We start early in life as boys with little shovels and toy bulldozers digging holes in the ground. When I was a kid our family lived in a two-family rental, and there was a patch of bare ground in the hedge-enclosed front yard. I’d dig holes, make tiny roads, and entertain myself for hours.

Later in life there would be trees and shrubs to plant, vegetable and flower beds to grub out, all activities to fulfill my God-designed nature as one who works and keeps.

So this week I looked at an unruly patch of stuff growing in our yard consisting of hosta, iris, rhubarb, an Easter lily, and weeds. The disorder and poor placement of the patch evoked in me the need to make things right. In the picture below, everything to the right of the spade in the trench had to be dug up and relocated. The vacated spot would be seeded with grass.

It took two days of digging up, dividing, and replanting all that stuff. If you are not familiar with the hosta, it is the plant that keeps on giving. My father-in-law years ago gave us six hosta to plant around our small patio. Now they are all over the place, anywhere I wanted a touch of green. I gave away about six buckets full of them to the church. I once thew a bunch of it under a pine tree to die. The next spring, it was flourishing in that spot.

Once the planting and watering were done, it was time to till up the bare patch to prepare it for seeding. I retrieved my little tiller from the back of the garden shed, hoping it would start two years after it was last used. Of course it did not start. The primer bulb was cracked and the air filter was filthy. Off I went to the store, and returned home with the parts I needed plus some fresh fuel. Here’s a picture of the mighty little machine being restored to running condition.

Once it was back together, a few pulls on the starter rope produced the desired result; a smooth-running motor. Unfortunately, although the motor ran just fine, the tines would not rotate. Unable to diagnose the problem (Clutch? Driveshaft? Transmission?), I was forced to take it to the repair shop. It’s still there.

Life is like that; full of a lot of unfinished business. If we are honest with ourselves, there is always something more that needs to be done, and some things will not be finished within our short lifespan. That’s OK. Our purpose is to keep on doing what’s before us as faithfully as our time and talents allow. The rest is up to God.

The LORD God took the man

and put him in the garden of Eden

to work it and keep it.

Genesis 2:15 (ESV)