The older I get the more I find myself doing the things I’ve always known my father to do.

And I think this is a good thing because I want to be like him. I love my dad. He is one of my heroes. There are so many admirable qualities in him that I really hope to possess someday.

One of the most recent ways that I have become like my dad is by gardening. I have found a new love. I love my garden.

My father is a serious gardener. He keeps one every year, and every single evening you can find my dad out “messing around” in the garden.  (I know you have to water and hoe and rake and pluck, etc. But I have yet to figure out how he spends so much time out there. Except for that he just enjoys it.)

About a month ago, (along with my dad’s help) I planted my first ever garden. It was awesome.  I have 12 tomato plants, 6 cucumber plants, 2 squash, and 4 peppers. They are doing great. The soil could be better. I will work on it a lot this fall, but for now it is good. I cannot wait to reap the harvest, teach the boys how to pick the vegetables, and save money from not buying produce.

I had a gardening veteran in our church come over to check out my garden. He is 81 years old and has his own beautiful garden. He encouraged me. He told me it doesn’t look as bad as he thought it would but it could also use some work. Haha.

One of the reasons I like gardening is because it is so devotional. I know of nothing else I do that sends me as many God-centered thoughts as gardening. Its incredible.  Each evening as I am out there alone (sometimes the boys join me) my mind is flooded with Godward thoughts. The Bible speaks a lot about gardening. I believe the Bible and love it.

Countless men have also found gardening to be so refreshing to the soul. Please read what was written about Thomas Jefferson our nation’s 3rd president
” Jefferson wrote freely of the therapeutic value of gardening. His gardening activity increased during periods of stress, including the death of his daughter, Maria, and during the Aaron Burr treason trial. Jefferson made no secret of his weariness of public life while he was still in the White House. After he returned to Monticello, he wrote that “I am constantly in my garden, as exclusively employed out of doors as I was within doors in Washington, and I find myself infinitely happier in my new mode of life.”

I am new into gardening and admittedly not very good at it, but I sure do enjoy it. It is refreshing to me. Honestly, almost every older man in my life that I admire likes to garden. I like this commonality.

I want to be like my dad, and my dad loves spending time in his garden. I love spending time in mine now. I thank God that I’m becoming like him.