Thriving...in Spite of It

I find that the quiet, soothing shade of a garden is the easiest of places to sit and talk with God. I love to go out early, before the dawn, and watch and listen as night transforms into morning. No matter how cold it is, there I am, on the back porch, bundled up in flannel and blankets, before makeup and hairdos happen, before text messages and emails begin constantly beckoning, even before the dog is awake to claim my attention. It's worth it, to hear the crickets and frogs give way to birds, to see a warm glow stretching out and pushing away the shadows, the same way God's mercy sweeps away the dark things in our past. As I huddle with my cup of coffee in the dim glow of a Bible app, I can't help reflecting on His goodness. I am in awe that His "mercies are new every morning." (Lamentations 3:23). Just like the sunrise,  it happens every day. Every single day.   The second garden is just as important as Eden, the first, because it is a place of transformat...

There is something in us all that is drawn to a garden. We spend hours on Pinterest, hundreds at Home Depot, and thousands on vacations and ventures, in search of finding or creating a little piece of paradise, where we can sink our toes into the cool grass and breathe in the fragrances that make us think, consciously or not, "This must be what Heaven is like." This month, we will explore the root cause of such quests (no pun intended), by unraveling the mysterious connection between us and three particular gardens (in the Bible). I was evidently taking a nap or hiding with a book somewhere when the green thumbs were passed out, so every season involves clearing away the wilted or crunchy attempts at gardening and replacing them with fresh unsuspecting little plants and blooms to improve my home's curb appeal (more like HGTV, less like the Munster's house). Nevertheless, I'm still THAT person who slows down to take pictures of fields of wildflowers, or, on ...

I start every morning on the back porch with a cup of coffee and my Bible. Even though I live in the suburbs, there is no shortage of wildlife activity at that time of day (and I'm not talking about the neighborhood party animals dragging themselves home).  While a squirrel and bluejay engage in their daily skirmish on top of the fence, squabbling over whatever tidbit the squirrel has just found, birdsongs fill the trees. Occasionally, one of them will come out his cover and find a perch on a nearby rooftop, so he can maximize his volume well enough to irritate even the soundest sleeping  of all the snoozing teenagers on the block. It's a cheerful setting. Over the past few weeks, though, my curiosity began to grow. Whenever I heard a bird singing, I would wonder, is that the robin, or the cardinal? Or is it the mockingbird, imitating one or both of them?  The App Store is a wonderful thing...almost as wonderful as Wikipedia ;) In the modern style of self-educ...