text: In the Dirt | Study With Friends
  It all started with lupines. The beautiful wildflowers had captivated me on a summer trip to coastal Maine. But when I saw the tall spears of blue and pink waving in my neighbor's perennial garden, I knew I had to have them in my yard! I remember kneeling on the ground by the side of our little bungalow; digging out the grass and creating a bed for the tiny lupine seedlings my friend had given me. Digging around in the earth was not a specialty of mine. But it was, somehow, deeply satisfying.
  My lupines caught on and soon I added day lilies and various other perennials to my expanding garden. I was hooked. The splashes of color from spring through fall were a source of comfort and joy. But more than that, the kneeling, the digging, the pulling and the planting gave me a sense of belonging in that place. I felt more rooted as the plants that I added to our garden took root and flourished.
  There is just something about digging in dirt. At this same time I was struggling with the uncertainties of parenting teenagers while raising toddlers. I wanted to be the perfect mother but pretty clearly that was not going to happen. Every morning I would make my way downstairs to our basement for my time with the Lord. At the same time I would work away at the never-ending pile of laundry the seven of us produced. The sound of the drier tumbling covered my conversations with the Lord. I would pour out my frustrations with myself, and our kids, and also give thanks for the victories and celebrations.
  In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."