Hubby and I planted our garden about a month ago. Since then, the slugs have been voraciously feasting on any young tender green sprout. They’ve eaten away all of my sunflower sprouts, almost all my bean sprouts (except 3 or 4), they’ve eaten away half of my little tomato seedlings.
Last week I went out and completely re-planted all of the beans, all of the sunflowers, and the rest of the tomatoes.
Also last week I began to daily patrol my garden and the perimeter looking for slugs.
The best time to go “slug hunting” is first thing in the morning when everything is damp and dewy. It was astonishing how many slugs I gathered out of my garden! Where are they all coming from?? And I gathered almost double that amount around the perimeter of the garden! Where are they all coming from??
I gathered so many first-thing in the morning, that I started going out mid-day, and then again at dusk right before it gets dark. Every one of those times I wound up gathering about 20-30 slugs in my metal pie pan. Where are they all coming from??
No way am I throwing them off the cliff into the ravine this time! I don’t want any chance of these devourers coming back to my garden. They’re going in the garbage!
Every day for the past week and a half I have been going out first thing in the morning (with my metal pie pan and gloved hand), again at mid-day, and again at dusk … and every . single . time . I have wound up with a haul!
Surely after a while you would think I would get them all?? You would think.
Where are they all coming from??
I was out there again this morning … and wound up with 20. I’ve long since gathered up all the adult slugs. Now I’m down to all the itty bitty baby slugs. And those things are hard to find! If it wasn’t for the black weed-block fabric in the garden there is no way I would be able to spot them. They are basically little tiny miniscule blobs. You have to look very very closely to spot them. (those itty bitty blobs can still do a lot of damage!)
Yesterday I was suddenly struck with an epiphany as to the “Why??”
In an “Ah-ha!” moment I realized this is our own doing. We are dealing with a mistake we made in a previous season. A mistake we didn’t even know we were making.
The dirt in our garden has not been very good. So logically it seemed wise to put the fallen leaves on the garden each Fall. The decomposing leaf matter would add nutrients to the soil. So, this is what we have done the past two years.
However, the leaves always fall from the trees in October after the winter rains have begun. Which means we are gathering up soppy soggy leaves – the perfect place for slugs to nestle down for their winter snooze.
For the past two Fall seasons we’ve gathered up all those soppy soggy leaves and transported them over to the garden. And in so doing, we were gathering up all the slugs from across our entire yard! And putting them all in the garden! Is that not crazy!!
And in the garden was plenty of decaying plant matter for them to feast on throughout the winter and early Spring! So that they could multiply!
We made a huge mistake … and we didn’t even know it!
And now we are dealing with the consequences of the mistake we made in a previous season.
When it comes to life itself, the same thing happens. We make mistakes in one “season” of our life … only to wind up dealing with the consequences of that mistake in a later “season.”
Perhaps we make some poor financial decisions or we make some credit card/loan mistakes in one “season” of life … and now we are dealing with the consequences of that mistake in a later “season” of life.
Or … maybe we make some relational mistakes in one “season” of life … only to have to deal with the consequences of those mistakes in a later “season.”
Or … maybe we make some dietary/health mistakes in one “season” of life … and wind up having to deal with the consequences of those mistakes in a later “season.”
It’s not hopeless.
Even though hubby and I made a mistake by unknowingly putting all the slugs from across our entire yard on the garden the past two Fall seasons … even now it’s not hopeless. There is always hope.
It is taking diligence and dogged determination! I will persevere!
It is taking commitment to daily (3 times a day!) patrol the garden and gather up slugs! But I am succeeding!
It is taking awareness and observation! I have to be very aware and very observant to find those itty bitty baby slug-blobs! Because if I don’t get them now, they’ll grow! They’ll get big! And they’ll destroy what’s beautiful and growing in my current season.
It is taking time! To be honest, it’s not fun to go patrolling my garden daily. It takes time I could be doing other profitable things. But if I want a successful garden, this is what it takes!
It is taking patience.
It is taking a willingness to do something unpleasant. It’s not pleasant to pick up slugs … even with a gloved hand.
So also, in the same way, when we make mistakes in a previous “season” of our life, and we wind up dealing with the consequences of those mistakes in a later “season” of life, it is not hopeless. There is always hope!
It will take diligence and dogged determination!
If our mistake was financial debt, it will take diligence and dogged determination to deal with and overcome that mistake. It is not hopeless. If our mistake was relational and we now have a huge relational mess … it will take diligence and dogged determination to work on those broken relationships. If our mistake was not taking care of our health, etc. etc. … it will take diligence and dogged determination to work on correcting the damage to our health.
It will take faithful commitment! Just like I am having to be committed to faithfully patrol, so also when it comes to dealing with our life mistakes from a previous “season” we have to be faithfully committed in our efforts!
It will take awareness and observation! If our mistake in a previous “season” was financial, we have to be aware and observant as we work to pay off the loans and mitigate the debt. If our mistake was relational, we have to be aware and observant if we want to restore and bring healing to severed/broken relationships. If our mistake was health-wise, we have to be aware and observant going forward!
It will take time! The mistakes we make in previous “seasons” of life aren’t corrected quickly. It will take time.
It will take patience! We have to be faithful to stay the course, and be patient.
It will take a willingness to do something unpleasant! If our mistake in a previous “season” was financial, it will be unpleasant for us to stop spending and go without certain things in order to pay off the debt.
If our mistake was relational, it will be unpleasant to have hard, awkward conversations. It will be unpleasant to reach out (repeatedly) only to be ignored and dismissed. It will be unpleasant to do the work to restore the mistake.
If our mistake was health-wise, it will feel unpleasant for us to change dietary habits. It will be unpleasant to start an exercise routine. etc. etc. …
All of us have made mistakes in previous “seasons” of life. Every one of us. And all of us will wind up dealing with consequences of mistakes from a previous “season.”
Whatever our mistakes are from a previous “season”, it’s not hopeless. There is always hope.
