Diary of a church Dog. 21
Mumma was telling me recently about the railway cottages on Kirkstall Lane and how when she was a child, she remembers one garden in particular that had ornaments in the garden and one wall plague in particular with the Kipling quote:
Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener’s work is done upon his knees.
Although that is the correct quote the one upon the plaque actually read:
Oh, Adam was a gardener and the Lord who made him sees
That the better part of garden work is done upon your knees.
I suppose it was a deliberate misquote to be more garden centric or probably just a 1970’s commercial thing! Who knows? The sentiment though is the same it is about finding God in the everyday joy of gardening or simply just finding God in the everyday. Sometimes when mumma is in her garden and pottering about she will often sing to herself (whilst I run around barking at aeroplanes and birds, for some reason I don’t seem to like flying things!!) She was once singing hymns so loudly that the neighbour commented that it must have been an uplifting service that particular Sunday to leave her so imbued with the sense of joy that the particular hymn brough. It all makes me think that finding joy in the small things is an art that people do seem to be in the process of unlearning in a world where only big and grand seem to matter. I would advocate that finding joy in the ‘small’ is a worthwhile endeavour be it a hymn, a rose bush or hedge in bloom, a jigsaw completed or any number of personal small achievements like remembering what you came into a room for! The bin men taking all the rubbish! A hand written envelope arriving in the mail! A pound coin found down the sofa or a chocolate bar found at the back of the cupboard that is still in date!! Enjoy and celebrate them all. So, to end I use that well known quote much used on coasters, wall art and internet memes;
DANCE like no one is watching.
LOVE like you have never been hurt.
SING like no one is watching and
LIVE like it’s heaven on earth
Much love TJ