05.01.2026 | Friday in Eastertide

BITTERSWEET
 
The end of April is a bittersweet season for this old gardener. We celebrate the birthday of our beloved goddaughter, and we remember my mom’s heavenly birthday. She would have been 90 this year. It is hard to believe she has been gone for 21 years. Yesterday also marked the anniversary of my father in law’s passing, eleven years now. In just a few days we have attended funerals and birthday celebrations. We have received wonderful news and some frightening news. April holds all of it at once.
 
Life is that way. Good things happen. Hard things happen. And we do our best to carry it all.
 
A couple of days ago, on our way to a doctor’s appointment, we were doing our morning readings as we usually do. The passage was from Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 
I will give you rest. Lay your burdens down. I will give you rest.
The words were exactly what we needed.
 
Life is bittersweet, the good and the hard mixed together, but we are reminded that there is One who is gentle and humble, One who offers rest for our souls when we need it most. We are not alone. We do not have to walk through the darkness by ourselves. We have Someone to lean on, Someone who helps carry us when the weight becomes too much.
 
The Good Shepherd is there.
Listen for the voice.
 
I am trying to quiet myself enough to hear it, that steady whisper saying, “I am here. Come and find rest for your soul.”
 
May the soil beneath your feet
steady your spirit today.
 
May the first green shoots of hope
find their way through whatever feels heavy.
 
May the Gardener of all things
tend the hidden places of your heart
with gentleness and light.
 
And may rest come to you
like soft rain on thirsty ground
leaving your soul renewed
and your path made clear.