Finding Encouragement

Lovely little ladybug
sent from heaven above,
please watch over my garden
and fill it up with love.
– Author Unknown

I think that it’s pretty much common knowledge that ladybugs are seen as omens of good luck. I love ladybugs. In fact, we call my daughter Bug. For her very first Halloween, she was dressed as a ladybug (see photo below). Her given name is Delaney, so we called her LaneyBug. And it stuck! She spent her childhood dressed in ladybug apparel and surrounding by ladybugs in her room – sheets, rug, pictures, books, stuff animals. I still pick-up the occasional set of ladybug notecards, jewelry, and trinkets for her.

So when I see a ladybug, I am always delighted.

The first heavy day of labor on my garden was March 14. Cooper was home from college for spring break, and I coaxed him into helping me. I needed his strength to run an auger into the red clay of Oklahoma in order to set the poles for my garden fence. It was a long, productive day. As we were cleaning up and putting our supplies away for the night, I spotted this little ladybug on one of our new posts. Sheer delight. Personally, I took it as a little sign from God. Just the sign I needed. Urging me on. Encouraging me. Letting me know that He was in the moment, blessing my efforts.

What encourages you at the end of a long day of gardening?