It takes time

So, when we first moved here to PA I created a list of the things that I would like to start doing that were new to me. I have done almost half! It's been great fun trying each new activity. First, I started a garden, then I learned how to make jam, I learned how to can and I started guitar! I'll have to wait to take up archery until after the baby is born...hahah. Anyways, I'd like to address my garden. At first it was exciting. When I planted those sweet little suckling plants into the ground, I had big plans for them. I would water them and weed them hoping they would grow into strong, healthy plants and boy did they ever. After a while, I started to lose interest because the weeds were so hard to keep up with! Not to mention, it was getting harder for me to move around as my stomach was growing with our child. Finally, I gave up on maintaining the gardening all together and let David do all of the picking and weeding. There were a few occasions I would go out to help, but the truth was I didn't care anymore. It was fun until the responsibility became too great. However, with what was harvested I did great things! I made tomato soup and pickled tomatoes. It was a long and arduous task, but really rewarding. I said all this to say that I've been thinking about something.
Starting a project can be fun! I had goals set and I was very eager to achieve them. But, as soon as it became too hard I got discouraged. It seemed like as soon as I pulled one weed another would pop up in its place. The plants started to grow like swamp monsters and became unruly. Soon, we had to tie them up. Other of our plants were uprooted by the wood animals and killed. And then there were plants that need more care than we were aware of and they didn't produce as well. All in all it was a great learning experience. However, I think that this lesson can be directly applied to our lives and how we live it. And it can also be applied to people in our lives that we invest our time into hoping that they will become something, but instead they let themselves go and lose interest in applying themselves to the task or tasks at hand. Eventually, they become over grown and too unruly to deal with and in the end they have to be uprooted and the ground tilled to start over again. And you think to yourself...how many times does this have to happen before they will learn. Starting from the beginning is so much harder than sticking with what you have and keeping it healthy and maintained.