I Pulled Some Weeds

Yesterday I got down and dirty.

I pulled some weeds. I only marginally enjoyed it, being dirty isn't my top priority. Unlike my three year-old niece who picked a bouquet of dandelions for her grandma this weekend, I did experience a certain satisfaction with digging up the roots and watching them wither. I'm 100% adult.

It's also quite possible I pulled up the roots of some healthy (unidentified) plants.

So it got me thinking about roots, and growth, and transitions.

Here I am in SD, putting down roots (for example, yesterday I planted lettuce, spinach, basil, cilantro, rosemary, and day lilies).  I'm trying to put down roots of other sorts as well. We've started attending Plymouth Congregational Church in town, and I have been happy with the familiar liturgy and the friendly welcome. The female pastor has given refreshing sermons that resonate with my theological leanings, and they are thrilled to have a young couple in attendance (our youthful glow helps increase our popularity a midst a relatively aging congregation) :)

And I have felt the Spirit move within our marriage while worshiping at Plymouth Congregational.

Someone once asked me how I go about selecting which church to attend, and I recall giving some formal response about the possibility of ordination (as a woman, as a choosy theologian, etc.). Yet I sense that the real criteria I use has something to do with how loudly we sing the songs, the tone of our conversation after worship, and how easy it is to pray together. I know that our marriage thrives in the movement of the Spirit, and the conversations we have after attending Plymouth Congregational are full of love and compassion and dedication. We are prompted to pray with openness and honesty. And when we're belting out those hymns, people turn in their pews to see who it is!

So I suppose we are growing roots within our new community a little at a time, but the major work we are doing is regenerating the roots of our marriage. After 4 months apart, we are settling into the soil of Mina, SD. We are refreshed by the spring rain of love and laughter. We are fertilized by worship and prayer. I am rejuvenated by the sunshine I feel while holding his hand. We are sustained by the daily routine of simply being together.

Oh- and I woke up this morning to the sound of chirping birds... and actually got out of bed!

I will end this post by stating that the man who holds my hand (and my heart, and my financial security at the moment) and I have decided that rather than taking a trip to celebrate our 3rd anniversary next week, we are going to take a boat ride on our very own lake. I suppose it may have something to do with this elusive "putting down roots" way of living.

So where do I go from here? Today I drive into Aberdeen to have lunch with my husband. The tastiest way I know to lay down roots.

                                      My New Look- perhaps another indication of transition