HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Read Isaiah 55:10-13

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17(NIV)

Where I live, March is a transition month. Spring wants to pop through, but winter isn't quite finished with us. I get antsy during the month of March. My hands itch to dig in the dirt. I see tiny shoots of green in my garden. Birds are chirping again, and the sun seems a little brighter each day.

So I begin preparing for spring and summer planting. I clean pots, sharpen my tools, prep the soil, and earmark seed catalogs that have new ideas for my gardens.

But then I remember my spiritual garden. Am I sharpening the tools of meditation, scripture reading, and prayer? Am I taking inventory of the new ways I can share God with the world around me? Am I preparing the soil in my life for new and exciting challenges for personal growth?

During the month of March and the season of Lent, I see the promise of new life in my garden, and I remember the promise of new life In Christ. By preparing for God's new creation during the season of Lent, we can experience new life sprouting within us---- life that can bring us new joy and give hope to those around us. God continues to cultivate new life in me each day.

Lauri Ricker(Maryland)

God of all being, may we tend the soil of our souls so that we can receive the new life you are cultivating in each of us. In Jesus' name. Amen