Our Concrete Garden

New Jersey is called the Garden State for good reason.

My former home is a leading grower of strawberries, blueberries, corn, tomatoes, and cranberries.

There was a time when I tried my hand at creating a little farm in my backyard.

With wonderful sandy soil, my diminutive piece of cropland grew out of control.

Coworkers and neighbors enjoyed many bags of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and more.

So, when Yesenia suggested we build a home garden here in Guatemala, I was all in.

This is not the Garden State, but it is The Land of Eternal Spring.

Wide varieties of crops and flowers grow in abundance across the country year-round.

How hard could it be to start a home garden?

**************************

Well, there were some notable hurdles.

For one thing, our little patch of earth does not contain much actual earth.

We found that a bare 6 inches below our grass is a concrete floor.

Cement walls around the garden make the soil acidic.

That works well for our perpetual stable of roses, but not so well for planting vegetables.

So, we designed a deeper garden out of crates and tires and filled them with fresh dirt.

It looked better than it sounds, and we supplemented the seeds with herbs and flowers.

We were not home when a torrential downpour began the very next morning.

And we returned just in time to watch the last of our seeds flow down our center drain.

Corn and tomato plants might have popped up in storm sewers around town.

But there would be no harvest realized in our little backyard.

*************************

Since then, we made some half-hearted attempts at growing real food.

Our yard yields a variety of herbs and flowers, but nothing that would stave off starvation.

After helping several other families grow tomatoes and cucumbers in our Urban Garden Project, we decided to try again in our backyard.

We got new dirt and lined up more tires and crates to make a deep patch for our garden.

We planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and frijoles (beans).

This time, we got results.

Vines spread out and stems grew up within a network of bamboo and string.

Flowers sprouted, telling us we would soon have a harvest of real food.

But… the flowers lied.

We did see some short and misshapen cucumbers, a few of which we actually served.

But by the time ants and other critters enjoyed the last of the greenery, no tomatoes, peppers, or beans materialized.

******************************

Sometimes, God gives us a nice sandy patch of ground to work with.

Other times, we are forced to fight through concrete.

Maybe the blessings of my earlier farming life didn’t prepare me well for the hard stuff.

But the vines and leaves proved good things can grow even in the most difficult garden patch.

And our tires and crates sit ready for their next seeding.

*********************************

Our mission to grow hope, faith, and love in another rough patch of Guatemala flourishes.

We see wonderful things taking root in our mission children.

Corruption, crime, and poverty conspire to pour more cement under their gardens.

But our kids smile, pray, and hope like they know Eden is just around the corner.

Praise God for their resilience and faith,

and thank God for His help in our mission to crack more concrete.