Catholic Husband

Love / Lead / Serve

Prayer and Flowers

This summer, Alison and I really got into gardening. We had an herb garden on our back porch along with assorted flowers, we had a small garden growing peas, potatoes, garlic, and onions. The biggest challenge we faced was the sun. Our garden had tons of sunlight and, with this summer's heat, lots of difficulty flourishing. We took a trip for about four days and when we came home, most of our plants were dead.

The whole experience called my attention back to my daily prayer life. Our prayer life is a lot like that garden. We need to be like the good gardner, diligently tending to the garden of our prayer life. Our prayer life needs attention daily, plenty of resources, and most importantly, reserved time. If you set aside time for prayer, it'll happen.

Like a garden, our prayer life can flourish if we give it the attention that it needs. If we remain disciplined, we'll grow. Yet, only a small dose of negligence is all that's required for us to start to lose the vibrancy. It can be regained, just as a recently withering plant can be brought back in a few days with water. Yet, there's a point where we have to start all over.

Prayer should be the cornerstone of our days, and yet it can be difficult to get started and keep going. Remind yourself of your role as the gardener of your soul, keep your eye on your prayer life, and keep on praying.