CBB Review: Cultivating God’s Garden Through Lent

If there is one thing that is a guarantee during Lent it’s that there will be plenty of new faith enriching books to choose from. Some of those books set themselves apart with the topics they cover. A few of them are that original that they could be read outside of the Lenten season for enrichment. Margaret Rose Realy has given one of those books in her book Cultivating God’s Garden Through Lent.

What really set this book apart was how Margaret wove the subject of gardening and nature in general throughout the book in her daily meditations. If you have any interest in working with nature, in planting seeds each spring, harvesting crops in the fall, or feeding your feathered friends in the winter than this is the book for you.

I was struck very early in the book with the following from the introduction.

“My hope is that while reading these daily reflections through the forty days of Lent, you will be encouraged to look at the simplicity of the presence of God in nature, and that you will be able to slow down enough, to draw close enough, to hear Him as He whispers.”

This thought remained me with as I worked my way through the book. I myself enjoy gardening. A few years back we took our small side yard, tore out all the grass and put in a number of 4 x 4 beds to begin the adventure of square foot gardening. I really connected with the angle Margaret took with this book. I found myself looking at nature around me a little differently as each day Margaret presented a story of her own interactions with nature. Here are a few quotes from the book.

When reflecting upon a midwinter rainfall she wrote:  “I recalled times in my life where immediate gratification did not bring a continuing happiness. Those events too were a gift out of season. Timing matters, and the timing that matters most is God’s timing. I recognized the masquerade of those past few days for what they were: a foreshadowing of what was to come and not the true event that it pretended to be. I love spring with all its new life and developing growth. I appreciate  it even more after a long winter of rest.”

Upon observing a squirrel who bypassed a new treat of corn and peanuts for its usual meal of sunflower seeds she writes: “A more filling bounty is so close. It lies just beyond the meager bits of gratification found in the routine daily life. All that is needed is to break a habit and go beyond what is so familiar.”

Margaret relays the story of a neighborhood flowering shrub and it’s strong morning scent: “Scent is a wondrous thing, a curious gift from God. He gave us many gifts through which to find joy and pleasure. The sense of smell is only one, but it was the first of my senses that I realized as a child brought me delight independent of the city around me. Scent cannot be dreamed or imagined. It startles us into the present and in the same moment can carry us adrift into memories of  heaven and earth.”

Margaret Rose Realy reveals to readers the beauty of nature and how it points to God. This is a book meant for Lenten reading but is one I would encourage using throughout the gardening season. This book does a very good job of drawing the reader into a deeper appreciation of nature and it’s  role in one’s faith journey. Take it, read it,  allow Margaret’s work to open your eyes to the beauty and wonder of God’s creation that surrounds you.
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