Tend to your own

There is something to be said about how clearly we can see what needs to be done in the adjacent yard. Why don't they take care of it? There are weeds, the fence is in need of repair, the trees have not been properly trimmed in years, their leaves are mostly in my yard each Fall, and what about those herbs they planted three years ago, that now have taken over the entire side yard, do they even know how to cook with them? Does any of this sound at all familiar? We have such a clear vision of what others should be doing. Its easy, we spend a good amount of time looking over the fence to see how they are progressing. And when it is pointed out to us what a mess we live in, the excuses that flow off our tongues have been rehearsed so many times we have begun to believe them ourselves. In the letter Paul wrote to some Christians living in or near Thessalonica, he shares three things that speak to this issue of monitoring other's yards. First, he says to mind your own business, second he encourages us to live a quiet life and third, he admonishes us to work with our hands. Pretty clear and simple. Look in our own yards, quietly go about the business of taking care of our own messes, using our hands to work. If only more people would spend more time cleaning up the results of their lack of disciplined garden tending and quietly go about the business of doing the work at hand. What a different world it would be.

Weed and feed

Our souls are at their best when we tend them like a garden. A garden is a living thing, in need of regular attention. The dead leaves need to be raked into the compost area, weeds pulled, soil turned, seeds planted, shrubs trimmed, and fertilizer applied. The best soul fertilizer is the s--t that happens in our lives. When it is turned in with the soil, it is transformed into life-giving nutrients. Why let it stink up our lives when it can be used to make things better. It is empowering to use the hurt, the disappointments, the tragedies and the daily difficulties as the richest fertilizer available for a healthy life. So when things go bad, use it for making the garden of your soul more beautiful. Get a shovel and start today!

Soul restoration

Fixing things up, repairing the damage, bringing it back to life, this is the work of restoration. How do you go about restoring the soul? The heart of our spirit is like a walled secret garden in need of our attention. Vines grow wild, flower beds are filled with weeds, the path is strewn with the leaf litter of many seasons. Where do you start? Clean up is a way into the work, a little raking here and sweeping there, pull a weed or two, find the beautiful stonework beneath the overgrowth. Each action fuels the next. Discoveries of forgotten toys, lost in childhood and benches uncovered with views of the sky reappearing. Pathways are cleared and patterns re-emerge. Our soul is a place of refuge as boundary walls and gates protect us from unwanted intrusions. A well-tended garden anchors us in the midst of life's chaos.

In the cool of the day

It is no wonder that we crave the quietness of a garden. The air is filled with the scents of blossoms and the colors are a delight to our eyes. The mixture of light and shade, the arrangement of the plantings, the texture of the air, it is healing to our souls. A place of refuge, walled off, gated and closed except to the few we trust to linger with us for a brief time. We can be honest in our gardens, we choose what voices to listen to and we accept our limitations. The abundance of our failures makes for great fertilizer. As we forgive ourselves and others, the nutriants from the release fill our soil with potential for new growth. The seasons allow us to bloom with intensity, endure the heat of summer, let go of much in Autumn and rest deeply in the barren cold of winter. The garden becomes a rich metaphor for the wholeness of our souls we so desparately desire.