Well, that’s a very trite title for this blog, but it’s accurate so I’m leaving it! On my walk this morning – very early as the sun was coming up – my breath was simply taken away, first, by the blazing fire of a sunrise. I walk north, south, east and west in my neighborhood, but my first turn off my street greeted me with another spectacular fall sunrise. It was glorious. Then a couple more turns and I was headed west, no trees overhead for a moment so a clear shot at the morning sky, and again, was breathless at the full moon hanging so casually in the sky – a huge white orb, in the process of doing what it is created to do in the morning – disappear.
My mind is often on nature when I walk – I live in a neighborhood with lots of trees and hence, lots of birds. The morning birdsong is like a symphony of sounds that simply refreshes my soul. But we haven’t had substantial rain in a couple of months, or longer, and I noticed the birdsong is not that noticeable during this dry season. Sad.
I also live where neighbors take good care of their yards, most of the year, and I love looking at landscaping and how it enhances a home, simply by planting some trees and bushes, putting a few potted flowers in strategic places. But over the past few weeks it’s been abundantly clear that some neighbors are watering their lawns and others are not. With water costs so high, I totally understand. But we now look like a patchwork quilt – some yards green, despite the lack of rain an heat, others full-on brown, and some are a kaleidoscope of brown, green, and in-between colors. It’s evident who has the high water bills…
But back to lessons from nature. It’s so obviously visible which lawns are getting watered and which ones are not. Which brings me to my point. If we’re not getting spiritually watered, the end result is brown and dry, possibly even dead. If we are getting watered, even when all around us is screaming hot and dry, we still stay green and vividly alive!
I compare the soul (we can put mind and body in there, too, but the blog would be too long) to our yards and obviously the water is what we do daily to stay vividly alive. Time to assess if I’m watering my soul sufficiently to stay green, or if I’m one of those kaleidoscope lawns, or heaven forbid, already going full blown brown. Am I taking enough time during the day to fuel my soul so not only am I at peace, but am I giving that peace out all around me? Am I putting enough good in so that good comes out and blesses my family, my friends, my colleagues where I work or volunteer?
I confess that although I keep a hefty stack of Bibles and faith-based reading by my morning reading spot, I don’t always pick them up. Sometimes I’m too busy making lists or I’m simply too lazy to read and process something deeply meaningful and I choose a simple to digest tale of fiction on Kindle. I have to constantly remind myself good in, good out – and that if I intend to bless others in my day, I better be choosing to water my soul so it stays green.
A new and refreshing way to water the soul – try thesinging.bible You can try it online or download the app. It’s an amazingly refreshing and versatile way to listen to scripture.
