Slowing, Savoring, and Soaking Up the Sun

Spring brought the beauty of apple tree and peach tree blossoms, and our whole yard has been transformed into beautiful fresh shades of green. New life has sprung after the hard, cold winter.

The ground has been tilled, and the nutrients have been added to our veggie garden soil. This year we even have a new look to our veggie garden as my hubby put up an electric garden fence. The rabbits had a feast in our garden last summer, and we knew it was time to try a new approach. 

The patio planters have been mostly planted, though there are still a few to plant yet. I love all our pots of flowers, and last week I planted a few herbs: basil, parsley, and cilantro.

It's all been a process, in the midst of days of rain and also some cooler weather here and there. But now the months of April and May are past, and we're turning the page to a brand new month, and the season of summer!

And it has been the same with my heart ...

It is of crucial importance to tend to our hearts - to ask God to till up the soil of our hearts, to add the necessary nutrients for a new season of growth. I always long for new growth, for a freshness to come to my heart in the springtime. 

Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

(Proverbs 4:23 NIV)

I've been aware of God's gentle tilling of my heart, adding blessed nutrients, and also weeding out the unnecessary and the harmful. It is a daily process. And I am thankful. 

And now, after the busyness that the spring months can bring with all the activity and all the celebrations, I'm reminded to pause, slow my pace, and just soak up His love and His grace. 

The new growth is beginning to pop up in our gardens and patio planters, and it's now a time of waiting; a time to be still, and soak up the sun. For it's in soaking up the sun and the rain that the beauty will appear. Over time. One day at a time.

And my heart needs the same. Summer calls me to still my heart, to just rest. To let my roots go down deep, soaking up the refreshing rains, and looking up to the Son.

"As you slow your pace,

savor God's Word,

and draw closer to God,

your soul will be fed."

(Whispers and Wildflowers)

"And when your soul 

is fed with God's love,

the overflow will 

pour out to others."

(Whispers and Wildflowers)

Lord, You are my rest, the source of all that I long for. May I pause, still my heart, and soak up Your Love this month of June. May I be as the veggie plants, the herbs, and the flowers - just resting, soaking up the life-giving rains and absorbing the energizing rays of the Son.

"You're my place of quiet retreat;

I wait for Your Word to renew me."

(Psalm 119:114 MSG)