by Christine Sine

Ever felt that there is something lacking in your spiritual expression? Ever sensed that there is creative energy within you just waiting to get out? It has certainly been like that for me over the last few years.

It all began about about five years when I started creating and using meditation gardens. I was bored with Advent wreaths and wanted something uniquely me that expressed my desires for the season, so I decided to create an Advent garden.

Advent garden 2017

My first garden looked a little like an Advent wreath with a few plants and candles, but as the years progressed I added themes, patterns, painted rocks and more candles, extending its use through the Christmas season with a blaze of lighted candles.

lenten garden

This year I decided to create a Lenten garden too. With its creation my meditation gardens have evolved. This garden began as a desert landscape with five small succulent gardens and some heart shaped rocks. focused towards the crosses of Calvary. Of course in adding those crosses I had already moved beyond the Lenten season as Lent traditionally ends with Maundy Thursday. But I have always loved messing with traditions and this garden has certainly done that.

Easter resurrection garden

At Easter I added a “He is Risen” rock and thought that would be the end of my garden’s life, but as Pentecost came and went I realized I did not want to put this garden to rest yet. Around me spring was bursting into life, a rich parade of flowers that sent my spirit soaring into the sky.

My meditation garden continues to evolve. Just added dried rose petals as a symbol of the changing seasons. Summer is on the way

Instead of creating a new garden I allowed this one to evolve. I dried an array of rose petals and sprinkled them over the sand, a symbol of the blossoming of life that emerges in our resurrection world.

This has been another lesson for me in listening to and responding to the flow of the Spirit of God. In the process I realize how easy it is  for me to limit what the spirit is wanting to do, not just in creative expression but in every area of my life because I create artificial boundaries to the spirit’s movement.

Who knows what this garden will evolve into in the future? We are continually co-creating with our God. Nothing is forever. Everything is changing and rather than resist that change we can become part of the creative change of God and enter into the adventure.

What is your response?

Are there places where you peeled bored by traditional expressions of faith but have not given yourself permission to step outside the box of convention?

Sit in prayerful silence for a few moments. Take some deep breaths in and out allowing the spirit of God to flow into your lungs and spread throughout your body. Listen to what the spirit is saying.

How is the Spirit wanting to lead you today?

What artificial boundaries have you established that limit its flow?

How could you become a better listener and provide avenues for the Spirit to flow freely in your life?