Week 12: Psalm 103

Psalm 103

The winter days are behind us, and spring is finally officially here. As I think about all that this season can hold, I consider my garden plans. I have not been someone with a major green thumb, but in years past, I have tried my hand at planting a flower garden. My first summer, I overplanted the garden. I was so eager and excited that I sowed flower seeds and vegetable seeds all over my little garden beds. But I didn't really know how much water they needed and when. I also paid little attention to the proper spacing, so there were some plants that went everywhere and threatened to take over the whole space! I was genuinely ecstatic that I had been able to grow anything, so I didn't really let it get me down that I only had one edible cucumber. 

Last year was our first spring in our home here in metro-Atlanta. My husband bought me some beautiful raised beds from Facebook marketplace, and I sowed my seeds in good faith, certain that this was the year I would get my “Instagram worthy” crop. I sowed seeds in several batches, and each time, the result was the same. I would get a few little green shoots, and then they would just stop growing. It was the most maddening thing! 

Finally, at the end of the summer, I took it upon myself to move said garden bed to another spot in the yard. I spent a morning emptying the bed of its dirt, one wheelbarrow trip at a time. When I reached the middle of the dirt, I realized that there was one glaring (albeit hidden) problem. In an effort to lessen the amount of soil we had to buy to pack the bed full, we placed logs from the yard in the bed. The man who built the garden bed told us that it was a little hack he had tried, so we did it. Well. Said logs from our yard were rotten. And do you know what happens to soil when it is surrounded by rotten wood? It gets sick, too. Nothing can grow for too long in rotten soil. Oh, how I wish I had known this when sowing my seeds! I would have spent the extra money and taken the extra time to just fill the beds with good soil from the start. 

As we enter into spring and consider Psalm 103, we can give thanks to a God who does not leave us in rotten winter seasons with foul soil for too long. We can trust that with Him, no matter what our circumstances say, spring is coming. We can say with confidence, along with David,

Praise the Lord, my soul;

   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,

   and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives all your sins

   and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

   and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

-Jessica