Well, sort of.  It's been out of  use for the winter...just one season...not an extended period, by any means.  I could have kept some winter crops out there (maybe not...we got some low temps this winter).  But with our recent warming trend, I have spent some time beginning to work soil and clear out debris from last year in preparation for new planting.  It was a little slow going, but helpful to remember that things were planted in small sections last year over a course of nearly 3 months. 

Dh had thought of renting a rototiller to get the ground better prepared, but we hadn't had a chance, so I kept plodding along with shovels, rakes and hoes.  Lots of clods, but maybe I would be able to plant a few things soon.  A couple of days ago, however, he was able to get the tool he wanted, and in only a couple of hours, the whole area had been nicely tilled, and was ready for the leveling that he had hoped to do this year.  Did I mention that dh likes things nice and exact?  He's a craftsman with an "eye for straight", and since we had areas that were too high last year which didn't get water as easily as others, he wanted to improve things this year.  Later today, I'll set about using the laser he borrowed from work to continue the leveling process. 

I wasn't much help during the tilling, but I had lots of time to think while I watched dh work.    Have I mentioned that my garden is a great "thinking place"?  On this occasion, I thought about the parable of the soils, and about the process of preparing "good ground".  At my own slow pace, I would certainly have been able to prepare ground to receive seed and produce.  Little by little, the large area would have been worked, just over a greater period of time.  Nothing wrong with that.  With a power tool (well, gas operated), more work was accomplished, and more planting can be done sooner.  I thought of the Lord preparing hearts to receive His word.  Individuals are often used over a period of time to share with others, perhaps tilling the ground, perhaps planting seed, perhaps watering that seed, but it's a process.  Dh often has times of witnessing in his work that involve sharing and then not seeing a person for many years before he gets another opportunity to share.  God has a way of circling him around so he sees people again.  There are also individuals who share on a large scale.  Perhaps pastors, evangelists such as Billy Graham, Christian musicians, Christian lawmakers.  Some, perhaps, have the opportunity to reach multitudes, and over the years, participate in tilling large patches of "ground".  Events might weigh in the tilling...personal crises and situations on a small scale, perhaps national crises and situations such as terrorism, war, economic decline on a large scale.  God has His way of using various tools to accomplish the work of breaking up the ground of hearts and preparing it to receive His word. 

In this garden season, I can already envision the plants, the fruit, the smells, the joy in the work and the harvest.  How much more, I wonder, does the Lord envision as He prepares, the plants and the fruit, the end result, the harvest?  Praying that He would send out laborers into that harvest!