George Washington's Garden - the Four P's of Providence

During colonial times, the word providence was always capitalized to refer to God's actions in history. The story you are about to read was designed to teach the Providence of God to children.  But - it is a story for all the young at heart.

​One bright, spring day young George Washington ran out the back door of his home and down a little hill. He waited for his father to catch up to him where they always planted the spring garden. Together, they sat down under the shade of a nearby tree to PLAN what they would put in the garden that year.  In one corner of the garden, they planned to put tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini squash. In the second corner of the spring garden, they planned string beans, peas, and lima beans. Mustard greens, collard greens, and turnip greens were planned for the third corner of the garden. The last corner was reserved for the little boy's favorite, corn for corn on the cob.

​Oh, young George Washington could already smell the hot roasted ears of corn and taste the melted butter as it ran down the cob onto his fingers. Hmmm!!  He could hardly wait!  BUT - if all they did was Plan for that garden. He would never be able to enjoy corn on the cob.

They had to do more than plan. Father & son had to PREPARE for the garden.  They went to the tool shed and gathered a rake, a shovel, and a hoe.  They broke up clods of dirty, leveled the ground with the rake and made nice straight rows with the hoe.  When all was prepared the seed was planted exactly according to plan. 
​Now the garden was planned and the land prepared, but even that was not enough.  They had to PROVIDE for the little Spring garden.  And - that was the young boy's job!  In other words, he had to care for the garden for it to grow and produce a crop.  Everyday into the long hot sticky days of summer, George watered & weeded the garden.  But one day when George came out to care for the garden, he was shocked to find some little critter had nibbled the green leaves and even eaten some of his precious corn on the cob. What could have done it?  Was it a rascally raccoon with a black mask, or rabbit with long, twitching ears or maybe it was a doe? Could it have been a mother dear with big soft brown eyes?  No matter, the garden would have to be PROTECTED.

​George & his father went back to the tool shed and brought back lumber, nails, hammers, and saws. Together, they made a picket fence. Why they may have even painted it white. The fence protected the garden from the midnight snacks of little furry creatures.  George gathered all the tools to take them back to the shed.  But - out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father kneeling in the dirt. With a stick, his father wrote the name G E O R G E  on the ground.  Taking grass seed out of his apron, his father planted the seed in the letters on the ground.  George's father stood up, patted him on the back and walked off without saying a word.
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​Many days later young George came out the back door of the house and down the little hill to water and weed his garden.  Wow! Much to his surprise, he found large green letters spelling out the name George. 
"Father," he called. ​And - his father came running. "look there on the ground big green letters spelling out my name," said George.

​The father looked at him with a big smile and said, "George, I want you to always remember that God deals with us just as we dealt with the garden, by design," in other words Providence. 

That day young George Washington learned a very important lesson about God. ​You see everything that was done for the garden, God does for us.

​God has a plan for your life. He will prepare you for that plan if you let Him.  He provides for you, and He is most able to protect you.  

Do you remember?  What are the 4 Ps of Providence?  PLAN, PREPARE, PROVIDE, PROTECT.

​It was a matter of legend that George Washington's father planted seed in the letters of George's name written on the ground.  The purpose was to teach his son that God's actions were by design or Providence. The rest of the story was just for fun. 

Blog by: Belinda Ballenger  (c) copyright 1990