Meditation Monday – May 30, 2021

“The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live int it; for he founded it upon the seas and established on the waters.”

Psalm 24:1

Most people who know me know that I love to garden. Right now my garden is a bit of a mess, and I’m not super willing to have anyone see it until it looks better. This year I expanded it and have been moving plants around so it looks bare and quite far from the picture I have in my mind of lush cottage gardens, neat vegetable beds, and a mature herbal garden.

While gardening can feed my soul in ways that are hard to describe to non-gardeners, I don’t always remember to slow down, to breathe in the scents of the flowers, or just sit in the mess and enjoy the process. Sometimes I even ignore weeding and watering the plants; thus depriving them of their basic needs. Distraction and urgency easily turn what should be a sacred and creative moment in my gardens into just one more thing to cross off my to do list.  When I am in a “gitter done mode,” I don’t sit back on my heels and savor the garden. I ignore taking time to do the very thing that brings me joy and rejuvenation.

We live in a world that often sees any bare space as useless and non-productive. We are prone to  fill every void quickly…with stuff, busyness, activity, conversation, distractions, commotion and any number of well-meaning goings-on. As a result, we lose the restorative power of sitting back on our heels and just being in our gardens.

My quiet time with God can also become just a thing to cross off my to do list. During these times it is like I am  just “doing devotions” instead spending time with God and listening to Him. We know God freely chooses to love us regardless of the state of our inner gardens. He offers spiritual hydration when our souls feel dry. He gives us perspective when we’d rather give up on the hard work of working on relationships. When I take the time to just sit in His presence, my perspective on just about everything is open to His guidance and love.

God sees all the bare spots in our souls and offers us grace, day after day after day. Today I invite you to give yourself permission for some downtime and sing “Alleluia!” Alleluia! to The One who invites us to savor His presence in all things. Amen.