We made it to May! Isn’t that wonderful. Winter is almost always a challenge and this April, with the weather not really sure what it wanted to do made it real confusing. Now in May we can look around our gardens and see signs that summer is on the way. We have birds nesting and all kinds of flowers are making their way to bloom. For me, watching the leaves emerge from the trees and flowers bloom from what seemed to be dead earth, and new birds on the feeder indicates that God loves us. All this beauty shared with us.

39 He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. Luke 22:39

Jesus spent time in the garden praying. It was the garden where he prayed his last night with the disciples. They were used to this place because Jesus felt close to the Father there. Jesus spent time with the Father in the garden on a regular basis. “As was his custom.” After he fed the five thousand, he prayed. Before he chose his disciples he prayed. The night before he was betrayed, he prayed, in the garden where he felt most comfortable. He set the example for us.

As we enter into the busyness of the warmer days of the year, let’s not forget to spend time talking with God. That is all prayer is you know, just talking with God. As we plan our vacations, as we plant the garden, as we plan our activities, plan a place for prayer. You can start on Sundays in church. The quiet of the liturgy and the singing of the hymns are designed to make your talk with God possible. It is an easy way to set aside time to communicate with God.

Give it a try.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Mark