May Newsletter

May Flowers

This Spring Kendra and I have been working in the garden of the Camas Parsonage. We are very blessed to have a wonderful house with lots of yard to enjoy. (Although there is a LOT of grass to mow.) We have weeded the front flowerbeds, put beauty bark around the bushes and even begun wondering about working on some of the lumps and bumps in the lawn. With the help of one of the Camas trustees we have tilled a nice plot to plant a vegetable garden. The corn, pumpkin, carrots, lettuce and radishes are planted and there is more to do still. We have another area where we have planted strawberries and raspberries. The berries might not bear fruit this year, but it is fun to imagine the harvest next summer!

Working in this garden has been a spiritual exercise for me. There is something holy about caring for living things. Whether it is to enhance the look of a Rhododendron bush or to pull weeds so another plant can flourish, God seems to be present in this care giving.

What are your simple pleasures where you find God to be present? Do you like to take walks and talk with God? Do you have some music that lifts your soul? Does the sound of children playing bring a prayer of thanks?

Each of us has some weeding to do in our life, to rid ourselves of those things that deplete our life. Sometimes to see the beauty in another all we need to do is to highlight the gifts they have. Some of us appear pretty lumpy and rough around the edges, all we need is someone to care. Some of us are ready soil to provide nourishment for new life. Some of us are new to the faith, with questions and struggles and will take time to bear fruit.

Where ever you are in the Garden may you be able to appreciate the simple beauty of life.