Beyond the Garden
Written by Jessica Bauer of Life With the Bauer Bunch

At the end of every April, I step through my back door into the warm Arkansas sun with a handful of seeds and a heart full of hope.

After weeks of toiling over garden plans and veggie varieties, I know exactly where each individual seed will go. I dig my hands into the untouched soil and make neat rows, labeling as I go. The peppers will grow next to the tomatoes, the sweet corn will pop up with geometric precision, and my OCD tendencies will be at rest.

Then I watch closely, waiting to see my seeds grow where they were planted.
But when carrots form in the bean patch and watermelon vines sprout from the lawn, I quickly remember that’s not always the case.

This fact of life is not limited to the garden, either.

Although I’ve sown many seeds in my day, the three most important didn’t result in a basket full of produce. No, these precious seeds were planted by the love between my husband and me. As each little seed arrived and took his or her first breath, I swore I would do my part to ensure strong, sturdy roots, free and wandering vines, and a stalk that stretched to the sky.

Although these particular seeds are getting a fantastic head start here with me, that’s just it. It’s just the start.

They won’t stay where they are planted.

The wind will sweep across the back pasture and lift them from my home in the blink of an eye. It will carry them to new and foreign places that will scare, excite, and bewilder them all at the same time. They will attempt to bury beneath the soil, but before long Mother Nature will carry them off again. And I will stand back and watch them go. I will step back and let them grow.

There will be times when the roots I worked so hard to cultivate will be exposed, broken and bruised, and afraid to touch back down, but that will be okay. Life isn’t fair and it can be a hard world for such a tiny seed.

There will be times when my seeds land in a garden they’ve never seen. I hope they let their vines and minds wander and spread, accepting others and learning from new experiences. I hope I planted them deep enough to allow for such growth.

There will be times when everything is just right. The sun will shine warmer, the air will be crisper, the soil will be softer, and they will grow. They will grow wild and free and their roots will reach further than ever before.

My small seed will be a massive plant, weighted with successes, lessons learned, and fruits sweeter than I could imagine.

I won’t be their only gardener, either. Friends, teachers, co-workers, and perfect strangers will encourage growth in ways I cannot. Maybe even ways I didn’t intend, but that’s life. Life takes us where the wind blows and if I were to keep these seeds tucked into my hands, seeds are all they’d ever be.

We have a long way to go before that first sweep of wind and inspiration pushes my children from where they’re planted, but I pray I’m preparing them for the journey.

And each time I successfully harvest a vegetable that didn’t grow as this gardener intended, I know the future is bright for my seeds. I will work the soil, pick the weeds, and water the roots as long as they’ll let me, but I promise to let go when they’re ready to fly.

As long as they promise to come back to the place they were planted.

Hey y’all! I’m Jessica and I blog at Life With the Bauer Bunch. I’m a small-town girl just enjoying my slice of the good life with my husband Jonathan, our sons, Nathan, 6, and Owen, 2, and our brand-new baby girl, Nora. Stop by and visit sometime!