Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Cumberland Plateau in beautiful south central Tennessee. As many of you know Sally and I have recently relocated from Dallas to Monteagle, TN where we will be retiring. For the past two months our days have been filled with projects ranging from painting every room in the house (Sally’s job!) to cutting trees and bucking the logs for firewood. It’s quite a change from the day-to-day ministry I served in for the past 41 years.

It is with one such project that I want to reflect upon with you. The house we bought sits on five acres and is completely wooded except for the area the house sits on. It was built as a summer and weekend home in 2003. As a result there is very little yard to speak of, and what there is isn’t much. Much of the topsoil has washed away leaving tree roots and other debris in the “yard”. My task is to create a yard where grandchildren can safely play when not in the woods or on the lake and too, create gardens and paths. Sounds like fun doesn’t it!

So, to complete this project I need top soil, a lot of it. So after having paid $350.00 per load delivered I decided to use the topsoil on my own five acres and not pay someone else. The problem is the work one needs to do to “clean” the soil of debris and such. It’s a lot of raking! But in the end I have what I need, rich topsoil that will be great for a planting bed!

It was while I was raking that I got to think about how raking and removing bits and pieces of debris is a lot like the Christian life. If we want to grow in our faith we need to work on it. We need to put the time in to receive the benefits and blessings God promises us through his Son Jesus Christ. So many of us put forth little effort in growing in the faith and we wonder why we are the way we are. It is “raking” through our spiritual lives that allow us to prepare a fertile bed for God’s grace to grow. For his seeds to take root in our hearts and in our souls.

As we journey through the remaining weeks of summer let us look for opportunities to “rake” through our lives, our souls, and remove some of those things that we do that prevent us from growing in God’s grace and love. Let us prepare a “place for him to dwell”. A place where God can, “work that which is well pleasing in his sight”, in our lives.

May God bless and keep you and may the light of his countenance shine upon you always.

In Christ,

Bp. Paul E. Lambert