This time of year, I start the seedlings for my summer outdoor garden. It always brings a certain joy and excitement about the upcoming warmer weather, but it also always brings my soul such calmness. Something about being in the dirt, albeit in planters this time of year, has always been where I have found reflection. Where I have found that I make space for God and that God seems to be loudest to me. My dear friend and I always say, “a little red wine and black dirt is good for the soul”!
The other day, while sifting through dirt, I started thinking about how the imagery of gardening and being one with the earth and nature comes up a lot in the bible. Even here, in Psalm 84, we’re met with the sparrows and swallows finding homes with God. Yup, I had to re-read that too, “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself”. Why use sparrows and swallows in a psalm about joys of worshiping in the temple?! It was an interesting concept to think about because sparrows and swallows don’t have a temple in the way that we think of temple. Even throughout history the word “temple” means a variety of different things. So, could this psalm be simply reminding us to quite the noise of our daily lives and be one with the Holy Spirit regardless of where we are? I know I’ve equated temple as church, but could it be that temple does not need to be the physical space we have come to think of it?
2020 brought new challenges, but for so many not being in the physical space of the church left them longing, much like in this psalm. But, perhaps, we can learn from the sparrow and swallow. Let’s be honest, there is something powerful in simply BEING with the holy spirit; in whatever capacity or physical location you might find yourself. For me, it’s my garden. For the swallow, it’s her nest. Whatever and wherever you find yourself at peace and one with the Holy Spirit, welcome it, cherish it, embrace it, and most importantly make time for it…especially now! Lent isn’t just about giving up it’s also about looking inward and ensuring that we are making space for the holy sprit and being spiritually fed.
Like little seedlings in my planters, we too need love, sun, water, patience and sometimes weeding! And when the holy spirit fills our souls, we too will sprout, bloom and spread the nourishment to others.
Jackie Baumhover
Director for Admissions
Wartburg Theological Seminary
