In her garden, any woman can be a goddess! Whether she has a pot of herbs on her kitchen windowsill, a patio pot garden, or a BIG garden, blessed with trees, bushes and lawns to be mowed, she’s the Goddess of Abundance. That’s why I’ve chosen a garden image to illustrate Abundance.
Notice that the woman in the picture isn’t loafing around waiting for a cornucopia of goodies to fall upon her. She believes in the loving provision of an abundant universe. She has a vision of the garden she wants. But she also works for it. She understands what Dottie, a friend of mine who led a Bible study group of over 400 women. said to me one day: “Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on YOU!”
So the Garden Goddess gets down and dirty. Out come her packets of seeds, bags of dirt, seedlings, tools and garden gloves. Out comes her watering can or hose. It’s messy work, but she loves it. Because the end result of her soul-ful labor will be Beauty and Abundance.
She may pray as she plants her garden and cares for it. For me, gardening is prayer. It’s faith that, so long as you do your part, the soil will quicken and bear fruit in season. The words “in season” are important. Gardens don’t flourish overnight. They take time and attention. There are long, discouraging weeks, sometimes months, when it looks as if nothing is happening. It is! You just can’t see what’s going on underground in the mysterious alchemy between soil, seed, water and nutrients. Gardens have their own rhythms and cycles – just like your life.
So be patient with your garden. Be patient with yourself. Plant what you need and can manage. You don’t need to recreate Versailles. Just your own special corner of beauty that makes you happy.
Do you yearn for abundance? First, believe that it’s possible. Believe that the Universe is abundant beyond imagination. That Spirit wants to provide what you need. Tap into that, and work with it. After all, the first job God ever gave us was to care for the Garden!
Of course, gardening isn’t the only source of abundance, though it’s one of the loveliest I know. Do you create abundance in other ways? Fine. Not everyone was born to wield a spade. You may be a teacher, whose garden is the children you work with. A stay-at-home mom, cultivating her family. A fashionista, creating designs that turn women into exotic flowers. An accountant or mathematician, who understands and works with the complex beauty of numbers. You could be anything. Whatever your garden is, cultivate it. Do the dreaming. Do the work.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, whose book, The Power of Intention, has inspired me, urges us to have “an abundance mentality.” He doesn’t just talk the talk. Like the Garden Goddess, he’s the model of the abundant dreamer. During times of economic slump, he worked several jobs at once to make ends meet. He never stopped believing that he, in cooperation with Spirit, would create limitless abundance for himself, his family, and those he sought to reach. So he did.
In challenging economic times, such as those we face today, it’s vital to continue to believe in the limitless Abundance of the universe. You are part of that Abundance. You were born to create it…