Fears and Tears

As I follow the Lord farther into the desert of Lent, I imagine a beautiful English garden that I am to take care of. I fetch water from a far off well that is deep and as I bring my empty bucket and lower it down, I find that I have trouble bringing it back up. It is heavy with the weight of the water, and bangs on the side of the walls. My arms ache but I continue to turn the rusty wheel that groans as it brings the bucket up.

I lift out the bucket from the well, it is full of the clear, cold water and I carry it back towards the garden. As I walk, I have to take frequent breaks as I don’t have the strength to make it all the way back all at once. As I continue walking, the water spills on the dry ground and the bucket is half empty when I return to the garden.

I give thanks to God for the water that I have drawn out and begin to water the garden. I am careful to make sure all the plants and flowers get a little of the precious water. They spring to life, stretching up a little closer to the sun. They are refreshed and have a new life about them.

I sit in the garden, gazing at the rows of the plants and flowers and take in the beauty of nature. I can hear the birds singing and their wings fluttering as they fly to the nearby trees. A cool breeze touches my cheek and I feel a joy deep inside; a garden in the desert. I gain a new strength within me to face my other chores. I rise up to face the day, by being present in each moment and thankful for my empty bucket that provided water for the garden.

Lord, help me not to waste the precious water that you give me, I surrender my weakness, my sin, my failings to You. I invite You into my life, to tend the garden with me. You provide for me deep in the desert; a beautiful English garden that grows with Your grace and Your love and I am most grateful.

Then the Lord will guide you always and satisfy your thirst in parched places, will give strength to your bones. And you shall be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11