Friday, June 20, 2014

Dear God,

After clearing space in my flower garden, I have the chance to plant amazing flowers, plants, and shrubs.  I have to use a few guidelines in order to have a thriving garden.  I can't plant flowers that need sun in a shaded area or I will stunt its growth.  If I plant a shade plant in the sun, I can kill it in due time.  Besides watering, deadheading, and cultivating my plants, I can watch them take root and provide beautiful displays of color and texture.

The same process works in the spiritual life.  I have to clear space in my soul for new life.  After cutting away the dead wood and adding compost and potting soil, I am ready to plant new life into me.  This is where you assist us.  You give us an abundance of good things to plant inside ourselves.  For example, you offer us tolerance and tolerance can produce great beauty in our souls.  Tolerance can make us understanding, patient, compassionate, loving, and accepting.  It can make us better listeners and better lovers of those around us.

One of the great gifts you give to us is the gift of discernment.  You help us know when it is time to let go, to surrender, and to make space for something new in our lives.  You give us all a green thumb where we can grow and bring forth good things.  When we trust you to help us remove all the deadness, show us where and how we can make new space, and give us guidance as to what we need in our souls, you begin the whole process of new life within us.  We can grow in ways we never could have imagined.  We can live again and sprout those things that give evidence of our growth.  Our renewal can give not only new life to us but also serve as a model for growth in others.

Good God,
you are
so good
to us.
We may
not always recognize
your spirit
working in us
but when
we do,
we are overcome
with thanksgiving.
Pruning will hurt
but the benefits
of pruning
far outweigh
the temporary effects
of the cut.
Keep our
eyes open
so we
may catch
the spiritual cues
that can change
our lives forever.

Love always, Andrea