Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

If you like weather, then March is always a great month here in Wake Forest. We are pretty much guaranteed a little of everything:

• You like winter? Got you covered.
• Summer? We’ll have a few days of that too.
• Snow and ice? Probably.
• Glorious sunshine? You bet.
• 83-degrees? Practically guaranteed.
• Rain? Hail? High winds? Fog? Let me check the schedule.
• A couple of late freezes? Check.
• Beautiful, open the doors and windows, drink in the fresh air springtime? Just about every day it’s not doing something else!

March is a big gardening month too. Lots of cleanup, prep, planting, fertilizing, and transplanting. Did I mention digging?

Rebekah and I got started this weekend, just a little to ease us in. It’s a fairly manageable project for two mid-sixties, sore-back, easily-tired, don’t give me that “age is just a number” baloney people.

Beyond the new fence in my parents’ back garden there is a good-sized bed of daffodils. But it’s out of sight now so Rebekah and I went digging and – a couple of hours later – we had literally hundreds of healthy bulbs ready for their new home in the front.

Today’s project involves grouping the bulbs, finding “random” locations, then digging small holes. Some of the plants should bloom in the next couple of weeks, others will make us wait until next spring.

My Point?

Essentially, this is an intentionally calm, restorative, non-dramatic, take-a-deep-breath, relax and let the garden heal you post.

Life is stressful. The world is stressful. Both the pandemic and the war in Eastern Europe are taking their toll on our spirits. But we can – every day – choose to find peace exactly where we are.

This is my word for Monday. “Peace,” Jesus says; Jesus offers. “I am offering you peace; not the world’s kind of peace, but my peace. Receive it. Receive me.”

Thanks, Jesus. We all needed that – DEREK