Tuesday, May 21, 2013

planting (and a bit of gathering)...




We've been busy with our hands in the soil, the good pure dirt of God's planet. And we toil in the sun, sweat dripping down our backs, because we know the many blessings that grace our kitchen table from the soil God has blessed us with. 

It's early yet. We put in. We plant. We move the dirt, place the seed, and lovingly cover it back up. The practice of gardening is a very spiritual practice for me. I feel very close to my Heavenly Father when I spend time tending to this little plot of land He has gifted to us. He speaks to me in the quiet places of the earth, when I'm alone putting little seeds into the earth, covering them, sprinkling down the life-giving water they need to sprout forth and grow into something that will sustain our family.

For me, this quiet, spiritual time is not a time of worshiping nature or the Earth. Rather it's a time of reflection on the great miracle of life and its cycles, its ebbs and flows, its periods of rest and rebirth. And it's most certainly a time of quiet personal worship of the Creator of all of these wonderful things. 

Gardening is an act of worship for me. It's a time when I feel ushered into the presence of my Savior, when I reflect on how amazing and awesome He is, when I reflect on the multitude of miracles He has given us. For a seed planted tenderly in the earth, bringing forth new green life and sustenance is nothing short of a miracle. As is all life. And all life is from Him. 

Father God, I do thank you for the blessing of gardening and growing our own food. I thank you for the provisions. I thank you for the earth to plant in, the rich matter to feed the earth with, and the new life you lift up out of the soil. I thank you for the full freezer and the rows and rows of preserved food that feed us from summer to summer. Father, I pray that during this busy planting, growing, and harvesting season that is coming upon us, that I would not neglect my time with You. And I pray that You would continue to meet me right there in the garden. Amen.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is beautiful Amber. You are worshiping the Creator and not the creation, but you are so grateful to God for it!

Your garden is so nice and large! I can't wait to see pics of it when it grows.

Our Neck of the Woods said...

Gardening is the same for me, too! I definitely agree. I feel like it is such a spiritual experience and I am filled with gratitude when I tend to the land.

Looks like you've been doing a lot of gardening lately! It looks great so far.

Pam said...

So beautiful, and I really relate to what you said. There is something so special about the feel and smell of the earth, and connecting with the Lord is always a part of it to me too. Your pictures are beautiful.

webofbutterflies said...

sorry.....in the previous post i said something about flowers .it was actually for this post..but yes that girl is cute as a flower......and the flowers here in this post are pretty too.......