Discovery Beauty in Our Own Backyard July 25,2024
Once, I was telling my logical, math-loving, linear thinking daughter about a young woman I had recently met. I said, “I just love her!” to which Sarah drolly replied, “Mom, who don’t you JUST LOVE?”
Okay, I admit it! I do “just love” most people. I also “just love” the ocean, foods bursting with complex flavors, and traveling to places I’ve never been before.
Also, I “just love” returning home. I had never lived in a house longer than eight years until we moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1992. We had a custom-spec house built in a modest neighborhood and have lived at that same address for 32 years. Neither Ron nor I have any desire to relocate until the day we realize—or our kids convince us—we must.
The Apostle Paul declared in Galatians 5:22 & 23 that the fruit of God’s Spirit is LOVE, manifested by joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
One of my favorite parts of our home is our compact backyard, which often feels to me like a sacred sanctuary. In today’s post, I would like to introduce you to God’s love through the beauty I find in our own backyard, illustrating with photos Ron took this spring and summer.
I observed three things when I saw this photo. First, the beautiful deep red tiger lilies. Next, the clematis flowers which climb on a heavy wire affixed to the ginormous fir tree in our backyard. Lastly, the chain-link fencing, which Ron installed a few years ago after the neighbor’s huge dogs clawed a breach in our wooden fence.
John, who called himself ”the disciple whom Jesus loved,” makes the bold declaration in 1 John 4:8 that God is LOVE. God not only “just loves” like I can do, but God embodies love. God’s very character is love. God’s love adds beauty to my world, supports and sustains my growth, and is like a fence of protection around me.
Daisies always make me think of JOY. I feel a special type of giddy happiness whenever I’m privileged to see a riotous field of daisies in bloom.
There’s a quality to this photo with the wisp of yarrow in focus that fills me with PEACE. So often, life feels foggy and uncertain. But then, that mysterious “peace that transcends human understanding” described in Philippians 4:7 emerges, helping me maintain focus to keep taking the next needed step of faith.
Here, a late-blooming hydrangea emerges, which reminds me of PATIENCE. The journey of transformation into increasing Christlikeness doesn’t happen overnight. So often, I’ve described myself spiritually as a slow learner, and do I ever appreciate God’s patience with me.
Wendy Mass, writer of children’s books, says what I who have served as a counselor, life coach, and spiritual director, observe. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” The trumpet-shaped flowers on our trumpet vine welcome honeybees and hummingbirds and remind me of KINDNESS. 1st Corinthians 13, known as the Bible’s “love Chapter,” says, “Love is KIND.” Oh, how I long to be a kinder, more welcoming human being.
GOODNESS comes to mind when I consider these cheerful yellow flowers which rest atop asparagus fern-like stems. We planted these perennials 30 years ago. They have been good enough to keep returning year after year even though I didn’t even know the plant’s name! A Google search today convinced me they’re probably Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb' (Tickseed).
Each spring deep red and pink peonies bloom in our backyard and remind me of FAITHFULNESS. These plants originated from my grandfather. Grandpa endured a painful and abusive childhood. He didn’t know how and perhaps wasn’t willing to learn how to be a loving husband nor father to my mother and her five siblings. In his senior years, Grandpa Fred surrendered his life into the loving hands of God, and he changed dramatically. One of my keenest memories of him was his huge garden where neat rows of vegetables and clumps of magnificent flowers flourished in abundance.
Hydrangeas are among my favorite flowers and cause me to think of GENTLENESS. Each little flower within the bloom reminds me of the universal Church. Each individual flower is unique in its variety of coloration. Some are larger than others, but in joining together, they represent a beautiful oneness. Oneness of spirit requires gentleness. Hydrangeas have sturdy stems that soak up water. This characteristic reminds me that the beauty of the entire Church despite differences comes from Jesus, who is the Living Water.
Lastly, is SELF-CONTROL. I learned one time in a Bible study class that lists are important, often denoting an order of significance to which God wants me to pay attention. Self-control seems to be an area in which many followers of Jesus confess they struggle, so I take comfort in knowing it is last on the list of the Fruit of the Spirit!
The bench in our backyard reminds me fruit develops slowly over a season. It takes time before fruit is ready to harvest. Spiritual disciplines of stillness and contemplation are important elements of spiritual formation that leads to production of good fruit.
A couple years ago, my husband and I participated in a virtual pilgrimage through Intervarsity Fellowship exploring the lives of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi. Then, a year ago, we spent a week in the Umbria Region of Italy where these influential spiritual leaders ministered and demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit of self-control, which reverberates in the Church centuries later. This year for Mother’s Day, Ron presented me with a garden art sculpture of St. Francis, and yes, I do “just love” it!
Blessings on your journey,
