My good friend Chris Brekke blogs at: https://pcbrek2020.wordpress.com/
This is from his May 16, 2025 blog (with a few changes and additions):
At our condo in Minnesota there are no outdoor grounds to take care of. Professionals come weekly to mow the grass. There are three rock and bush gardens, but no flower gardens. My wife was an avid gardener back when we had our little farm, so we have adopted (and adapted) a little 4’x8′ corner. It’s next to some steps by the back parking lot. We cleaned the corner up and pulled some weeds. We added a few plants to the hidden leftovers that were remaining on the slope from an old garden. We now have several iris and salvia and day lilies that we water and tend. It is not impressive. It will make no ‘Home and Garden’ magazine. It’s not even our garden, nor were we given authorized permission by The Association to take any action. We’re going with the “ask forgiveness not permission” strategy if someone doesn’t like it. We do think it’s an improvement over weeds and sticks and leaves.
You could say that what we’re doing falls under the “brighten up your corner of the world” philosophy. A small garden is better than no garden, right? We humans are tasked with caring for the earth. The earth is God’s, not ours, but we are the stewards who are to manage it well. Way back at the beginning “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it”(Genesis 2:15). It’s good to get your hands dirty and make good contributions to life. God’s creation needs caring gardeners. Here’s two tips from Scripture on this idea.
1). King Solomon offered this first one. “He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds will not reap. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Ecclesiastes 11:4,6). (In other words, “Those who wait for perfect weather will never get a crop;” illustrating the dangers of overanalyzing and waiting for perfect conditions, which can lead to inaction.) So: don’t stall; be assertive. Go for it. You know not the future and all its factors, but do the good you can while you can. Don’t wait for the wind to be just right, or for all the clouds to part, or for The Association gatekeepers to slow-walk a good idea. Be it gardening or faith-building, get some gumption. St Paul put it this way: “Preach the gospel, be urgent in season and out of season”(II Timothy 4:2). Jesus told the story of the sower who tossed his seed out and about (Mark 4:1-9); not being reluctant to try. Ideas + Initiative = Accomplishment.
Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader. Don’t fall victim to what I call the Ready- Aim-Aim-Aim Syndrome. You must be willing to fire. — T. Boone Pickens
2). The prophet Jeremiah had this to say about gardening: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce” (Jeremiah 29:4-6). What a wise Word. Even when the Israelites were exiled in a foreign land, stuck in an unhappy place, they were to work and garden. So… if you don’t like your house or your neighborhood or your job or your church or your nation… make it better. Engage rather than enrage. Be a builder not a grumbler. God provides for us manifold blessings, and He invites us to join Him in spreading those blessings around. Be it a few flowers on a corner or a new Bible study in the neighborhood or an extra pair of hands at the food shelf, let’s be like our Lord Jesus, who “went about doing good”(Acts 10:38).
I read about a man named Jesus who was always going about doing good. Should I be content with just going about?
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Loving Father, we are blessed to be Your children and to receive Your abundant gifts to us every day. We praise You for Your generosity. Inspire us to join You in making our world a more heavenly place, one garden at a time. In the Way of Jesus. Amen.
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Matthew 5:16 — (Jesus said), “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
“BRIGHTEN THE CORNER” (by Ina Ogden and Charles Gabriel, 1913); sung by the Fountainview Academy singers:
1. Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar;
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain:
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!
2. Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear,
Let not narrow self your way debar;
Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer,
Brighten the corner where you are.
3. Here for all your talent you may surely find a need,
Here reflect the bright and Morning Star;
Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed,
Brighten the corner where you are.
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