5 To-Do’s from God in the Yard

My final and twelfth week of the spiritual practice with God in the Yard ended on the week of the tornadoes—what a strong way to punctuate how powerful he is in the yard!

While I’m still soaking in what he taught me,
here are five to-do lessons
that I pray will stick with me even though the twelve weeks are over:

1. Don’t hoard; there’s enough to go around.
I don’t always like sharing my space.  And I need a certain amount of alone-time. So initially I doubted I had margin in my schedule to pull this off.

On February 9 of Week One I wrote:

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I shouldn’t bother with 12 weeks of this because I don’t have time for it. I’m too practical. I’m too structured.

I’ll get so off my schedule that supper won’t get cooked, the house won’t get cleaned, the papers won’t get graded, the e-mails won’t get answered…..

...I already have too much to do that isn’t getting done.

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So God smiled and said, “Watch me!”
And for Week One, he sat me on the beach during Jeff’s business trip.
What’s a girl to do? I had to give him a chance:

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Today I will sit at the water’s edge on a blanket with my cap and my notebook and my pen and I will write.
I will think.
I will pray.

I will forget about time.

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Twelve weeks later, I realized I still had time to do what needed to be done, and I could delight in sharing my outside space.

There’s enough room and resources for everybody. God doesn’t hoard any of his bounty; neither should I. If I’ve freely received (and I have), I should freely give.

2. Pay attention to things outside; they’re huge. There were much bigger things to see outside than inside.

In huge expanses I have room to stretch and grow and see a long way off. God has bigger things for me to see (Himself!) outside of my own little world of me and mine.

If I’ll keep looking around and out and up, I’ll see more of Him than if I only look in.

3. Invite the outside in.
(But try to avoid inhaling gnats through a breath…)What I saw outside could often be brought in.

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All I know is I’ve enjoyed a break from the ordinary and stepping, even temporarily, into the extraordinary world of focusing on God and growing.

Perhaps that is why he gives it to me—
so I can take it back into the ordinary and do better there.

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Nurturing growing things out there can supply beauty for me in here. Ripe, juicy fruit is not only, or even primarily, for eye appeal, but also for nourishment and pure pleasure—delicious tastes to be enjoyed inside the body.

4. Don’t trash the broken things; they can still be useful. I wasn’t sure my old swing would hold up if I sat in it more in twelve weeks than I had in twelve years. But it didn’t drop me a time.

My spirit felt broken during several of those sittings too, but God never let me fall either.

Doesn’t he delight precisely in using broken things so his strength can shine through?

5. Look longer at pretty things.
The more time I spent gazing on his beauty, the more I saw him. Watching for and then enjoying the first blooms of spring provided even more reasons to praise him. But because I felt totally inefficient sitting and staring at a flower, this was hard for me.

And revealing:

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I worship at the throne of efficiency because I get more done that way and I like getting things done.
It’s satisfying. It seems so productive.

But is that enough?
Is that what You want from me?
Is that Romans 12:1-2?

...Perhaps some things don’t call for efficiency, but call for attentiveness.

What is the opposite of hurry and rush? Being in the moment and staying aware? Perhaps?

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Yes. At the end of twelve weeks, was I glad I was inefficient several days each week with God?

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What’s outside is seeping in.
I’ve been inefficient. It’s been killing me.
     And it’s been healing me.

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Yes. Spending time with God in the Yard was a spiritual discipline unlike any I’ve ever done. It brought contemplation, gratitude, silence, submission, celebration.

And a deeper view of grace. And love. And the glory of the Father.
I’m in awe of Him.

I’d say that makes it time well spent.
Wouldn’t you?

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To hold back change is harder than to flow with it.

Maybe this is exactly what I needed, and maybe God brought this book into my life in this year because of my theme of Depend and Delight.

And if not now, when?

What better time to renew than always now???

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Has lesson has God blessed you with this week?