The cilantro story.
Looking back at my past self is revealing
This new Substack is not my first rodeo in the realm of ‘blogging’ - I actually was pretty committed to writing an online diary from 2006 to 2013. I was a few years into freelancing and working from home at the time, and writing out my thoughts was helpful to feel less alone in my head. It was nice that a few of my friends also started blogs and we could cheer each other on in the more mundane parts of our lives, with a few timely and somewhat deeper, more intimate musings revealed along the way.
From time to time, I thought it might be nice to revisit some of those earlier posts that seem to have relevancy even now in this different season of life. This post about cilantro from 2007 is one that I’ve never forgotten. I am pretty annoyed that my ‘cool girl self’ found it unnecessary to use initial capitalization as I wrote - please forgive me. Other than that, I do see a nugget of wisdom and a confirmation that I’ve been someone who notices things that Jesus might be speaking to me for quite a long time.
it's really funny how the Lord consistently uses the garden to teach me about Him. this morning, He gave me an interesting analogy about cilantro, thought i would share it with you.
see, lately He's been working on me concerning my will. even though MANY times i have prayed "YOUR will be done" - i have never really been comfortable with the truth of it. i guess that deep inside, i was afraid somehow that HIS will would cause hardship and strife that i couldn't bear, even if it WAS for my ultimate good. plus, i think my own ideas are pretty swell, usually.
thru not feeling well, He is showing me the goodness of His will. He is showing me how it's NOT scary to give up my own idea about what is best in exchange for His plan. He is showing me His will being done in my life feels better than my own plan.
anyway, back to the cilantro. last year i bought a big antique washtub, and decided to use it for an herb garden. it's very pretty. this spring, i planted alot of seeds in there, and a couple of plants that i bought too. they are all in various stages of growth now, and since i wanted cilantro, there is a little tuft of it growing there (upper left corner). this garden is my design, my plan, and it looks pretty nice i think.
early on, not too far away from the washtub, i noticed some little seeds sprouting out of the concrete on my sidewalk. i left them there, mostly because i was lazy, but also because i kind of like haphazard looking things. the strangest thing is that now i see that i have a WHOLE CILANTRO GARDEN growing out of the cracks in the pavement. not only is it healthier and larger than the cilantro in the tub, but it also brings beauty to something that i never thought would be beautiful, my old cement walkway.
Kind of like His will. our own plans might be good enough for us, but HIS will still gives us the desires of our hearts, in unexpected places, bringing beauty to things that we never thought could be beautiful.
ahhhhh. a good lesson to start the day with.
may God give you a surprise cilantro bed in your life also!
