Month: August 2020

OK, so true confessions time. I started talking to my house plants. I have had a terrible track record with them and I so consistently kill them, slowly over time, that I actually had a line item in our monthly budget for replacing dead and dying house plants. They were basically a disposable purchase on a bi-annual basis.

So, a couple of years ago I decided to take matters in my own hands and investigate a new approach. The cheapest, easiest change I could make was to try talking to these poor, terminal members of the plant kingdom. Every day after my husband left for work (because I didn’t want him to think I was crazy) I would walk around the house and try to say something meaningful to each plant…Hey, how ya doin? …Looking good, dude!…Keep up the good work…Please don’t die on me! Well, I had to get some new material. It just wasn’t working. So I actually gave each plant a name, mostly based on appearance or condition. (Occasionally, based on a person. ) Now, I could talk to them specifically. And, no kidding, all but one of them did phenomenally well (by my previous standards). I went from 4-5 straggly, sad, frequently replaced plants to 15 beautiful, healthy plants in 3 to 4 months. It was a miracle! I have never had a green thumb. I prayed over them, thanked them for adding beauty and oxygen to our home and encouraged them to grow to the best of their ability. I know it all sounds crazy, but I am telling you it worked.

Anyway, I was just looking out my  window, noticing all the green in nature, from the trees in the woods, to my husband’s gardens, my patio tomatoes, our herb garden, and all my houseplants – and the beauty of God’s creation just struck my heart in such a way! It’s like, wow, there is so much natural beauty to enjoy and it is so easy to overlook and just get used to. We take for granted so many of God’s gifts. And the dazzling array of plant life  is definitely one of them.  So as I was praying and thanking God for it all, a sort of raw poem or tumble of words came to me, and then a childhood memory. Here they are…

 All the greenery in nature is so life-affirming…
The plants, the leaves, the grass, the trees. The herbs and weeds. 
The delicate, the variegated, the fuzzy, the smooth… With ridges on edges, the waxy, the new; delicate, soft, tender young shoots. 
The nibbled, the damaged, the dusty, dry roots
the rain soaked and streaked, the growing, the striving, 
the withering, the dying. 

Enormous leaves and tiny, the pokey, the piney.
Velvet and sharp, the pale and the dark.
The plump succulents, the wispy plants living seemingly on air,
The beauty unending, the variety mind-boggling. 

The life of a tree, or a plant on dry ground, or in the sea.  
Greenery, shade, oxygen, flowers, fruit, or medicine, 
Bee’s bounty or beauty,
Just for our delight.

Getting personal now. When I was a teenager and knew absolutely everything, I really wanted nothing to do with faith or God or church or any of it. An eye roll was my go-to response, or else ‘Yeah, well, what about science?’ It all seemed so unbelievably silly to me. 

I remember quite clearly one day when my Dad, a gentle man, pretty quiet about his faith, said to me during one of these discussions, “How can you not believe in God?” He said it pleadingly, searching for the right words, “I mean, look at a tree…” his voice trailed off, as he could not really express what he was trying to convey to me. I rolled my eyes hard and looked at him as only a self righteous teenager can,  like it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. I truly couldn’t believe someone could believe in God just because of a dumb tree.

Well, many years later, I know now what he meant. What he was trying to say, but couldn’t express. I feel exactly the same way. Everything in nature points to God. This brings to mind the lyrics of a well-known Catholic hymn… The heavens are telling the glory of God and all creation is shouting for joy.. (check out the video hereThe Canticle of the Sun)  

And I do have to say, I am pretty ashamed of myself when I think of the way I treated my Dad. I know I was just a teenager, but  I can’t wait til I see him again someday and tell him how sorry I am, and how much  I understand now what he was saying. And how so very much I agree with him.

God is in every good and beautiful thing, man-made and nature  borne.

Lord; In the heavens and on the Earth,  the beauty of your creation astounds. Thank you for showing me all the goodness and beauty of nature that I never bothered to notice.

Some wonderful verses on nature, if you’d like to check them out:

     Psalm 19:1-4                        Isaiah 35:1-2
Psalm 24:1-2                        Isaiah 42:5
Psalm 96:11-12                  Isaiah 55:12
Psalm 104:14-21

C.S. Lewis famously said that ‘God whispers to us  in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain.’

 When life is good and things are humming along beautifully God is there gently whispering look at all I’ve given to you, everything going right in your life… Look at the beauty of creation. I made it for you! Enjoy it!  Just acknowledge and recognize that I gave you all of this. 

And honestly, when things are going well, many of us don’t. Then the road gets a little bumpy. We have some typical challenges, disappointments, burdens…life happens. And God is there, raising his voice a bit and says Just turn to me I’m right here, I want to guide you and help you!  You don’t have to do this on your own. Just listen. And often we still don’t  pay attention. If we haven’t yet learned to lean on God, we just buckle down, determined to fix the problem on our own, thinking; I can handle this myself. 

Then we may find ourselves in circumstances that are beyond the pale. Outside of our control, almost unbearable. Unimaginable difficulty, whether physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual. Feeling like there’s no way out, not understanding why things are happening the way they are. And this is when God raises his voice, pounding on the door of our heart and shouts  I’m here! I’m still here! Just trust me, and thank me for all that is going right in your life.  Ask me for help! Surrender to me and my will for your life. I want  to guide you! 

And some eventually do listen, while others turn away from God, blaming Him for their problems. Why would you do this to me, God, if you’re so good? Why won’t you fix this? We neglect completely at this point to thank him for everything else that’s right with our lives. For all the beautiful moments. All the weeks, months and years of our lives that have been so great… No, we often just focus on the one thing that’s going wrong right now. 

And, honestly, it’s pretty easy to fall into complacency and expectation when everything is going swimmingly. Harder to remember to be grateful when all is well.

I imagine…what if God is saying….I’ve been whispering and talking to you all your life! Giving you gift, after beauty, after pleasure, after fortune, after blessing, after treasure…..and you haven’t once stopped to mention it. NOW you want to talk? Sheesh! Maybe we are taking God’s gifts for granted.

We tend to save our thanks to God for those catastrophic near misses; avoiding a car accident, a negative test result from the doctor, squeaking by with that C- to pass the class, narrowly escaping the company layoffs… but we can be thankful on a daily basis. 

Count Your Blessings

You’re having a good day? Thank Him.  You have great friends, took an awesome trip, ate a delicious meal, had an incredible bonding moment with a family member…Thank Him.  Your kids are healthy, your marriage is great, school is going well, you love your job? Thank Him!
Every good and perfect gift is from above. James 1:17

God is working in your life everyday behind the scenes whether you know it or not. Whether you like it or not. Whether you believe it or not.

He is with us on the mountaintop and in the valley. Remembering what he has done in the good times -even if right now you’re in a valley- is what will help you get through it. Trusting and surrendering  will help you hear God’s voice when you are struggling.  
Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

How often do we all forget to thank The Giver of the gifts? We would never dream of forgetting to thank someone for giving us a gift for our birthday or Christmas. But every day that we wake up is a gift. Breath in our lungs is a gift. The beauty of creation is a gift. Every single part of our body that  still works is a gift. Every person in our life that we love is a gift. (Every person that challenges us is a gift too, but I think that is Advanced Christianity that I haven’t necessarily reached yet.)

Have you stopped to thank Him lately? 

It is important to note that God does not bring pain into our lives so that we will turn to Him. But we do live in a fallen, imperfect world, and trouble and difficulty will come to us all at some point. And God is always there to help you, comfort you and guide you through the tough times.In this world you will have trouble, Jesus intoned in John’s gospel, But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Hearing God’s Voice

Some ways to be attentive to God’s voice and presence in our lives:

• Keep a gratitude journal. This is a great way to recognize and acknowledge God’s presence in our everyday life. Every day write down three things you are grateful for, without repeating what you’ve already written. It is an eye-opening practice that makes you  doubly grateful when you go back and read what you had written weeks or months before. It also doubles as morning prayers, so…there’s that. (Just trying to keep it real for those of us who sometimes have trouble finding time to pray.)
• Mindfulness. Hear me out. Although this is often seen as a secular practice, we can keep God in mind by prayerfully appreciating the small joyful events of the day moment by moment. Driving down a beautiful stretch of road? Really notice the beauty and be thankful. Enjoying a fancy coffee drink or eating a favorite meal? Slow down, savor the flavor and enjoy this little gift. Fixing the car, cleaning the house, raking the leaves? Focus on your work and recognize that it is a gift to have these things to care for, and the right tools to do the work, and the physical ability to do it. Some people with physical or financial challenges would be grateful to be in your shoes.
• Daily Examen. This is a Christian practice from St. Ignatius that involves taking a few minutes in the evening to reflect on your day. What went well, what didn’t? Where was God in the interactions you had and the decisions you made? What can you be thankful for and what might you work on for tomorrow? Here is more info on this practice https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/ 
• Listen to your conscience. When a thought just won’t leave you alone, or you have that ‘gut feeling’ don’t ignore it! This is often the still, small voice of God urging you along the right path.
• And finally, pray. Ask God daily to help you hear his voice, whether he is whispering, speaking or shouting. There are many versions of what is called ‘Listening Prayer’. Mary Geegh wrote a wonderful booklet on the topic called God Guides. Yes, God even answers prayers about prayer!

Author’s note: If you have waited until God got to the shouting stage like I did, take heart. It’s never too late. It’s because God loves us that He shouts above the din of your pain, your grief, your unending sorrow, disappointment, depression and crippling devastation. He is calling you to himself when things are at their most desperate. Don’t give up on God! He has not and will not give up on you. He is the light at the end of your tunnel. 

…I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5