大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Julia Loveless

Good morning.

My housemates and I started a vegetable patch in our garden back in the Spring. We really went for it; clearing out a desolate patch of land and planting everything we could think of. After a couple of weeks of effort, we had a thriving vegetable patch. But then, gradually, the garden slipped down our priority list. It suddenly wasn鈥檛 as easy to find the time (or motivation!) to be out there, constantly weeding.

The weeds started winning, the slugs took more chances to decimate our crops. The most recent time I went out there to check on it, it was looking more like a nature reserve than a vegetable patch. I was amazed at how quickly nature had taken over, defaulted back to its beautiful chaos after our briefly imposed order. Reflecting on it these last few days, I realise it has taught me something about effort versus tenacity. There is something good about an initial passion; a flurry of activity, the motivation to do something and do it NOW.

But often in life, the things we鈥檙e so desperate to achieve require so much more than an initial spurt of energy and effort. They require perseverance, consistency and tenacity. If we had sustained a little more tenacity, I imagine we鈥檇 be enjoying a lot more kale right now. God, I recognise this morning that though it feels productive in the moment, spurts of effort don鈥檛 often create a something that lasts. Most things we would love to pursue take a lot more patience, consistency and tenacity. Help me develop that tenacity today.

Amen.