I know that gardening has certainly transformed my life. For one, it has taught me patience. I’ve often prayed to God for patience, but I also know that God doesn’t always give us what we ask for in the way we would like it given to us.
I wanted patience. When I started gardening, I made the beginner’s mistake of planting everything close together because I wanted a full garden right from the start. Well, I learned the hard way that you have to plant further apart because plants will grow. And it might take them years to reach their full size. It’s difficult not to learn patience when you have to plan in terms of years, not weeks or even months.
Gardening has taught me good things are worth waiting for, and good things also happen along the way. It’s the journey that matters–the connection to God’s incredible earth and the opportunity to beautify at least a small portion of it.
This message is adapted from “Spirituality of the Garden” written by Sandra Paulson in the September 2012 issue of Gather magazine. Today we remember Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, who died in 1153.
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