I am involved in a training program to prepare myself to become part of the religious order: The Daughters of the King.

The Daughters of the King is a lay religious order for women of the Episcopal Church and other women in communion with the Episcopal Church.

What Is A Religious Order?

“In ‘religious order,’ the word  ‘order’ signifies a structured, organized community of individuals bound by shared religious vows and practices. It refers to the established system of rules, vows, and disciplines that guide the members of the community.” Google AI

What Is A Religious Order? My Personal Religious Order — While Welcoming America’s First-Elected Pope

What Is A Lay Religious Order?

“A lay order, often called a Third Order or Secular Order, is a group of lay men and women associated with a religious order but not necessarily living in a community. These individuals strive to live out the charism and spirituality of the religious order while living in the world and maintaining secular careers.” Google AI

One of my commitments to myself and to God is to Study the Bible Daily and to Learn to Pray Earnestly.

To help myself become more prayerful, I begin my morning in my garden. My garden teaches me to pray.

My garden is a reflection of the bounty of God’s gift of the flowers, trees, birds, etc., that He created.

While I am out in my garden, thoughts and songs come to me. This morning, the rain had just ceased, and everything was dripping wet. I thought about my grandmother’s favorite song “I Come to the Garden Alone–While the Dew Is Still on the Roses.”

I thank you, God, for “The Beauty of the Earth–for the Glory of the Skies.”

While I was in my garden this morning, I stooped to pull a few weeds, and I thought about the Parable of the Weeds or the Tares.

You see, I want to sow some wildflower seeds in an area that is overtaken with nut grass and other weeds.

The Parable of the Tares or the Weeds

Although this is not the message of the Parable of the Tares or Weeds, I know from experience that I need to pull the existing weeds before I plant new seeds.

Having recalled that Parable, I remembered another Parable: The Parable of the Sower:

The Parable of the Sower and the Seed

Perhaps these Parables about Planting were already on my mind. Last night, I was studying the manual for The Daughters of the King, and the following point was made:

God expects me to sow the seeds of my faith, but the rest of the work is in God’s hands. It is not my job to guarantee that the seeds of my faith find fertile ground. It is not my job to see that my seeds make beautiful flowers.

With God’s Help, I Am Merely a Sower.

Please, God, Help Me Sow Good Seeds.