Clearing Out Space for The Spirit

Wildflowers in the yard

Wildflowers in the Frontyard

I read a short devotional piece by Jeanette Stokes in my daily devotional, The Upper Room Disciplines, this morning that really spoke to me as a gardener.  Her garden sounds just like my front yard – full of hardy perennials that come back time after time.  All I have to do is make sure I clear out the old growth, weed, and cut off flowers that have finished blooming and/or seeding – and there is room for new flowers to come up and bloom.  She compares spiritual practice to that – I need to make choices and figure out what can be cleared out of my mind and life and choose what is really important.  It’s a reminder of the “Priorities” talk on the Emmaus weekends – what really is important: what do I think about, what do I spend my money on, what do I spend my time on? 

If I want to be led by the Spirit, to be called a child of God, I must leave some places open and welcoming for the Spirit of God to break into my life.

Irises among wildflowers