Tend the Garden of My Soul

"A farmer went out to sow his seed..."Matthew 13:3

Tend the Garden of My Soul

Make my soul a garden, O Lord:
  full of beauty,
  lush with mature growth,
  bearing abundant fruit.

You have said that a tree will be known
by its fruit;
  I want to bear good fruit.
    Fruit that feeds others.
    Fruit that is pleasing to you.

Tend the garden of my soul, O God.

Till the soil of my heart.
  Take away my hardness of heart,
    that I will not resist your love.
  Dig up the soil of my heart, turn it over, 
    that my heart may welcome your Word.
  Remove the rocks that would keep
    your Good News from taking root;
  clear out the thorns and weeds
      that compete against your Good News.

Till the soil of my heart:
  remove all evil thoughts and selfish desires;
  help me to overcome the worries of the world;
  nourish my heart with your Word,
    and with Living Water.

Cast upon the garden of my soul
the seed of life -- 
  eternal life
  abundant life
  life informed by your grace, mercy, and love.

And as the seed of life grows within me,
  pull the weeds that don't belong in the garden,
  and prune the fruitless branches from the vine,
    painful though that may be.

You have said that a tree will be known
by its fruit;
  I want to bear good fruit.
    Fruit that is pleasing to others.
    Fruit that is pleasing to you.

Tend the garden of my soul, O Lord.