Planting God’s Garden
When the Zeiter family first settled on the land now known as Our Lady’s Ranch, they knew they were going to consecrate it to Jesus through the Blessed Virgin Mary. They walked through the newly purchased, uncultivated plot, praying the Holy Rosary as they went. They were guided by a desire to be united with God through His creation. Adam and Eve were given a similar opportunity: God created them and appointed them stewards of the Garden of Eden.
“The Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of” (Genesis 2:9).
So of course, Our Lady’s Ranch was incomplete without its own vast garden! This month, we planted that garden, and we couldn’t have done it without God’s help and the help of our cherished community of friends and neighbors. In addition to ten members of the ranch, about twenty people volunteered their time—from families to retired couples—and it was such a blessed day. The sun was shining and our smiles were bright as we planted so many fruits and vegetables.
Between the box beds and our little grove of bamboo, we planted all the creepers: butternut squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, snacking cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon!
We also planted several new fruit trees, including Bartlett pears and Fuji apples. Soon we’ll be putting more trees in the ground, including peaches, nectarines, apricots, and pomegranates.
In our box beds we planted potatoes, cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, eggplants, and flowers.
We find ourselves all the more grateful when we recall the original paradise. Unlike us at the ranch, Adam and Eve were not accompanied by fellow gardeners. In addition, not only did Adam fail to protect Eve when the serpent approached her with his deceit, but they both had no Godfearing community to assist them in following God’s will. The serpent exploited Adam and Eve’s imprudence, but also their lack of trust in God, suggesting to them that God forbade them to eat the fruit of knowledge only that they may remain inferior to Him.
The serpent claimed that whoever eats of the forbidden fruit “shall be as Gods” (Genesis 3:5).
How often do we give in to the delusion that we can obtain for ourselves something greater than that which God will provide? So it was with Adam and Eve, who failed to become gods though they heeded the serpent’s advice, and for that matter forfeited the privileges of having already been made in God’s image. Even today, the fall of humanity repeats itself in little ways. When as a society we create and consume synthetic, artificial, unhealthy foods as we please, we might feel like powerful gods at first, but we are like Adam and Eve, merely attempting to be gods and failing.
Planting a garden is a beautiful way to bond with the people we love.
While many worked hard at planting seedlings and saplings, Ali and Claire kept busy in the kitchen making hamburger patties with our delicious grass-fed ground beef.
It was a group effort to grill the patties for the hungry planters.
On Our Lady’s Ranch, we are grateful to eat what God has given us to eat. Indeed, we love raising grass-fed cattle and growing clean veggies. But even more we love the good people that our good food brings together. We are so thankful for this vibrant community and can’t wait for more opportunities to work together in little events like these!
Blessings and Peace to You,
Mario John Chris
PS: I’m so excited to introduce myself as a new writer with OLR and share my testimony in our next blog post! Be sure to check back for that within the next few weeks. 😃