Prayer-filled Gardening


 Gardens before Weeding

After many rainy days, we finally got some lovely weather.  I woke early to blue, blue skies.  Quickly, I dressed with the intent of attacking the long neglected gardens in the front of the house and along the driveway. 

There is something about being up early in the garden that lends itself to prayer.  I am not sure if it is the quiet or having my hands in Mother Earth, but, like the poem says, I always feel "closer to God in the garden than any place else on Earth." 

As I pulled weeds, cut back dead branches and pruned, I found myself contemplating life and the world. 


Angel Wing Begonia
 
Somewhere in the midst of trimming back the day lilies, the thought came to me that weeding and trimming was much like how we develop our soul.  We pull out the stuff that doesn't work, cut back the things that have grown over and turn under that which is not worth saving. Soul development and gardening, it appeared to me, work the same.  It was an interesting epiphany.

Continuing my work in the quiet of the morning, I began to meditate on several issues I am dealing with at this time.  The manner in which I do this form of meditation is to allow what ever is on my mind to surface, ask that God take care of it, give thanks, returning to silence.  In between weeding between the coleus and dragon's beard, the heaviness of my heart lifted, bring with it a great sense of peace. 

Amazingly, I was done by noon.  While I am sore from all the pulling, lifting, and bending, I have a greater sense of well being than I had when I first got up this morning. 



Last of the Roses

Words from the heart, spoken in silence to the Creator while surrounded by creation are powerful and blessed. I am grateful to have gardening be one of the meditative practices I have incorporated into my life.  

Related articles by Zemanta
Enhanced by Zemanta



Comments

Unknown said…
Its very beautiful Linda. God has gave us the land to play of..and He always listen to us..have a blessed day..
August 27, 2010 at 11:24 PM
Anonymous said…
Hello Linda,

Reading this post was like engaging in prayer. I can feel the letting go and embracing Peace and the gift of Grace in this blessed life.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful meditation!
August 28, 2010 at 11:30 PM
One Woman's Thoughts said…
What a lovely post. Seems like we both find inspiration and peace from nature. May your garden be beautiful and bountiful.
September 3, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul

Image
As we progress through Poetry Month, I have been reading many of my old poetry books. Some are journals into which Momma placed her favorites poems, which are now my favorite poems. One of my absolute top ten poems is: If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft, And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one, and with the dole Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul. This beautiful verse was written by MOSLIH EDDIN (MUSLIH-UN-DIN) SAADI (SADI ) , who was a major Persian poet of the medieval times. It is just one of the many beautiful verses in his book Gulistan ("The Rose Garden") . (Photo Credit) ~~~~~~ Also from Gulistan, is the verse which visitors find at the entrance to the United Nations Hall of Nations. It reads: Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul . If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you have no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot
Read more

Grandchildren Connections - Guest Post

Image
 Today, I have the honor of sharing a guest post with the author of I Can't Wait to Love You Forever, Patricia Eckerman Ambas.  I highly recommend this book both for the content and the illustrations. I wished I had a copy of it way back when I was raising my girls. Patricia is a talented writer. I hope you enjoy her post. Grandchildren Connections Grandparents are powerful forces. The ones who can be the second parents, but more of the love and fun, and less of the discipline. Not even close to being a grandmother yet, I consider myself close to the source of what grandchildren want (as a beloved and loving granddaughter myself) and raising three children who have a close connection with both sets of grandparents. I have two tips to share with you that can begin to cultivate a stronger relationship with your grandchildren.  One of the reasons I’m sharing on this topic is that I’m finding some of my biggest book fans are grandparents. They love buying my books for their grandchildr
Read more

Giving Thanks for Writers - Blog Hop!

Image
Today, Words from the Heart is part of a huge blog hop.  A blog hop is an event where readers have the opportunity to visit a group of blogs that are promoting or celebrating the same thing.  This blog hop is brought to you by the WoMen's Literary Cafe Authors as part of their Gratitude celebration. For our part of the hop, we are honored to post and grateful to host author, Wendy Young .  Wendy's book, Come the Shadows , will be part of our Blog Hop give-away. You'll want to check out the other blogs that are also hosting give-aways! Find out more at the end of this post! Gratitude by Wendy Young This is the time of year where everyone begins to consider the question: What are you thankful for? In my house, now that we’ve started having kids, we try to make it a daily question. Every night we ask our son: What are you thankful for? His answers are quite simple and surprising – even something like his blanket will rate on the list. We’re happy that, so far, both Momm
Read more