07.16.08
Spiritual Gardening
Dear Friends,
I’m out in the fields. Actually, it’s part of the NHUMC Gardens. Lots of beautiful flowers as you look. However, it does need help. For if you look closely, all is not well with the garden. Look closely and you will see weeds of all sorts, seeking to take hold, and in so doing crowding out and even choking the flowers for which we hoped.
That happens in my life too. I seek, by God’s grace, to allow God’s beauty to be seen in my life. A beauty to be seen that honors, and draws others to God. However, there are spiritual weeds of pride, worry, fear, impatience, laziness, and (the list goes on). If I’m not vigilant, the spiritual garden of my life looks more unChristlike than Christlike.
So I go to work spiritually through prayer, Bible study, and worship, and I seek to plant, cultivate, and weed. This summer, I take my cue from the Apostle Paul where he states in Philippians 4:8:
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
As you go about your own spiritual personal gardening, my blessings to you. Weed often, seek the best, don’t settle for the least. Be Christ-minded, not world-minded. My prayers are with you. If you need a Bible, stop by. I’d be delighted to give you one, free. Besides, the light’s on, and the coffee’s fresh. Love to see you and visit with you, if you’ve got the time.
Your friend, Pastor Don
