A couple days ago, I was out weeding the flowerbeds in front my house. I got to thinking about how gardening could be a perfect analogy for spiritual disciplines. One definition for a discipline is an "activity or experience that provides mental or physical training".
A spiritual discipline means that an action, much like working out or doing brian puzzles, provides training spiritually. How can gardening teach you that?
Gardening is a quiet time you can fill with anything. Some of the spiritual disciplines talked about in the Bible such as prayer, meditation of Scripture, solitude, and personal reflection require focus, habit, and quiet which can all be found in gardening. There is a common misconception (that I am trying to break within myself) that quiet time with God has to look a certain way and has limits to it but that cannot be more wrong.
When you spend quality time with the people you love, do you do the exact same thing every time? No, because that would bore everyone involved. The common denominator in the quality time you spend with other people is you, them, and intentionality. The same goes for time wtih God.
You can do anything in His presence because you already do and create a special time for you to grow together. There is something wonderful about mimicking our Creator in spirit as we train it up in His ways and imitate His day of creating humanity with a handful of dirt.
I have found that when I pray while working with my hands, I can focus on praying better. Everything I do becomes more intentional and worshipful. I come to notice the tiniest of bugs or petals or grains of sand in the dirt, and remember that they were all placed there by hand, yet sometimes I just walk on them without thinking. Gardening can allow you the perfect time for reflection, prayer, or anything that may need help focusing on while you can admire God's creation.
Gardening and spiritual disciplines can grow together. If you decide to start a garden while working on your spiritual discipline, you will be able to see the two grow and flourish together. This will be a physical manifestation of your growth and a way to see how God works in your heart as you pick weeds, dig, and plant.
Gardening will also teach you how to rely on God because you can water and provide fertilizer and plant in sunny spots, but at the end of the day, it is God who grows them. Likewise, you can do all kinds of things to help keep yourself healthy and increase grow and strength, but God is the One Who will grow you as He wills, you just have to let Him.
Have fun working in your gardens and enjoy God's presence as you see His faithfulness in yourself and your garden.
