tending your secret garden

this post has been sitting in my drafts for quite some time.
it was basically just a quote & a few images taken weeks ago.
i pulled it out tonight & realized how relevant it was to some things that have been on my heart this week.

i ran across the quote below and it reminded me of the obvious truth.
abundance & lack
simultaneously existing at all times in our lives.
in one way or another anyway.

it reminded me of my focus
it reminded me that living in this country, i have always lived in abundance.
i really have never known lack.
i have seldom if ever been without.
yet, it's so easy for me to slip into thinking of what i don't have.
it's so easy to see the friend who seems to effortlessly have more.
more beauty. more joy. more boots. more friends. more vacations. more jewelry.
i don't dwell on those thoughts, but they still surface.

my hours at work have been cut significantly.
while it's supposed to be a 15% cutback across the board, for my bottom of the totem pole,
prn position
it's been cut basically 100%.
normally i don't mind the extra free time
but this has been going on for several months.
while i only work one day a week at the hospital,
those hours and that paycheck are what i'm used to.
the loss of the income has, embarrassing as it is to admit,
really had me in a funk.
i'll be honest, i like having some extra cash. some fun money.

i've taken on some photography commissions,
which is totally my passion!
i spent some time praying about the philanthropy
in which i would give some of my profits.
i'm so excited about the organization which has been on my heart

& now can be a place where i give.
(i'll share them with you this week)

giving.

a garden in my own heart that i want to tend.

whether i have my extra fun money

or i'm without.

i sure don't want my days on this earth to be all about tending my own garden of abundance.

while i'm always up for a new pair of boots or some fun new jewelry

(i'm keeping it real)

i want my heart to broken for those that truly are in need.

i want to be a good steward.

i want to become a giver.

for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

matthew 6.21

~~~~~

“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities.
It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present ~ love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure ~ the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.”

(sarah ban breathnach)