Weathering Gourds and Life

Drying gourds takes time.  The best way I've found is to leave them on the vine until they dry up at the stem. Most of the ones I have to work with right now actually stayed in the field through the winter months. They were moved away from sitting in too much water but for the most part they look pretty bad as they go through the process.  Some mold and yes some don't make it.  After they've dried I do wash them down a bit to get rid of any mud and debris but then I just put them into large garbage bags to store them under my work desk until I pick one to scour and clean a little more thoroughly so I can make something with it.

The two large gourds I got recently won't be ready to do anything with until next year.  It really is a waiting process.  When I first got them a few weeks back they were so fresh and taunt,  glowing skins and possibilities.  But despite all the potential I still have to wait it out.

It's a lot like life really.  I can want to hurry through it but it just won't work.  The mundane, tiresome molding and aging process is not skippable. All the rough patches are needed to help prepare us and them. The beauty at its end simply cannot be achieved without that time period.

I have to admit that I am a bit of a control freak though.  I have a problem giving up the process and trusting that time and God will take care of it. Having faith in the unknown and realizing that I am not in charge of and responsible for everything in my life is one of my biggest issues.

I want to believe that everything will be ok but even if you can see the beautiful work of art and reward waiting at the end for you it still gets hard.  Believing that my worries and trials warrant the attention of God and that I'm not just in a big game of chance is also pretty nerve wracking.

A lot of days it's hard to believe, period.  I see the final products of the wait and worry,  the pain of weathering and I try to make myself remember that it is worth it.  There's no quick fix,  no way to speed the process,  just like those gourds you just have to let the rain fall, the wind blow, feel the cold and the heat and accept that you will be changed and yes survive. 

It's a process of faith. Weathering gourds and life.

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