Great time with Jay and his band of volunteers from Grace Place yesterday.  Despite the threat of cold and rainy weather, over us was it just beautiful.  Got some new plants in, raked up fallen leaves and generally spruced up the place. Early this morning before dawn, I had a blessed quiet time with the Lord on and around the island while enjoying the beautify of this place and his presence. 

What a wonderful day we had again on Prayer Island. Jay and his group of wonderful ladies and men spent hours raking, planting (even one handed), and even risking their lives on the high seas (Lake Elijah) to pull up some overgrown cattails. Though not up to it's former glory (grass is not doing too well and some plants have been lost or trimmed down), it is coming back and now has some fresh new color as we get ready for Easter Sunrise service. The area around the cross has been redone. New grass and new benches now surround the center of the island and what represents the center of our new life in Christ.  The older benches had rotted and were dangerous to sit on but the new ones will last a lifetime.  For those that donated the former benches, I plan to have the plaques that didn't fare so well also replaced and a new memorial sculpture made to attach all of them and even more as needed. 
Check out the updated photos. 

This past Saturday, Jay brought some familiar and some new folks from Christ Fellowship Singles group to work and give in service to the God of the garden.  And work they did.  By the time I got there, they were already hard at it raking the fall leaves and hauling off debris left over from the quite needed but severe trimming that the Dunklin landscaping crew had begun already last week.  While I was initially shocked at the changes, I accepted that this temporary pruning was for the ultimate health of the garden. I began to see that there was a greater lesson in this for us as well. Routine weeding and feeding are required to have a beautiful garden, but once in a while, perhaps just before the change in seasons, trees and shrubs have to be cut back in order to prepare for even a greater growth in due time. The old and dead growth is removed so as to let the sunlight in to nourish the soil and the plants living below the trees.  It is no different in our own lives.  What we often see as painful and of no sense, may be a situation loving applied to us so as to remove the dead and unproductive areas in our heart or spirit, making room for God to then grow us and shape our character to more faithfully reflect that of the Lord.  

Before they left, plans were already being made for their next Prayer Island Workday. What a blessing. Thanks to all!