Get Gardening and Encounter Christ!

I was sitting out on my back patio today holding my sleeping baby girl in my arms and bathing in the warm breeze, the sun, the sound of the palm trees rustling in the wind, the ting ting ting of my wind chime, and suddenly noticed a weed in my back garden.  It was so noticeable because it was so large.  "Well, hello ten foot oak tree.  I thought you were a two inch sprout yesterday!"  I have clearly neglected my garden and have allowed weeds to not only take root, but flourish!

The weeds in our gardens are like the weeds in our souls.  They crop up seemingly out of nowhere and grow exponentially if not uprooted and cast out.  A weed, like any other plant, needs water, sun, and nutrients to grow.  The weeds of our souls do too - and we feed them with our pride and our egos.  We (sometimes) unwittingly allow the weeds to take root and squeeze out Jesus from our lives.  It happens so quickly - as in the case of my now ten foot oak tree looming in my back garden.  Lent is the perfect time to uproot these weeds.  They deplete the good nutrients of our souls.  When we do a little gardening and remove the weeds, we allow beautiful things to flourish in their place.  Such is the case with our hearts.

There are so many ways to encounter Christ, you just need to invite Him in and listen. You can spend time with Him before the Eucharist, you can encounter Him in a confessional, you can see Him in the eyes of your children, but most importantly, you must pray and then listen.  Recently, my family had our house blessed, and it really was a beautiful evening with our parish priest.  We sat and prayed as a family, we moved room to room praying in each room and sprinkling holy water, and we ended out back on our patio, holding hands, and praying.  Our priest said Jesus was there and he had put down roots in our home - no room for anything else.  If you haven't already had your house blessed, I highly recommend it.  It brought me tremendous peace.  This is yet another way of encountering Christ and literally inviting HIm into your home.  This Lent, make Jesus the center of your life, and he will enter your home and take root.  Get rid of the weeds that are drawing on the rich nutrients needed to feed your soul.  Encounter Jesus and there won't be room for any more weeds.  Happy Gardening!!!