HELLO!

You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground. God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy. Their faces glow with health, a people well-fed and hearty. God’s trees are well-watered—the Lebanon cedars God planted. Psalm 104:14-16

What would I see if I came across your front lawn? I remember my visits in Toronto, those I served lived in smaller homes with tiny front lawns. Every inch of those lawns had been turned into vegetables planters. I have not witnessed that in my visits in Tantallon, Halifax or Dartmouth. A few homes do have one planter box or a greenhouse, but the site of multiple wooden planters filled with vegetables, I have not seen.

What does the Bible say about such grassy scenes? Psalm 104 has words to ponder. It sets the scene, you can imagine the canvas being filled in as it moves along: the waters flowing through the mountains and the valleys; teams of fish swimming in it; animals drinking off to the side; the birds singing while they circle and make nests; the cattle in the distance grazing; trees providing shade; a sunset; people working together peacefully, making wine, bread, and oil. The Psalmist’s heart is stirred. “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live” (v. 33). Surely, we’ve all had such heart-stirring moments. Celtic spirituality calls those moments of holy wonder “thin spaces” where the separation between this world and eternity is removed – we walk in both places. Psalm 104 not only wonders at the creativity of God, but it connects God’s creativity with our own ability to be creative. The Psalm says that God causes the plants to grow and we cultivate them. It’s a team effort. We are united with God in a mission to cultivate the wonder. To ensure the world is wonder-full.

Over the last 20 years since we moved into our Tantallon home I have pondered what to place on our front lawn (we are one of the few properties in the subdivision that did not landscape/sod our “fill” lawn, dumped there when Haliburton Hills was first created). It still looks like the surface of the moon. I asked the owner of a local restaurant “Delish” if I could have his Cadbury cow one passed on the way to the front door. Dennis laughed, he didn’t know I was serious. On another occasion, when I found out the old Rainbow Valley park was being sold in PEI, I wrote the owners to see if I could have the “spaceship” for my lawn. No one wrote me back. The lawn remains barren with deep holes dug by groundhogs.

Perhaps I just need to let go of this impulse to tinker with what God has done with our space. I need to allow myself to be wonderstruck. Allow my heart to be stirred by the beauty of God. Allow my wonder to transport me to deep places, thin places, where Nova romps and sleeps. “Teach Me, God, to Wonder” (#299 Voices United). May we realize wonder…actualize it…share it. There’s wisdom in that! Peace, Kevin