This verse from my childhood usually reminds me how glad I am to go to church and Sunday School, but at this time of year I take a broader view of the "house of the Lord".
I'm a gardener and can't wait to get outside to His really big "house" and start putting in vegetable gardens, and tending to all my flower beds. This will involve a lot of hoeing, shoveling as I move plants from one place to another, weeding and watering. The heat of August may dim my enthusiasm a little, but the fall plants will be starting then and fall mornings outside are wonderful! I especially love to be outside in the Spring and Summer and putter in my garden. My daffodils and hyacinths are beginning to bloom (although getting covered in snow and ice won't help) and they'll be followed by lilacs and iris, then the hydrangea and roses. It's about more beauty than I can take!! And the fragances..lilly-of-the-valley, roses, lilacs...who could have made plants with such an array of colors, textures, uses and smells but God? I continually marvel at His handiwork!
I come from a long line of outdoors- loving folks, gardeners and farmers who took God's commandment to subdue the earth seriously. When you visit one of my relatives at this time of year, the first thing you do when getting out of the car is not go inside to visit, but have a tour of the gardens to see what amazing things God's been up to with His plants! Our calendar revolves around garden chores: strawberry or tomato harvest, blackberry picking, putting up the peaches, gathering walnuts or pecans for the winter.
My earliest memories are of some of those things--gathering tubs of peonies and delivering them with grandma and great aunts to the cemeteries for Memorial Day, learning to drive in our farm lanes up to the wild blackberry patch, having bouquets of iris and lilacs Mom would bring inside and we would deliver to neighbors in May baskets. The end of school always brought strawberry picking and jam making and we spent a lot of late nights freezing corn and tomatoes while watching "The Johnny Carson" show'. We ate a lot of watermelons outside sitting in our yard swing and chairs, just enjoying being outside with all God had given us to enjoy.
There's an old hymn with the lines: "I come to the garden alone, when the dew is still on the roses, He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am his own, and the joy we have when we linger there, no other has ever known"
I do feel very close to God when I'm outside and I get such enjoyment from His creation.
Another activity that fills my heart with gladness is reading, and I wanted to share this except from Karen Scalf Linamen and her book, "Welcome to the Funny Farm, The All-True Misadventures of a Woman on the Edge". -
"You know , gardening can be enjoyable labor.
Or, it can feel frustrating and even futile.
A lot depends on whether or not you've got the right tools.
Resources like the right mower, a handy tiller, and adequate water can make a world of difference when you're in the process of nuturing tender growing things.
Cultivating soil with a weedwacker, for example is a recipe for disaster. Cutting grass with cuticle scissors in a one-way ticket to the Funny Farm. And planting bulbs with
a kitchen spoon not only takes twice as long but can make your coffee taste kind of earthy the next morning.
I understand these principles when it comes or organic growth. So why do I forget they apply to spiritual growth as well?
I want to grow, thrive and bear fruit spiritually. But am I equipping myself with the right tools? Or am I trying to do the job armed with a teaspoon and the Sunday funnies? *
What are the power tools of spiritual growth? This list isn't definitive, but I've got a few ideas: Prayer, Fasting, the Word of God, Praise and Worship. Accountability to godly friends. Confession. Bible study. Spending time in the presence of God.
I don't know about you, but some days I think my backyard is a tropical paradise compared to my spiritual landscaping.
Spring is a great time to spruce up the yard. But maybe it's a good reminder to tend to my soul as well.
I was going to spend the afternoon potting a few patio plants. But before I head outdoors, I think I'll spend an hour in my favorite armchair with my Bible and a cup of coffee. It should be a rewarding time.
Even if my coffee does taste like dirt."
*A great gardening tip: When you want to start a new garden bed, but don't want to go to the work of shoveling up the ground/grass, spread multi-layers of newspaper over the area as a weed/grass barrier and then spread bags of potting soil over them and plant as usual. Over time, the newspaper layers kill the grass and decompose, leaving you with a new, weed free garden bed. I've also tried poking holes in the bottom of bags of soil and then splitting them open on top, planting plants in the soil and then covering them with mulch. Even easier, and the plastic kills the weeds/grass underneath as well. At the end of the growing season, just pull the plastic from the soil and ta-daaa! Another planting bed for next year!
I wish you all April gladness and whatever brings you peace and joy with God, go after it!!
I'll be out in the garden with my shovel, humming praise tunes and my heart will be filled with gladness as I spend time my Father, the master gardener who plants so many good things in and for us all!
