the wild

Last weekend, I headed out to the prayer garden early in the morning to begin getting ready for this weekend’s open studio.

Because we were away for most of July, the garden was pretty out-of-control. While many of the flowers struggled through this summer’s heat, the weeds flourished!

I had a substantial job ahead of me: uncovering, weeding, repotting, cutting back.

Stooping over to pull grass and vines and every weed imaginable, I began to pray, as I often do in the prayer garden.

There’s a pestering, nagging part of me that always wants everything I do to be perfect.

The perfect garden.

The perfect meal.

The perfect occasion.

My version of perfect - it bullies me, reprimands me, and distracts me from the real purposes He has for my life. There is no perfection in this fallen world, but I often pointlessly strive for it anyway.

And, going my own way, I miss seeing God.

This thought settles on me…

I find God in the wild and untamed.

The unpredictable, wild garden of life proves to be a most effective classroom. Here we learned the lessons of trusting in God’s love and faithfulness.

He walks with us among the strangling weeds that try to choke out our joy. He shelters us in the raging storm that obscures life’s beauty. He rescues us in the scorching drought that threatens to wither us away.

In the wild, we come to accept the truth that life here on earth will always be unpredictable and volatile. We will never control it; we must live in and among it.

But God’s promise remains unchanged - He meets us wherever we are.

How about in your own wild life?

Rest assured that God is right there in the weeds with you.

Know the truth of His constant love and faithfulness in your life…

It is wildly beautiful.

Today is a GOOD day!

~Natalie