We received our call to serve in the Hawaii Laie Mission two months ago. We were given four months to prepare. Back in April, it seemed that August was a lifetime away. The time is passing quickly and seems to pass faster as each week rushes by. I remember thinking that 120 days was far too many, that I could be ready by the next weekend, and “how am I ever going to kill four months”. Luckily, I’ve had my garden to occupy my time. I’ve spent countless hours poking around in the dirt, pulling weeds, watching for insect damage, and doing one project or another like grouting flagstones in one corner or changing a sprinkler layout in another. I’ve also rebuilt a few of the garden beds. Before long we’ll be harvesting vegetables and picking flowers.

I have always had a love for gardening, I think it’s in my DNA. My ancestors were avid gardeners. My grandfather and his brothers operated a small grocery store in southeastern Kansas during the depression years. I have a photograph of them on the way to market with a wagonload of goods to sell. Those were tough times, and I can imagine they barely hung on. I have a great, great aunt who opened a flower shop in the same town, and then built the Handley Greenhouses. For several generations the family sold flowers for all occasions including funerals and weddings.

When I was young, my parents allowed me a small patch of ground in the backyard to have a garden. I would spend hours upon hours digging and planting. At one time there were photographs of those early attempts at gardening, but I have long lost them. When we purchased our current home in 1989, the house was surrounded on all four sides with lawn. The only break in the sod was where the driveway crossed our lot from the street to the garage. Over the years I’ve systematically dug in flower beds, raised vegetable beds, a waterfall and pond, and various other features. At one time we even had a small orchard in one corner. I find solace in the garden. Many of my deepest thoughts have occurred while sweating out my energy in the hot sun. I love to see things grow, and I love to enjoy the rich harvests of summer and fall.

Back to the topic of the mission, I’ve been pondering why I must wait so long before we depart. Other than shopping for some clothes and putting our affairs in order, why do we have so much time on our hands? In our gospel studies this year we’ve been working our way through the Old Testament. We’ve spent a lot of time in the first five books, commonly referred to as the Books of Moses. The Exodus from Egypt is an important story. We are taught to relate these Bible experiences to our own lives and draw on the words of the prophets as relevant teachings in our own day. If I consider the Exodus as an archetype experience, what is the lesson for me? Over the years and through the recent months I’ve developed my own thoughts on the Israelite journey through the Wilderness. Perhaps the reason it took 40 years is because it required a few generations not to get out of Egypt, but to get Egypt out of the Israelites. There are indications they picked up some bad habits during the 400 years they lived in Egypt. The Wilderness represents our own passage through life. Just like the Israelites were seeking the Promised Land, so too are we. Maybe I need these four months to get things of the world out of me and conform my life to that of a missionary.

The Wilderness can be a lonely, uninhabited, and scary tract of desolate land. But on the other side lies that sweet paradise we call the Promised Land. I’ve decided there are no short cuts and no way around it. If we want to get to the Promised Land, the only way is through the Wilderness. It’s those things that happen in the Wilderness that change us, that try us, and prove us. The Wilderness can take various shapes and sizes. My Wilderness experience is varied and diverse. At times I feel I am passing through multiple overlapping Wildernesses. The Wilderness is always changing, and in the process of my journey I also change, hopefully to a better and more fully developed individual.

I think I could have been ready to depart for Hawaii within a week of receiving our assignment, in a materialistic sort of way. But I don’t think I would have been ready to serve as a missionary without proper preparations. Virginia and I are passing through a wee bit of Wilderness now that is preparing us for that Promised Land across the great Pacific Ocean. The time we are given is helping us develop missionary discipline and change our mindset and attitudes. In fact, I’m wondering if we have enough time to shape our behaviors into the manners of representatives of our Savior.

And so, I spend a lot of time studying my scriptures, meditating, and praying. But I can only do that for so long and then I lose my focus and determination. That’s where the garden helps. It gives me an outlet to burn off energy in a constructive manner and still provides time to contemplate where I’m going and what I’ll be doing in the next two years. From one Wilderness to another the journey continues, and I’ll be gardening all along the way. I hope I find the opportunity to dig a little in the soil over in Laie.