Preparing soil

So my better part of yesterday was spent in our yard preparing the ground for our vegetable garden. It's kind of funny because the area we chose to use has been completely dead for about a year and because we didn't want to dig up any remaining grass, we dug up the dead area hoping that something will actually grow there. We did add peat moss and compost which we are hoping and praying will make our vegetables grow. The other funny thing about this garden we are attempting is that I swore off gardening after experiencing lackluster success last year in the planting arena. In fact, even the flowers I planted in my front landscaping didn't work out. My reason for a hiatus was that I have done it for the past three years with minimal success. I did get some pretty good green beans and tomatoes the first year I planted, and herbs seem to be something that even a black thumb cannot ruin, but last year in spite of all of my plants growing and flowering beautifully, they produced nada. So this year, after publicly announcing that I was finished with vegetable gardening, my dear husband read an article in the Ensign about gardening and decided that it was VERY important that we give it a go this year so that we can learn to "work the land" in case we ever have to depend upon ourselves for food. (A very scary thought and all the more reason to bulk up on food storage!) My initial reaction was one of not only disbelief, but dread in knowing I would be the one with the most responsibility for the garden. I admit to complaining, but secretly I was a little excited about trying to garden on a larger scale than I have before. The soil had to be prepared, and as we are not owners of a fancy rototiller, nor do we know anyone who is, we had to use our handy shovel to turn over all of the dirt in our 12x15 foot garden. There were roots to contend with from the pine trees that were cut down last year which were hard to pull out. (There were so many that my garbage can is filled with them.) There were also chunks of cement and actual bricks that had to be pulled out. All of the backbreaking work of preparing the soil for our plants allowed me to reflect on the parable of the sower and the seeds that were planted. When we read this in Gospel Doctrine I was struck by realization that it was the condition of the soil that caused results in the parable. The seed was the same wherever it was planted, it was only that soil that had been prepared, creating optimal growing conditions that allowed the seed to grow and produce fruit. I wondered after the lesson about the condition of my soil.....have I taken out the things in my life that would prevent and even prohibit me from receiving the full blessings of the Gospel? What entangling roots are there that I need to take out? Just as the roots in my backyard were difficult to pull out, surely the casting aside of bad habits requires hard work and valiant effort. Just because things are the "right" thing to do does not mean they should or will be easy. Sometimes we think that our path in doing what the Lord expects of us should be unhindered from difficulty. This is not always, if ever the case. The Lord said only that He would "prepare a way." He did not say that way would be free from difficulty. I am glad to have had the past few days to "work the land" of our little vegetable garden. While we are far from seeing any kind of harvest, I believe the effort of this undertaking will teach us important temporal as well as spiritual lessons. Meanwhile, I will pray over our garden and have faith that our daily efforts will be fruitful.