May is a marvelous month in Minnesota. As a gardener, I find great delight in these lengthening, warming days. So many seeds sprouting, flowers blooming, birds singing. So much possibility, hope, and new life springing up from the ground. Alleluia and thanks be to God!

In the midst of keeping up with planting, composting, work and parenting, I am seeking to claim much-needed, soul-renewing moments of stillness, prayer, reflection and wonder. I have encountered these prayer practices over the past couple of weeks and wanted to share them with all of you who may well be seeking the same.

During his visit with us, South African Pastor Alan Storey urged us all to practice stillness and to slow down even as crises are speeding up. One thing he lifted up is that the divine name revealed to Moses in the burning bush – YHWH – is itself the very sound of breath. This week, I invite you to pause and breathe – and as you breathe, remember that with each breath you are speaking the name of God, the source of our being and life. This God, as Alan preaches, created you “in love, by love, and for love.”

Another spiritual teacher, Shane Claiborne, shares that he has a daily practice of praying the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As I marvel at the fruits forming in my garden, I will meditate on these fruits of the Spirit and pray for the Spirit to form them in me, in the garden of my being. I will seek to notice these fruits in myself and others and give thanks for the ongoing work of the Spirit.

Keep breathing, beloveds. God is alive. Thanks be to God.

Pastor Martha