“Oh, what a beautiful mornin’, Oh, what a beautiful day. I got a beautiful feelin’ ev’erything’s goin’ my way.” I walked out on the porch this morning and heard that chorus from Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ as stepped off the porch to walk Penelope. Another pretty day dolled up in late spring fashion sketched by Father Sky, deep blue sky dotted with large clouds kissed snow white on their crowns by the rays of the yellow sunshine. Summer is hot on the spring’s heels. God’s artistry is showcased today in the beauty of his creation. I see God’s handiwork everywhere I look — green grass, bright yellow dandelions, hot pink roses, tiny colorful wildflowers, buzzing bees dressed in their yellow and black jackets, deep crimson cardinals, dark blue indigo buntings. Ecclesiastes 3:11 reads, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Everything is dressed fresh from last night’s thunderstorm. My rain dance brought thunder and lightning but only a fist full of raindrops.

The sun was glowing in golden light tonight as she rolled down the horizon at dusk on the arm of Father Sky. Her honey colored gown matched perfectly with Father Sky’s khaki linen suit. Mother Nature painted the nearby clouds magnificently with watercolors of pale pinks and blues. As the sun lay her head down and kissed the day goodnight, Mother Nature darkened the clouds’ colors with heavy brush strokes of purple and hot pink. The color was brief and glorious and the clouds soon quickly returned to their cigar smoke grays and whites. Father Sky kissed the sun goodnight and waked the luminous moon and the twinkling stars. The night waked, the day slept.

We can connect to God through nature. “The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul,” Alfred Austin. I was walking back to the porch this morning, after I checked on my vegetables, thinking about how our life is like a garden, how patient God must be as he watches us grow and bloom in our faith. Just as our gardens need sunlight and water our spirits need God’s love and his grace to flourish.

We are all flowers growing in God’s garden, bringing joy and hope to a world in need. We’re all unique flowers nurtured by God’s grace. Guess we all bloom differently and at different times but we all have gifts that we can use to enhance God’s earthly garden. Some of us bloom in rich colors and our faith radiates from us through our words and actions. Others blossom quietly and deeply in the earth bringing peace and love and words of encouragement to broken hearts.

Gardening is a metaphor for life. You’re the person responsible for your harvest. You have to be sure your world is full of goodness and light. You choose to grow and blossom or you choose to wilt and die. We have to sow seeds of kindness and compassion, planting our roots firmly in faith and love, trusting the Lord to send sunshine and rain. We have to weed out temptation and nurture the roots of our faith through prayer and Bible studies. We all have gifts from God and we need to share them in our earthly gardens, planting the seeds of God’s love and grace as we travel through life. To truly grow and flourish we have to stay connected to God. He’s the master gardener.

“One is nearer God’s heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth,” Dorothy Frances Gurney