suffer and not grow well.

If we insist on doing that work alone, we often don’t clear the ground effectively enough to be able receive the answers we are looking for.

So, for this pondering moment, the Atonement is like the roto-tiller. It can dig up the deep roots of the sins and habits and thoughtless acts that have snuck into our lives when we were not paying attention.

It can stir up the things, even from the darkest corners of our memories, that need to be cleared away.

It can break up the hard, caked earth of all our hurt feelings and disappointments.

And, it is available to us just for the asking. We have to use it in our hearts. We have to walk behind it and guide it to every corner. We have to make sure we till each square inch.

Our care and diligence is required to prepare our hearts.

And then the miracle of the seed can begin.