I had a vision to plant some flowers beneath my mailbox
I purchased some and waited too long to work on it
So those ended up in my backyard flowerbed
Today, I gathered up the gumption to work on my project
But it took more effort to start than I anticipated
The ground beneath the mailbox was dry and hard
Even worse, once I started to break up the soil,
It was full of old dead roots, a mangled, matted mess
It was deep and thick and took a large shovel to scoop it out
I kept digging, several inches down, trying to break up the fallow ground
It was full of dead roots that would block anything new from blooming
It took so much effort and strength to try and break it all up
Several inches down, the dirt was much more loose than it had been
I had at least twenty pounds of root-filled dirt in my trash bag
And still, the ground was not free from dead roots, and would never be
But it was enough
It was cleared out enough to add new soil
Rich, dark soil, full of the nutrients it needed
The ground looked fresh and clean, ready to grow something
I transplanted some sage from my flowerbed to the area
It is a beautiful purple and green variety that smells amazing
Outgrowing my flowerbed, I hope it takes over the mailbox too
You might wonder why I’m writing about some root-filled ground
Well, I’m writing about me, about all of us really, humanity
We are a garden, made of dirt and full of roots of old things
It takes hard work to dig it up and we will never be fully free
Old things will still be under the surface, deep down there somewhere
What we used to be is part of who we are, and there will always be remnants
Will we set a purpose to plant something new?
It won’t just happen on its own; we have to break up the ground
We have to dig down deep, throw out some things
We have to bring in some new, nutrient-rich soil
To transplant some good things from other places
To fill up the new place and make it beautiful
Your soul will never be fully free from roots and rocks
You are earth – good but not perfect
You are able to grow new and beautiful things
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
Rachael Kathleen Hartman 