A December garden is a blank canvas, flat and empty. It waits for me to provide the palette, much like an adult coloring book. The December garden has no real texture. It lacks the visual interest of plants of various heights and widths. It is a visual representation of the first verses of Genesis: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void, and darkness covered the face of the deep.”
Narrowing my eyes, I evaluate the landscape of the past year and plan for the next. This past growing year, I’ve had small successes and monumental failures. When even your zucchini crop is a flop, you know it’s been a bad year.
The world in December is also a blank canvas, reflecting the small successes and monumental failures of humanity. We can narrow our eyes and open our hearts to imagine next year’s “garden.” What will be our palette? The primary colors of community activism and participation? The soothing pastels of prayer and meditation? I narrow my eyes, but not my mind.
This message is excerpted from “Blank canvas” by Terry L. Bowes in the December 2016 Gather magazine.
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