Submitted by Pastor Cathy Riggins, Good News Church and Westboro Methodist Church

Happy Summer all! Summer is my favorite season for so many reasons – the weather, baseball games, but honestly, one of my favorite things about summer is the fresh produce. My husband is really good at gardening; our yard right now looks like a paradise! There are seedlings sprouting up everywhere, and it already has my mouth watering thinking of all the flavors we will be enjoying soon!

We certainly have had enough rain this last week to make this all possible. One of my favorite phrases from the Bible, is from Isaiah in the Old Testament: “…thou shalt be like a watered garden.” Contemplating this while observing all the new growth surrounding our house started me thinking about gardening as a metaphor for spiritual growth.

When I asked him why he thought his gardening was so successful, his directions were simple. First, he has learned the importance of having and preparing the good soil. Secondly, sun and water are important. While these can come from nature, it can help to position the plant in a spot where it is most likely to enjoy the amount of sunlight and drainage it requires. Sometimes it also helps to water it, if there is not enough rain. Lastly, he weeds, at least before the weeds go to seed, but preferably by removing them regularly when they are small.

All these steps have their spiritual correlation. What can we do to help prepare our soil for the good seed? A great starting point is to trust God with an open heart regarding where He has planted us and what He is doing in our lives. Be gratefully conscious of all the nurturing light, warmth and refreshment ever available from the divine source. Filter out and remove any rocks or impediments in your thinking that would obstruct God’s bountiful providence for you. Mix in compost: your past rendered inert – decomposed to mere mulch – so you can concentrate completely on glorifying God in the present. Then feed thought with the fertilizer of prayer and supplication, inspired ideas, spiritual study and profound ponderings, which will give you much fodder to draw on in the inevitable growth process.

We are all spiritual cultivators. We are to keep the weeds of lower tendencies out so we can focus on what is good, true, just, pure, and beautiful, to reap the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, gentleness, faith and so forth.

May we all thrive and flourish and bloom and bless – with well-tended spiritual gardens – bearing great fruit with increase!