Everything you need to know about life--about the mysteries of life, about the secret to life--can be learned in a garden, if you pay attention. For those of us hostage to the urban landscape, who pay little attention to the seasons, who rely upon the weather channel or weather.com to forecast the weather for us, those of us who proceed from one appointment to the next oblivious to our environment, oblivious to the turning of seasons, oblivious to the colors of plants--for us the church's recognition of the 40 days of Lent becomes a reminder that we cannot experience the Easter tide of resurrection and renewal until we first go through a period of disequilibrium, of dying, of shedding, of letting go, of winter. You cannot experience spring until you have first experienced winter. You cannot experience Easter, Resurrection Sunday, until you first experience Lent.

Copyright 2000 by The Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems

--from "Lessons Learned in a Garden" by the Rev. Dr. Renita Weems
Read "Lessons Learned in a Garden" in its entirety.