Backyards

There is something special, something mystical, almost holy about that place we go where the cares of the world pass away and we commune with ourselves and with God.  For me, that place is the backyard.  Before the summer really set in, I would go and sit in the backyard and read, contemplate, pray, meditate or anything else that would ease my mind and lift my spirit.  I try to concentrate on God, to be still and to listen to Him.  Those times bring refreshment and renewal.

Today, I got up early to mow my yard for the first time in at least 3-weeks.  Between the rain and my allergies acting up worse than normal this summer I have not been able to get out to it. I was able to get that done right before it appeared the rain was about to set in.  Luckily, the day was overcast, without rain, and cool, remarkably so for July.  The high today didn't reach 80 and with the clouds and breeze, it felt like I should have been sitting at a football game.  I took full advantage of this weather and sat and read a book on the Rosary.  The weather was so nice, I closed my book and took a little nap. 

We moved into this house almost three years ago, and I don't know how I survived before I had this place to go.  I guess it is no coincidence that my re-connecting with my Catholic faith coincided with my connecting to my enjoyment of the backyard.  It is being able to go and find this place of stillness and silence (or at least of nothing but the white noise of God's creation) that I am able to connect with my Creator and grow in my personal relationship with Him.

Just one of many blessings bestowed upon me, of which I am undeserving.