Cultivating Your Garden Within Me

                “Dear Lord, as I sit here surrounded by the constant hustle of people in Your church cleaning, sweeping, vacuuming, praying, singing, moving kneelers, I can sense Your peace and joy deep in the hearts of all those working for You. It may seem like chaos and distraction at first, but it is all united by love to You. Is that how You view this world, all connected by love? There is so much chaos, mixed emotions, people in so many different states of mind yet You love them all, whether they recognize it or not; whether they return that love or not. Your unfailing deep love for all of us becomes the anchoring center of the movement, the chaos, the emotions, the actions.

                “Help me Lord to recognize You as my anchor. May Your love be the root of all I do and how I perceive this world. May this root of love go deep to nourish me, to help me grow, to sustain me in times of drought and famine, and to anchor me through times of storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, and devastating disasters – not just outward physical occurrences, but also the powerful onslaughts to my heart and soul. Help me learn to cultivate my soil, the garden of my soul, so Your roots can grow deep and strong. Encourage me to remove the weeds that choke Your roots, and not just the tops of the weeds, but help me remove the very roots of those weeds so they don’t grow back.  Help me fertilize this garden with prayer, spiritual growth, acts of mercy, knowledge of our great Church and our awesome faith. Help me water this garden with penance, reconciliation and forgiveness. Help me fortify the edges of this garden with humility, compassion, charity, piety, fear of the Lord, wisdom and fortitude. May the fruits of this garden be a pure, sincere love for You that mirrors Your love for me and may there be great peace emanating far and wide from this garden like the fragrance of many flowers.

                “Thank You dear Lord for sending Your roots of love deep into the soil of my heart and soul. Please continue to grant me the means to cultivate this holy garden.”