Sunburn and the Spiritual Journey

For months we've been planning our outdoor garden.  We started tons of plants inside in March and have been waiting for the day.  Yesterday was that day.  With the raised bed filled with soil and broken up, we were ready to go, but we got off to a late start, and for all our plans we weren't quite ready when we stood in front of the plot. 

So, we grabbed a corner and started planting.  After a couple hours, the job was finished and all those tiny plants that sat in our windows looking impressive, now looking like tepid weeds waiting to be pulled up for their annoyance. 

Within hours of finishing a couple things were clear:
Carrots and peas don't transplant well.
Even on a cool day, the bright sun is hot.
That sun will, in fact, burn you.

I had forgotten sunblock, and so at the end of the day I was sore and tired and red.  So, skin burned and lesson learned.

In a sense, the same is true in the spiritual journey.   In my life, I have had the joys of a spontaneous conga line in church.  I've been part of worship teams, drama groups, prayer teams, bible studies, and a Sunday school teacher.  It is a part of my life that I really do love.  At the same time, I've felt betrayed by church leaders, disappointed with sermons, misled by church friends, and the odd person out of retreat four square.

Through it all, I need to remain hopeful.  The church is imperfect because people are imperfect.  To expect more is asking too much of the church and of ourselves.  I can't remember the last time I was perfect. The spiritual journey winds as maddeningly as pea vines planted too close together. At the end of the day the plants in the yard and the people in the pews are on a journey.  We don't know what will happen next.  Will there be frost this week?  Will there be rain?  Will we grow or wilt?  It all remains to be seen.

In terms of the garden, we know that it's May outside and the season is just beginning.  We have hope that the sun will shine and the rain will be steady, but not too windy.  It isn't the same with the spiritual journey.  What is our season?  We may be long-time members of the church, but stuck in February.  We could be young, but look ahead with August eyes.  It's not for us to understand.  All we can do is start the seeds, prepare the soil and remember our sunblock.