The last post I wrote was centered on our wonderful wisteria: The wisteria was truly remarkable this year. It completely took over the arbor. The flowers were spectacular, drooping their elongated blooms over every side and even into our neighbor’s yard. It was a dream come true for me, really, because for the first time, it looked exactly howI had envisioned it when we planted it over twenty years ago.
Before it bloomed, I had a plan: I had wanted to cut it back at least 50% and take down half of the arbor so that we could use that fertile area away from the black walnut trees to plant a garden this spring.
But once it bloomed, how could I? It was like a fantasy arbor, a large, shady grove, fragrant and cool. I know how important it is to grow a garden this year, but it had taken so long to grow this, and I reasoned that maybe I could put a garden in somewhere else, maybe a friend would rent me a spot. I spent some time taking pictures and just being out there under it.
I knew that the time had come to get the garden in the ground. I knew it would take a while to remove the bigger part of the wisteria (if it were even possible!), and then prepare the soil for a garden. And still I waited. It was so beautiful. The best ever.
And then it really rained, and the wind blew. And since I hadn’t harvested them, all of those beautiful blossoms filled with water. The water weight was too great combined with the influence of the wind, and the arbor went down on one end, and then pulled one of the posts sideways, and continued to slowly fall, over the next few days.
Even in its demise, it was remarkable. I struggled for a few days about how to take care of it, and even though it was on the ground, every time I would look out back I would marvel. What an incredible gift, and what a spectacular fall!
I kept thinking of a phrase, “And the rain came down. . .and the wind blew. . .and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” Jesus spoke these words in the parable of the house built on the rock vs. the house built upon sand in the book of Matthew, chapter 7. The house, of course, represents the life of the man. One man builds his life upon the sayings of Jesus Christ, who is the rock which shall not be shaken, and the other builds upon the sand, which represents the shifting values of man’s opinion, based upon whatever happens to be en vogue at the moment.
I know it wasn’t wrong to want a beautiful wisteria. But it was much more important for me to have a big garden in the best part of the yard. I had already decided that. So cutting back the wisteria was a greater good, but I wavered because of the spectacular beauty it displayed this year.
After it fell, I had no problem cutting the wisteria back by 50%; in fact, I couldn’t even save that much of it. It was so entwined with the arbor that much of it was destroyed as it fell. And what survived had been supported by the arbor; without the arbor, it would just lay on the ground, and that was never going to work. In the end, we cut it back to the main vine, and will wait to see if it will grow back.
But now we can have a garden. I’m grateful that God made it easier for me to justify cutting it back. And to make it even easier for me to handle, He gifted us the most beautiful wisteria ever. Sigh. I’m so glad I spent time enjoying it, and taking pictures!
And while I’m a little sad, I’m also anticipating the best garden we’ve had in 20 years!
The Fullers Four 