June 3, 2007

    The summer time is that time of year when we can enjoy the beauty of nature and all that it entails.  Even those of us who do not have a particularly well developed green thumb take pleasure in the gardening process.  There is something awe inspiring about seeing things take root and grow into beautiful flowers or shrubs or perhaps sweet fruit or luscious vegetables.   The fact that growth takes place is miraculous to our eyes and its wonder captivates us.  We are even willing to put up with the nasty flies and prickly branches when we know we will experience life and beauty as a result.

    Perhaps we are captivated with the phenomenon of gardening because it mirrors the process we experience within ourselves.  Each one of us has this opportunity during our life
time.  We have an inner garden that develops over the years and those of us who cultivate it see the miracle of new life and the ensuing results. 

    The miracle of seeing someone’s inner garden is a beautiful experience.  Very often we see it in others more easily than we do in ourselves.  What we see is beauty that sets our hearts on fire with love and awe.  People who have a beautiful inner garden have allowed the seeds of gentleness, compassion and patience to develop.  They have beautiful shrubs of forgiveness and empathy growing within them.  They also have many fruit trees aligning their garden.  These fruits are those planted by the Spirit of God and include such things as Wisdom and Strength of character and soul.  Their relationship to God is intimate and their Trust is inspiring.

    How does one develop this inner garden.  The beginnings are always easy.  God does the planting so we don’t need to worry ourselves about the cost.  All we need to do is to cultivate the ground.  This is done in exactly the same way we cultivate our back yard gardens.  We water it or nourish it with daily conversations with God.  We weed our garden on a regular basis otherwise the young sprouts will choke and die when overtaken by the weeds.  We do not have to take a large leap into creativity to see how this relates to our daily lives.  There are many things in our world that creep up on us and are ready to choke or strangle the delicate plants in our gardens.  All we need to do is to pay attention to the weeds and not allow them to overtake our garden. 

    Again, a very similar process takes place.  Someone who never visits his/her garden but allows it to grow on its own, will find that it has become a hideous sight at the end of the
summer.  The flowers, fruits or vegetables can hardly be found, if they have survived at all.  Tending the garden takes constant attention and care.  We must be aware that something is trying to take root.  We must be sensitive not to trample over the plants.  We cannot allow the delicate plants to dry up in the heat of the summer.  If we are not in a favorable climate for the plants or if nature doesn’t seem to favor growth, we must take the means to feed our garden

    This weekend we celebrate the feast that reminds us that love is stronger than all other things in life.  What condition is your  garden in? If you see that it has been neglected lately, perhaps this would be a wonderful time to do some gardening.  Have a great summer in your garden.
                                Lorette P. Nault