The Soil of Adversity

I decided I would try to grow some tomatoes on my patio, went out and bought pots, plants, soil, and all the other appropriate things that are required to grow tomatoes.  I also bought some houseplants, a diffenbachia and one of those vine things.  In spite of my history as a plant killer, I have decided that all it takes is practice.  I read the instructions, did everything I was supposed to do.  Now it appears I may have had some oversights in my ability to grow stuff. Again.  The diffenbachia was promptly eaten by my cat, who threw up the remnants on my rug, the vine thing put out some little tendrils then decided it didn't like me, and curled up into little brown leaves.  The tomatoes however, seem to be growing well.  In spite of the instructions, I did my own thing with them. The instructions clearly state "Plant in full sun."  But I noticed that they were shipped from some place other than the desert, and adjusted the sun requirements accordingly.  Full sun in Tucson, Arizona means instant incineration, even in March.  So I planted them in the shade.  Seems to be working.

While I was watering them this morning, I thought about my own planting.  I mean that where I am, is not where I ever intended to be (In the desert instead of the mountains) and what I planned for my life, is nothing that I had envisioned.  God decided a long time ago, that I needed some adversity in my life.  Or that is what I am assuming, since that seems to be what I have encountered every step of the way since I have been here.

My general physical qualities don't match anything that should be in the desert.  My dermatologist looked at me once and said "What on earth are you doing here?"  Meaning that Redheads don't belong in full sun, they require grassy slopes, water, and shade.  Somehow I seem to have overcome the heat, even though I have to spend most of my time indoors between March and November, or only venture out with the night creatures and those crepusucular animals like bats and rabbits.

But what amazes me most is the spiritual soil I have been planted in.  And not just myself, but most of my friends.  Life has not been easy in this town as a single parent, as a single adult, as a single christian.  Tucson does not lend itself to those with limited income, and it usually takes two incomes to survive, and yet, I have thrived, as have my children.  I have struggled, but more often than not there have been miracles worked on my behalf that let me know without a doubt, that God planted me here, and He intended for me to thrive.

Most Tucson families are couples, who both work, and leave their children home to their own devices.  Somehow I managed to get by on one income, and spend time with my children, and with the children of those who decided that income was more important than spending time with those children. Somehow the garden of my little hovel became a shelter for those who had none.  Somehow they seem to have thrived also.  In spite of adversity in our lives, God intends for us to prosper, in all ways.


I don' think that He made any particular plans to make me miserable so that I would comply with His requests.  But I do know He made plans for my dealing with the heat, and the loneliness I would go through as a single parent, even down to the last little frustration.  He made a way in the desert for me and my family.  He brought me here a single person, and created a tribe.  And all of it was done in the soil of adversity.

Do I ever wish things had been or will be easier?  Of course!  I am only human, wanting all the things that other humans want, with perhaps a little more sunscreen than most.  But when I settled back and began to actually follow the Leader so to speak, things did get easier.  Not that the soil had changed, but I had learned to adapt, or as Paul the Apostle put it, I learned to be content in all things.

Are you a diffenbachia in the hands of a plant lunatic?  Or are you a tomato on God's patio?
Copyright © 2011 by Susan Linn-Gomez. All Rights Reserved.