IN PROGRESS

A few weeks after this photo was taken,
we enjoyed colorful tulips. By summer's end,
the sticks at upper left become a mass of 
yellow (see photo at bottom).

An old weathered tub planter helps us welcome two growing seasons. In March we see the first hints of tulips. Within a month, after they've bloomed their hearts out and curled up, the cut-back twigs of marigolds stir and bring on a glowing yellow crown by August. What both have in common is many hours of sun from a south and west exposure.

And isn't that like our spiritual walks? The more we walk with God, absorbing the Son-reflected truths of scripture, the stronger the spiritual bloom. I thought of that principle in reading a devotional book by David Roper, The Strength of a Man (Discovery House, 1989). (It was a gift to my husband, but I read it, too.) As is my habit, I dog-eared pages that said “something more” to me. One was this, quoting an ancient spiritual thinker, Spain's St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), probably best known for his writings about the “dark night of the soul.” Roper drew these observations from the ancient writer:

St. John of the Cross says that walking with God produces three distinguishing characteristics in men—tranquility, gentleness, and strength. When He's by our side all our actions can be peaceful, gentle, and strong. Which suggests an immense depth of relationship that comes from time spent with our Lord, who 'works always in tranquility.' Anxiety, intensity, intolerance, instability, pessimism, and every kind of hurry and worry—even on the highest levels, are signs of the man who walks alone, the self-made and self-acting soul. God's men are seldom of that order. They share the quiet and noble qualities of the One with whom they walk. (p. 112)

The pandemic has forced people to more “alone” time, which has also translated to more media exposure (television, internet) as well as more reading time. Each of us has faced choices in how to use that time in feeding our minds and spirits. The character of those who entertain us on the media are not likely to reflect the “quiet and noble qualities of the One with whom they walk.” Sadly, for many, they become role models that pull us away from the character of God.

The reflective, spiritual walk is not achieved in spurts of guilt and “getting back to God.” It's the long, patient growing process that the Bible gives: The Word (scriptures), prayer, meditation and service. Or, to go back to my plants-in-tub illustration, it's daily seeking the life-giving rays of the Son of Righteousness in this slow process called “spiritual growth.” When we turn things over to Him, oh the possibilities!