Onions

We were driving past our neighbors last week, and Tim said 'Our neighbors haven't mowed their onions yet' (he called them by name, but they would probably rather be left anonymous due to the scandalous act of not having their onions mowed). I let the remark pass without commenting, for I knew we also had not 'mowed our onions yet'. The thought of it meant we were heading into spring. Longer days of spring means grass is popping up. The weekly task of mowing has begun. For me it is usually therapeutic with the hum of the mowing deck, and the smell of fresh cut onions.

We live out in the country. God generously put a carpet of various grasses, including onions, on the face of our lawn to prevent erosion. The thought of killing some of the grasses to allow more desirable grasses to grow doesn't interest me, even if it contains onions. I appreciate the carpet God made. At this point in my life, I have no desire to try and edit what God created. When we built our house, we went to the trouble of planting beautiful zoysia grass. Tim thought he would spray the yard with fertilizer to help the zoysia establish itself, and grow faster. We wanted to pamper our yard like our neighbors. When he finished spraying, he realized he had made a mistake. Instead of spraying it with fertilizer, he had sprayed it with weed killer. The weed killer considered our beautiful, landscaping quality zoysia grass a weed. It just about made him sick when he figured out what he had done. As a result, our yard is now a mixture of bermudagrass, onions, and other weeds. It seems some people are suppose to have onions in their yard to mow.

Early in spring, all around our house, wild onions pop up everywhere. They are some of the first green growth to come out of the brown earth. Living in the country, wild onions are as plentiful as sweet gum balls. Both sweet gum balls and onions can leave undesirable results when using a lawn mower. Sweet gum balls can be more dangerous than firecrackers, and an aggravation to dogs roaming the yard. Mowing onions, to some people, are an unpleasant aroma as the blades chop off the top of the onion plant. For me, the smell of fresh mowed onions is an inviting and invigorating smell. Fresh mowed onions means spring is here. Fresh mowed onions means new life is coming. Fresh mowed onions means a new beginning. Fresh mowed onions means a fresh look to a scraggly yard. Fresh mowed onions means tan lines are coming soon. Fresh mowed onions means it is time to start hoping for an abundant garden season. Fresh mowed onions, what a welcome smell. Come on spring!

Life has it's own seasons, but no season of life is as wonderful as a good spring season. Spring is a time of renewal, and new growth. I've seen spring come to visit my family. We've had family members leave our lives for a variety of reasons, and suddenly come back. We've had marriages almost destroyed, and by God's grace the commitment renewed and strengthened. We've buried family members young and old, and we've rejoiced in the birth of many babies. We've all made bad decisions, and yet God restores our fellowship with him, if we seek his forgiveness.  We've taken our focus off Christ, and had an intercessor pray and point us back to Him. We've seen sick family members healed. We've experienced career disappointments, only to be blessed by an unexpected job opportunity. While we sometimes find ourselves in a winter season of life, we often forget spring follows winter. If you find yourself in the dark dreary days of winter, hang on. I am here to testify spring can, and will come. I cannot say when or how, but it will come. It may seem like the winter days drag on forever. I have felt the long never-ending days of winter in my life. The warmth, and renewal, of a spring season didn't seem to exist. My winter season rut seemed to extend into the foreseeable future. There seemed no end to the painful, cold, brutal, frustrating, bitter, lonely, and harsh winter season. All I can say is hold on for a little longer, and you can rejoice when you smell the fresh mowed onions. The first hint of spring. The time of renewal you've been waiting for will greet you.

A Time for Everything 

1There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity under the heavens: 

2a time to be born and a time to die, 

a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

3a time to kill and a time to heal, 

a time to tear down and a time to build, 

4a time to weep and a time to laugh, 

a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, 

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 

6a time to search and a time to give up, 

a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

7a time to tear and a time to mend, 

a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

8a time to love and a time to hate, 

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8