Tending The Garden

Do you like to garden?  Once upon a time I was an avid gardener.  I had a small hobby farm and I grew produce and planted flowers.  I even had some ducks, geese and chickens to tend.  They weren't just any old chickens but rare breed chickens. It was just fun for my little boy and I although he struggled with the birds as they weren't very nice to him.


The older I got the more involved I became in kid things as they grew and I too began to participate in more stuff and suddenly I didn't have much time left over to take care of my garden and flower beds.  After all they take lots of work, and hours of dedication to keep them cleaned out so the tender shoots don't get choked out. they also need to be thinned out so that the plants themselves don't get over crowded and then there is harvesting...lots of work!  But what is there that is good that doesn't come with effort?


I have discovered a new web blog called A Holy Moment that is authored by Ann Voskamp who has come to the forefront with her book--now on the New York Times best-seller list--One Thousand Gifts.  


I think this beautiful girl is definitely on to something.  Nothing new, nothing that takes rocket science but an effort.  An effort to wake up alert to whose you are and gratefully appreciate what God has blessed you with. Oh friend, this just isn't quite as easy as it looks.  As I mentioned above, tending a garden takes effort and so does cultivating a heart of gratitude!  


You might be like me, having gone too long in the negative zone, with a negative mindset to start and finish your day.  But what if we put forth an effort to counter that mentality with thanking our Sovereign for who He is as the giver of all good things, acknowledging His marvelous presence in our lives each and every day?  And just like a garden we would tend to weeding out unwanted foreign thoughts that are contrary to our Sovereign's truth, and replanting with thankfulness after we have tilled up the crusty, dry ground that has settled for too long in in one place.  


Let's imagine looking at life with nothing less than a handful of things to be grateful for each day!  I will just bet that as you and I work toward cultivating our heart of gratitude that we are going to naturally adjust our outlook, in turn to other's and our family's, and then who knows what could overflow even outside of our immediate sphere of influence?  Seriously, what would the world look like filled with grateful hearts?


Today, I have decided to diligently proceed to my flower bed and take the trowel to grumbling and complaining and replant with appreciation and thankfulness. 


Psalm 66:1-3a says "Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory  of His name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, "How awesome are Your deeds!""


The joy that comes for from a heart of gratitude is where we get the strength to stand in the difficult times (and they will come!)  Without it we will wither but joy is wrought with gratefulness!  So let's get our tools and get digging.