10.24.2025 | Ordinary Friday

​Making Space
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
—Psalm 51:10
 
The Winter Pansies are settling into the Parterre Garden. There’s something magical about them—these delicate blooms with an innate ability to withstand frigid temperatures and snow yet continue to flower. We usually plant them in early October, and they’ll often still be blooming come June. Such a gift.
 
Right now, we’re in the final throes of moving plants and buttoning things up before the inevitable arrival of the first frost. The issue in the garden isn’t beauty, it’s space. We’ve done a fantastic job of filling every nook and cranny with vibrant life. But now, we have a few more plants than we have room for.
 
I’ve been thinking a lot about space lately. Not just in the garden, but in my life. How much space I give to things I have absolutely no control over. I allow people, pain, or problems to take over the limited space I have—and it leaves no room for faith, or hope, or love.
 
You can’t create more space. The space around you, and the space in your schedule, is always the same. What changes is how much of it is already taken up. If you want to experience more space—for joy, for rest, for the things that matter most—you have to let go of what’s already occupying it.
 
That might mean releasing “stuff.” Or stepping back from commitments. Or shedding habits, grudges, or past hurts. If you want more space in your life, in your head, or in your heart, the path is through letting go.
 
It’s time to let some of those things go. It can be painful, yes. But it’s necessary for our well-being. I’m an old man, and some of my “baggage” is getting far too heavy to haul around anymore. It’s time to lighten the load. It’s time to make space.
 
May we all find the courage to clear the clutter, lighten the load, and make space for what truly blooms.