Beauty was just outside my door.

But my to-do list called to me.

Emails to answer.

Deadlines to meet.

A speaking engagement to prepare.

Unusual warm rays of sun broke through winter, peeking through my windows.

But I just kept on working.

Hands on the clock slipped from one hour to the next, and suddenly I realized that soon the winter sunshine would ebb into nightfall.

And I was about to miss it.

I grabbed a light jacket and slipped outside. For the next hour I plunged my hands in soil, removing debris, pulling up dead roots, sweeping away the brown and curled leaves from the garden bed. Just underneath small green shoots poked through the soil.

I had almost missed this.

Maybe, like me, you sometimes get stuck in a place where you work, work, work. But instead of physical work, it’s spiritual work.

Lord, see how hard I’m trying to change.

Lord, maybe if I win this battle, you’ll love me more.

If I do this, or do that, I’ll finally be like her. . . or her.

Maybe, to you, gardening is just more work and you don’t get the point. But there’s something about putting my hands in the soil that breathes life into me. Seeing the old fall away. Watching new life emerge. Admiring the beauty rise up through the barren places.

My God knows that about me, just as He knows you.

In the midst of our work, work, work, He calls us to stop for a moment so He can lead us to a place of refreshment, of rest, of restoration.

Maybe today, you have been working, working, working. . . and you sense God asking you to stop.

Just for a moment.

To step into His Light.

To let Him clear away any debris. To let Him remove any dead branches. To let Him breathe life into your heart and soul in the midst of winter.

Will you do that today?

 The Word gave life to everything that was created,and his life brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 1:4-5 (NLT)