STEP ONE: BREATHE

Take a deep, cleansing breath. Allow the air to fill your lungs and expand your body. Exhale and empty yourself into the room. Repeat three times - once for the one who Created you, once for the Incarnate One who walks beside you, and once for the Spirit whose life fills your being.

STEP TWO: DWELL IN WORD

“The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” ”

— Mark 4: 28–29

GROWTH

Abundance. Bloom. Lush. Everywhere you look in my backyard there are multiple shades of vibrant green and splashes of color (white, red, pink, and purples). Hydrangea and peony have grown to the size of bushes and contribute softball-sized flowers as a backdrop to the annuals planted in front. Large green and white leaf hostas line the beds. I can go on with this escalating description of the plethora of beauty that is present in my yard these days. But I will stop. I don’t want to risk losing your attention or having your eye roll cause you to lose your place on the page.

It is just when I look outside in this time of late spring (astronomical summer doesn’t arrive until late June), it is hard for me not to be effervescent in my descriptions. I am deeply grateful for the growth and plenty that can be seen everywhere in my backyard. I’m sure that I’m not alone in my observations. I bet that your yard is looking great too! Now is the time of the year, after all, that things are growing.

Growth has a mysterious quality. Oh sure, biologists can describe how it happens. We can even capture a second-by-second record of a flower blooming with time-lapse photography and watch it happen. Still, there is something about growth that eludes us. It is almost magical whenever life flourishes. Looking at the beauty and abundance of a garden, I am convinced that there is something more that is happening than just the aggregate sum of biological processes.

That “something more” I like to think of in sacred terms. Growth is evidence of the work of a Creator who remains engaged with creation. When I look at the flowering of a garden, I am filled with sacred wonder and gratitude. Thank you, God, for the beauty that unfolds before my eyes. I say these words in my heart as I witness the Creator in action. What joy there is to embrace with my senses of sight, smell, touch, and taste!

If the last chapter was about “our work” and the need for our participation in the process of cultivation, this chapter is about the mysterious and fantastic quality of God’s work. The parables that I share will invite us to honor the life around and within us as a mysterious gift from God. I hope that they will also foster a sense of humility. Only with humble hearts are we better able to care for God’s creation.

How do we do this in our everyday living? How often do we stop and give thanks for the blessings of life that surround? Do we pause long and often enough to be in awe of life? Do we espouse values of reverence and humility when we relate to creation? Do we let down our guards and stop trying to control and subdue what God made?

I hope that this chapter’s parables will raise these questions among others. May we be surprised and refreshed in the cool shade of the trees in the backyard by the mysterious gift of growth. It is time for us to celebrate the harvest that comes from participating in the co-creating work of God.

STEP THREE: PRAY

Gracious God,

you are the source of all life, healing, and growth. In mysterious ways, you bring the life that unfolds around us. With joy we celebrate and praise you!

Through Jesus Christ, amen.