Walking the Lenten Garden
The Mourning Doves
Third Sunday Lent
These reflections grow out of simple moments in the garden during the season of Lent. In the quiet rhythms of creation, we are reminded to slow down, to notice what is before us, and to listen for the gentle presence of God.
I first noticed them from inside the house, looking out through the garden window.
It wasn’t what I saw at first —
it was what I heard.
A soft, steady sound.
Gentle.
Almost comforting.
Two mourning doves, going about their quiet work,
carrying twigs and bits of this and that,
building a nest without fuss or hurry.
That sound became part of our mornings.
Because I homeschool my grandsons,
our days have a slower rhythm.
We tend to notice things.
So each day, we would check on the little family outside the window.
We watched the nest take shape, the eggs appear,
and then the careful, patient work of nurturing
what had been given to them.
We didn’t touch.
We didn’t interfere.
We just watched.
Over time, we felt oddly connected to them —
as if they were part of our own little schoolroom.
Their daily patterns began to feel familiar.
There was something quietly beautiful in seeing how care
and attentiveness look the same across all kinds of life.
When one little bird accidentally fell, we were heartbroken.
It surprised me how deeply it affected us.
But I suppose that’s what happens when you’ve been paying attention —
affection has a way of growing without asking permission.
Standing back and watching it all unfold,
I felt a kind of reverence.
A humility, too.
Life follows its own patterns, whether we are ready or not,
whether we understand them or not.
New life arrives fragile.
It always has.
As I stood there, listening to those familiar cooing sounds,
I couldn’t help but think about creation itself —
how it began in a garden,
how it continues quietly,
often unnoticed, right in front of us.
Maybe part of our calling is simply to notice.
To respect what has been entrusted to the world, and to us.
Sometimes God doesn’t speak in grand ways at all.
Sometimes His presence comes softly —
steady, patient —
asking only that we listen.
Continue Walking The Garden.
The Budding Twig – Second Sunday Lent