Martin Luther King, Jr., in being asked to publish some of his sermons, wrote in the preface to his book, “. . . a sermon is directed toward the listening ear rather than the reading eye. . . I offer these discourses in the hope that a message may come to life for readers of the printed words.”  This is my hope for you, dear reader. - Rev Linda

April 23, 2006

THE BLOOMIN’ YOU:
GOD IS OUR BUD’

First off I want to thank Barry Goldsmith for the title of today’s talk, God Is Our Bud.’ It sounds like something Barry would say, doesn’t it? We are God in the bud, aren’t we? That’s one thing about Religious Science, we don’t mince words about the truth of who we are.

I’ve noticed my neighbors digging up the ground in their yards, preparing to plant gardens here and there. Any gardeners here?
Well, I like gardening, but my gardening seems to be focusing on something of a different sort, spiritual gardening. And I tell you, it’s a real “growing” experience.

When you think about it, gardening is really awakening. The seeds awaken within the soil, and that awakens the faith within us. We plant a seed and we KNOW that it will grow and produce a flower or a vegetable or whatever it is we planted. We do what we can to do our part, but we believe that it will grow just because of what it is. And our faith grows stronger as we produce, as we see those little plants coming up out of the ground, as we taste that first radish, or cut that first flower. Before long we’re making whole salads, filling large vases, freezing vegetables.

It’s the same with our spiritual garden. It’s awakening the faith within us to open to the fullness of who we are. We plant a seed, speak our word, and it manifests into form. We do what we can to do our part, but we must believe that it will come to fruition, because “it is done unto us as we believe.” And our faith grows stronger as we practice, as we taste the fruits of our labor, see the results, get the parking spots, we see the changes in relationships, or we have the healings. Before long we’re having more and more demonstrations.

And we start remembering the divine sparks that we are—God in the bud.

All we’re about here is learning who we are, and the way we learn is through practice. We’re practicing opening the buds we are. Every aspect of life is an opportunity to see God in us and practice that Presence.

Life is a big grand piano. And I get to practice on it all I want to. Like the Robin Williams movie, When Dreams May Come. I loved watching him practice his new-found abilities. Well, that’s how we are. We’ve made a really great discovery. We’re free! We can choose whatever we want.

We’ve got a new bike. All we have to do is hop on and learn to keep our balance. Remember learning to ride a bicycle? Anybody here get a few skun knees? “Skun.” Now that’s one of those Down East words, skun. We’re in a spiritual garden, practicing opening to our greatness.

We’re buds in the garden of God.

We’re a variety of wild God-flowers, each one of us different. And that’s why we when we talk about practicing in our spiritual garden, we quickly come to realize that how I practice and how you practice may not be exactly the same. What works for me may not work for you and vice-versa. And so each of us is left to discover for ourselves what it is about us that is unique and, therefore, what works for us.

We are all so different in our Oneness. This can be a challenge. I would say that I have spent some time during most of my life trying to come up with THE perfect spiritual practice for me. And guess what. I haven’t got it yet. Because what I’ve come to see is that it’s constantly evolving.

I love what I read in a study guide in Science of Mind Magazine a few years ago. Rev. Duchess Dale said, “I wake up. . . and I know I am being called to do spiritual work. Even though it usually feels like the last thing in the world I would want to do, I get out of my warm and cozy bed and go into my study for prayers, meditation or writing.”

Any of you ever feel that way? We don’t always feel like doing our spiritual gardening, do we? We don’t always feel like God in the bud.

But what we have to learn is to go beyond our feelings that don’t serve us, to step through them with faith, and do what we need to do. And it can leave us wondering if it was worth it. Sometimes it feels like growing asparagus. It might take a long time before you get much out of it. But once you have that patch going good, it’s a wonderful thing.

Our founder Dr. Ernest Holmes said, “. . . we must remember that very frequently it takes what we call time for events to transpire, and therefore we should realize that the growth of thought into experience may take time to mature. [We] who trust in God will not make haste; [we] will not be confused; [we] will contemplate the object of [our] desire and believe that [we have] it whether [we see] it or not. [We] will know that always, by the silent processes of the Law, the harvest is gradually taking form.” (The Power of An Idea, p. 59.2)

It’s especially wonderful to be in practice when disaster strikes. Like hail storms. When Bill and I were living in Hudson, Colorado, one summer, we had a beautiful garden in our back yard. Bill was growing his vegetables, and I was growing flowers. I even overheard the farmer who lived behind us tell his grandson one day as they drove by on his tractor, what a beautiful garden we had.

But late in August, just when everything was big and lush, getting ready to pick, a hail storm came up at around 9 o’clock one night, and for about an hour pea-size hail shredded the farmer’s corn field behind us, all the leaves on every tree in the little town, and everything in our beautiful garden. Everything.

Except one sunflower. One sunflower remained, beat up, but still standing, its big face refusing to give up. I’ll never forget that sunflower. It reminds me of Job in all his afflictions. He lost everything he had, his property, his home, his family, even his friends forsook him. But he remained faithful and prospered again.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be like Job and that sunflower. Because I know that things are going to come around that I might not like. Things change. Nothing stays the same. It can’t. It’s an impossibility. The paradox is that God, the Changeless, must ever be changing. Life cannot stand still. It is ever evolving.

And sometimes I don’t like what I see in that evolution. Sometimes it’s hard for me to see God in it, and especially in me. Sometimes my garden gets real overgrown with weeds that don’t look much like anything I meant to plant. But there they are. Big as day.

And if I’m out of practice, I can get pretty sore pulling all those weeds, all that bending over, using muscles I haven’t used for a while. Dr. Wayne Dyer in his book Real Magic says we either get our enlightenment through suffering or some other way. One way or the other, we’re going to get it. So we may as well enjoy the contrast.

So it’s important to grow our spiritual garden, to keep practicing, to open up fully to the beautiful blooms we are. We know we have to tend our physical bodies to keep them in good condition. We know we have to exercise our minds to stay alert. We know we have to give our emotions healthy outlets. And we know, too, that to be a whole person, we must evolve spiritually.

If you could look at your day as a spiritual garden plot, what would it look like? For me it starts out as a beautiful, healthy patch where I am consciously aware of who I am. But as the day wears on, my garden starts filling with weeds and looking a little parched in places. Is that how it is for you? Well, it’s a challenge. So one of the things I am learning to do is come back to the garden to do a little work and some weed pulling later in the day.

Learn to change negative thoughts to praise. Learn to say to yourself, “Okay, so I screwed up, but you know what, I learned from that. And I praise myself for learning that lesson. It brings me one step closer to knowing who I am, maybe by knowing who I’m not. And I praise and love myself for that.

You are the most beautiful flower awakening in your spiritual garden.

In closing I’d like to share with you and excerpt from CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD: BOOK 3 by Neale Donald Walsch. In this portion, God speaks first.

I want you to know that I love you. I have no judgments about you. I look at you and see only beauty and wonder.

Like that primitive art.

Precisely. I hear your melody and I feel only excitement.

As with primitive music.

You are understanding now. I feel the energy of your race as you would the energy of a man or woman of “primitive sensuality.” And, like you, I am aroused. Now that is what is true about you and Me. You do not disgust Me, you do not disturb Me, you do not even disappoint Me.

You arouse Me!

I am aroused to new possibilities, to new experiences yet to come. In you I am awakened to new adventures, and to the excitement of movement to new levels of magnificence.

Far from disappointing Me, you thrill Me! I am thrilled at the wonder of you. You think you are at the pinnacle of human development, and I tell you, you are just beginning. You have only just begun to experience your splendor!
You grandest ideas are as yet unexpressed, and your grandest vision unlived.

But wait! Look! Notice! The days of your blossoming are at hand. The stalk has grown strong, and the petals are soon to open. And I tell you this: The beauty and the fragrance of your flowering shall fill the land, and you shall yet have your place in the Garden of the Gods. (p. 273)