the church of the beautiful garden

We attended the church of the beautiful garden this weekend.  

The weather was perfection, so out we went, into the cathedral called the Botanical Garden in Fort Worth.

Barbara Brown Taylor brought the homily, via Kindle:

"[Divine union] can happen all alone with God, but it can also happen with other people and sometimes even with trees. It is not achieved as much as given--the often fleeting but fully memorable gift of escaping the small self long enough to glimpse a wholeness more real than the most real brokenness.  In the light of this wholeness, it can become impossible to make meaningful distinctions between God and other people, trees, or anything else in creation.  Everything that exists, exists in this wholeness.  Everything that lives, lives in this light."  

from An Altar in the World

photo:  Andy Bruner

photo:  Andy Bruner

photo:  Andy Bruner

photo:  Andy Bruner

photo:  Andy Bruner

photo:  Andy Bruner

The hymn was this:

This is my Father's world;

He shines in all that's fair.

In the rustling grass, I hear him pass;

He speaks to me everywhere.

We had some silent meditation, there by the water, and the water made me remember what Richard Rohr says:

"Until we are led to the limits of our current game plan, and find it to be insufficient, we will not search out or find the the real source, the deep well, or the constantly flowing stream."

And it seemed to me that even our brokenness is part of the wholeness.  Even our darkness is part of the light, made whole and redeemed by Love.

The beauty of a January garden with dried grasses and barely-there leaves and blooms tiny and hidden away is the cycle of ending and beginning, of the great wholeness that includes the pain and the sorrow and the joy and the hope.

True beauty, true Love, contains and comprehends all of these things.

This is our Father's world.

Later, the Avett Brothers brought the benediction in the car on the way home.

I went on the search for something real
I traded what I know for how I feel
But the ceiling and the walls collapsed
Upon the darkness I was trapped
And as the last of breath was drawn from me
The light broke in and brought me to my feet

Yeah I'm rested and I'm ready
I'm rested and I'm ready
Yeah I'm rested and I'm ready
I'm rested and I'm ready to begin
I'm ready to begin

Read more: Avett Brothers - February Seven Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Then I came home and colored for a while.

And I want to tell you about this, because it's the part of church where we get to share our abundance with others, and it turns out I have  a little abundance of coloring books!

Meditations is a brand-new coloring book, just being released in the States TODAY.  I got an early copy from the publisher, which is so fun, because it means I'm going to do a giveaway soon.  Stay tuned for that!

You can check it out on the publisher's website

Meanwhile, this Monday morning, go forth into the darkness with Light, and into the sorrow with Love.  Go in peace knowing that this is our Father's world, and everything that lives, lives in His light.

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