"Re-Marks" from Pastor Mark

As I write this piece for the July newsletter, we are two days away from the
summer solstice, the official start of summer. Barb and I live in an adult community
in Smyrna. Given the nature of adult communities we do not have much of a yard,
but we do have a garden in front of our house and room for some flowers in the back
around our patio, as well as a couple of planters on the deck. I don’t know about you,
but I love flowers in the summertime. My maternal grandfather was quite the gardener
and all summer we enjoyed fresh cut gladiolas, dahlias, zinnias, roses and more. My
gladiolas did not come up this year for some reason but my dahlias are growing taller

by the minute. And I know it is probably too late, but I just planted some hollyhock seeds where the local
rabbit ate my zinnias two weeks ago. I mention these things because for me, gardening is a way of
connecting with God’s creation. Time in the dirt is visceral way of connecting with God. A couple of
things happen, at least for me:
First, time slows down. I would love to plant a gladiola bulb tomorrow morning and have brilliant
orange flowers the next afternoon, but it doesn’t work that way. Gardening requires patience (of which I
have little – just ask Barb), so gardening helps me in learning how to be more patient. Nature grows at its
own pace and we must learn to adapt to that.
Second, there is something satisfying about getting our hands into the soil, planting the seeds or
bulbs, weeding, mulching, watering…watching things grow…tracking the blooms on the lilies as they
develop and start to open. All point to the beauty of God’s creation. To me, working in the garden is a
form of prayer and praise. “A Sabbath time.” to borrow a phrase from Wayne Muller, author of Sabbath.
Third, we can take lessons from our gardening activities and relate them to our daily lives. We
should nurture our relationships with others as we would the plants in our gardens. We must water and
feed our relationships with other people in order for them to grow and flourish. We must learn to patient
with others. The same applies to our relationship with our creator. Our relationship with God requires
time, attention and patience as well.
So this summer, try and look for new ways to connect with God. If you are not a gardener,
perhaps you can find God while admiring the blooms in someone else’s garden. Perhaps you can find
God in the beauty of a sunrise, or a sunset at the beach. God’s creation is all around us and we only need
pause from time to time to acknowledge God’s creation and presence in our lives.
Blessings and Peace.