More thoughts from my garden:

I like the look of our backyard plants. The variety, the way they are comfortably disordered, hold beauty. If I’m not careful, all I see is the internal list of what needs to be trimmed, replaced or repaired. But when I choose to look, not at what is wrong, but at what is right, I find joy and peace in this place.

Interesting to me: Seeing the beauty does not mean I am blind to what needs to be done. Instead, it allows me to do what I can, as I can, while knowing and seeing – and gaining from - the beauty that exists right now.

What can I learn from this about myself? Others? I need to be aware of the beauty of who God has created – who each of us is right now – while remaining open to the work in us God is doing and continuing to do. God is trimming and repairing the ever-changing areas of our lives that need loving attention.