Sunday Spotlight: Finding God in the Garden by Brent & Wendy Top

Title: Finding God in the Garden – Planting, Pruning, and the Plan of Happiness

Authors: Brent & Wendy Top

Publisher: Deseret Book (May 2010)

Softcover; 125 pages

Genre: Religious Non-Fiction

ISBN# 978-1-60641-230-5

For most areas of the country, the fall harvest is drawing to a close and we are enjoying the bounty of fruits and vegetables that are available.

I am not a gardener by any means. As soon as spring even hints that it’s coming, my good gardening intentions come alive and I’m planning, planning, planning. Every year, though, nothing much comes of it. I’m just too intimidated by all that I don’t know.

Even though I am pretty ignorant about gardening, it was easy to understanding the comparisons in Finding God in the Garden.

The beautiful photos were first to grab my attention, most of which were taken in the authors’ own gardens. Colorful flowers in full bloom, fall leaves in orange and red, winter snow on berries and delicious-looking vegetables decorate nearly every page.

The contents of Finding God in the Garden are broken down into sections:

• Spring-Cleaning
• The Warmth of the Sun
• The Eternal Process of Creation
• “After It’s Kind”
• Light and Life
• Bloom Where You Are Planted
• Weed Whacking
• Don’t Spray Roundup on Your Tomatoes
• Infinite in Variety, Unified in Purpose
• A Wise and Loving Gardener
• New Growth
• Too Much of a Good Thing
• Perennials
• Patience and Impatiens
• The Abundant Harvest
• The Tree of Life
• The Best-Laid Plants
• The Promise of Spring

“One of the best ways that we can cultivate patience is to more keenly observe and appreciate progress and direction rather than obsess about how far away we are from our eternal destination.” – page 91

Though the gardening season is coming to a close and the rest of winter is just around the corner, there is still much to be appreciated in Finding God in the Garden. After all, Christmas is coming and this book would make an excellent gift.

And spring will be here again before we know it.

Rating: 3.5 stars/5

The content was nice, beautiful photos, quick read in one day or bit by bit in sections.