Have Fun With God

I’m enjoying reading Tea Time Discipleship by Sally Clarkson this week. She shares God’s love “one cup at time” and writes about how we should have joy in our walk with God. We should have fun, play, dance and create daily. Inspired by her words, I decided I was going to set some time aside this afternoon to putter in the garden.  

I love working in the garden after a rain, especially in April when everything is just starting to burst with fresh green leaves. Discovering the first bright yellow daffodil buds and welcoming the birds to build their spring nests brings my soul joy. The garden is full of surprises as it emerges from the long winter rest.

To work in the garden is to have the faith to know that God is always with us.

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting
And His faithfulness is to all generations.

Psalm 100.

Growing in our faith with God means we must open our hearts to have fellowship with Him. This is a life-long project. One of the many things I love about the garden is that it is always changing from one season to the next.  The garden grows me closer to God as it teaches me life lessons of endurance.  We prune, nurture, harvest through the seasons.  We pray away doubts and challenges. We dig deep in faith and persevere. The garden teaches us that faith plants hope in our souls and give us continuous joy in our hearts to weather through the seasons of life.

I began working in the garden early this April morning. Everything was sparkling with dew following days of rain. I put on my “armor” of garden clothes, grabbed my tools and bucket with a joyous heart, and prepared to conquer the freshly grown weeds and the limbs of plants and trees in need of pruning.  

I quietly began praising God for opening the heavens and thanking Him while reciting one of my favorite bible verses:

"The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.”

Deuteronomy 28:12

Oh, what joy I was having! I was dancing around the garden, digging in the wet soil, feeding the plants, and pruning away the old to welcome in the new.  I found myself humming songs from old musicals like “Singing in the Rain” and imaging myself dancing (almost flying) through the garden like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. 

I pictured my Goddaughter and her son who love to grab their umbrellas and put on their rainboots to dance and splash in the rain.  What fun it can be for us to choose to embrace these beautiful moments from God. Whether in the garden, taking a walk, visiting a friend or creating something from the heart, all of these precious moments are for you to take in the splendor of God’s love. 

After several hours in the garden, the sun began to set bringing in the cooler evening air. I found myself covered from head to toe in dirt and mud, with remnants of yellow petals from the mustard weeds. I looked like I had more of the garden on me than what I cleaned up throughout the day! I discarded the last bucket of debris and took my final walk through the garden to survey my work and made sure I didn’t leave anything behind. Although I was a little tired and feeling some soreness in my muscles, I found myself at peace and completely rejuvenated with joy. 

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 ESV

I took a few minutes for a deep breath and gave thanks to God for this day of fun childlike play in the garden.

I could almost hear Sally Clarkson talking to me:  Oh, how our God wants us to have fun with Him, to laugh and be joyous in all the things we do.  My heart felt refreshed as I was reminded not to let the weeds of life overtake the fun and joyous moments in our daily lives. 

As I put my garden tools away, I was reminded that although weeds can be deeply rooted, it takes some endurance to dig them out -- much like our own weeds of doubt, hurt and uncertainty. We must be willing to grow our faith and put our full trust in God to dig those deeply rooted weeds out of our souls so we may blossom a beautiful Heart garden of fun and joy through every season of our lives.

Let’s get rooted in God’s word to unroot the weeds of hurt and doubt. Let’s open our Heart Gardens to grow abundant blossoms of joy!

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!
Psalm 20:4 ESV

This season remember to have fun. Embrace the joyous love of God throughout your day…

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Hosea 10:12 ESV

Thoughtful reflection:

What are you doing to intentionally have joy today?

Fun: Picture in detail a fun time from your childhood. Schedule some time this week for fun – ride a bike, enjoy an ice cream cone, go for a boat ride, dance and sing to some music, etc.

Faith: Write out two of your favorite verses from the bible on pretty paper. Decorate it with watercolors and frame it.

Trust: Trust in tomorrow. Just as the garden has seasons, we do, too. Change is growth and it’s always happening.