Today I am delighting in this glorious run of sunshine and spring warmth, a contrast to the recent winter damp and ice.  The early hours are brightened by the dawn chorus daily making itself heard.  The bulb spikes are now blooming in purple and gold.  I’m thinking about what I plan to grow and looking forward to harvesting later in the year.  And all around me, I think I can literally see the weeds growing!

There’s the rub: if we want the colour and plentiful produce, we have to put in the groundwork and be prepared for hard graft.  The season of Lent is a bit like gardening.

First, we need to know what we are aiming for: beautiful flowers? Tasty vegetables? An ever-deeper relationship with God, as we come to receive again the gift of life, love and restoration to us in Christ’s death and resurrection?

We need to take stock of where we are at now, and what we need to do to make ready for this goal.  Assess the garden, wash out the greenhouse and the pots, turn over those beds. Review our lives, reflect on the present health of our relationship with God, identify what are the difficulties and the spiritual gaps we must face up to.

There’s lots to do.  Dig out the weeds and dig in the manure.  Sow the seeds and give the young plants shelter, food and water.  Stake them up as they grow. Work at rooting out those habits and choices that distract us from growing our relationship with God. Give ourselves the best base from which to grow: time to read God’s Word and reflect on it; time to listen to what God is saying to us.  Receive what God is already doing in our lives and nurture it, feed it with prayer and with the support of others on this same Lenten journey.  You might like to join our Monday evening Lent Group with Revd Talisker at the Vicarage to share in exploration of prayer over the next five weeks – just let her know if you wish to come along!

Keep coming back to the task of weeding, weeding, weeding.  Keep alert to spot each day what distracts us from being God-focused. And amidst the determination and the hard work, take time each day to notice all the signs of God at work around us and in us, to spot his blessings and be encouraged. 

In these six weeks as we travel towards Easter and the Risen Christ, what are our hopes for ourselves and our relationship with God?  What are you prioritising in this season of groundwork and growth?  The labour may perhaps be hard but the fruits of our relationship with God are beautiful – even when sometimes they turn out to be different from what we were expecting!

Wishing you strength and joy and every support in your Lenten journey in the coming weeks.

Lucy G

Image – Royalty-free-to-use from PickPik