Growing Grace
Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy. 
~Astrid Alauda

Remember the nursery rhyme, "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" Even though Mary's garden had pretty flowers blooming in rows, we know well enough what a contrary attitude & spirit can yield in our lives. So given the thought that too much fertilzer in our inner garden can bury the blooms, just why did contrary Mary's garden grow so well? Grace. In traditional theology, grace is received as "unmerited divine assistance", a gift of mercy from God. Like gardens, the concept of grace is held worldwide. Carolyn Myss says of grace:
...in the middle of the every day tasks of making a living & taking care of our family & friends, we can miss its subtle power. Grace holds together the whole of our life ~ and all of our lives collectively. It watches over us & will come to our aid if we ask. In this last statement is one key to growing more grace in our gardens. Just ask! The Master Gardner is always here ready to help us sow more seeds of whatever we put our heart energy into. A simpler & more challenging task than the asking for grace is simply to honor its presence and allow, allow, allow its flow. Growing grace is really flowing grace ... getting our "dams" out of the way! And in the garden that is our family & the seeds of our children, the best service we can give is to gratefully nurture by abundantly allowing the natural growth of the gift of grace.

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Dale (Thanks, Anne)

We remain committed to growing New Thought Families one seed at a time. In looking at seeds, plants, gardens, & even grace, I'm thinking green. As a word, green is closely related to the Old English verb growan, 'to grow'. It is sometimes used to describe money or someone who is inexperienced, jealous, or sick. These days, green also refers to a conscious growing movement of living more simply & cleanly for the sake of our (green) planet. We are waking & returning!A green thumb denotes someone good with plants. Our Master Gardner has the ultimate green thumb! Periods of darkness & dormancy are all natural phases neccessary for growth. But ultimately, we reach for the light. Plants are green due to the photosynthesis process that requires light. We require light too collectively & as individuals. Grace is a lifeline in the darkness & an anchor in the light. Allowing more grace filled light to grow our gardens often takes some weeding, pruning & allowing ... like the practice of giving up something for Lent. I very reluctantly gave up sugar in my dedication to being my highest & best & in repent for eating a whole box of Girl Scout cookies 1 afternoon! My morning meditation whispered the sweet voice of grace to go the 40 days for Lent sugar free. I rebelliously answered that Ash Wednesday was last week & grace smiled back to calendarize the days; Feb 23, Day 1 ... well what do you know, April 3, the Saturday before Easter is Day 40! Who knew that traditional Lent doesn't count Sundays ... shouldn't they count double?! So now I am 20 days free from the darkness of my addiction & lighter, lighter, growing lighter, thank you grace! We are all growing every minute, thank you God! Here's to your growth, to your wisdom weeding & to your seeds springing & singing this Merry March!
Namaste, Love, namaste.