Writing for five unedited minutes on the prompt “Should” for Five Minute Friday.
Garden work beckons me:
I should
plant the tomatoes
weed the flowerbeds
trim the blackberries
mow the dandelions
deadhead the daffodils.
Good work sometimes feels
like a curse
and there’s always more
once I’ve finished.
Just like sorting papers
cleaning bathrooms
washing dishes
paying bills
making beds.
I should
do a better job.
So long
I’ve been trapped inside
the tyranny of shoulds
their staring judgment
and unforgiving demands.
Today
I will ignore my chores.
They can wait one more day.
I will sit quietly on the porch
listen to the happy bird song
watch the wind wave
through the maple leaves
marvel at the spring beauty
of golden alexanders, peonies, irises
touch the pansies’ velvet faces
to take in
all that’s lovely
and give my soul rest.
Questions for reflection:
How can time in a garden free you from your “shoulds”?
Even though work never ceases, how are you carving out time for rest?
Join me again next week as my blog series “Meeting God in the Garden” continues. In the meantime, check out the other posts in this series:
Take a virtual tour of my garden
Read my first guest interview with Barb Bailey
Check out my post on finding beauty in the garden
Visit with Michele Morin, fellow blogger and gardener
Read Part 1 and Part 2 of Weeding My Heart’s Garden
Read my post on the best soil for your heart’s garden
Enjoy a stroll through wildflower-covered woods with Leslie Newman
Read an excerpt from my chapter on “A Time to Plant”
My book The Fruitful Life
Free resources for these books await you if you sign up for my email list below. Sign up here to gain access to these free resources, plus lots of other exclusive content!
This post will be linked up at #fmf, #dancewithjesus, #faithnfriends, #freshmarketfriday, #graceandtruth, and #faithonfire. Visit my linkups page to find links to these wonderful blogs.
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