The last few years, my wife and I planted Begonia flowers in our front yard alongside the sidewalk that extends from our driveway to the front entrance of our house.

If these plants are watered and fertilized at appropriate intervals, they grow into bushes some 3 feet high and 4 feet in width. We have been blessed with such growth this year, and we have enjoyed seeing God’s beauty through these plantings.

Usually, we water the flowers every few days throughout the summer season. Then, we back off on watering around early September, realizing the life cycle of the flowers will be coming to an end by mid-fall.

Last week, the weathermen on Channel 5 and Channel 7 both encouraged homeowners to water outside plants, due to the high temperatures and dry weather conditions we have been experiencing. So we have been doing that in hopes that the flowers will continue do well for a while.

This reminded me how this nourishing of flowers points to the same thing we need to do in our spiritual lives.

We know that we are basically good people, and we are blessed to encounter God in our lives. We may be doing okay or even very good on our faith journey, and so we may be tempted on occasion to ease up a bit in our prayer life or our actions in helping others.

Yet, as with flowers, if we do not continue to nourish our souls with the special graces received in the Sacraments, we may find ourselves struggling while weathering the storms in our lives. We are made stronger and we grow more beautifully in our relationship with Jesus through the graces received in the Holy Eucharist, as well as the graces received in the confessional. Let us never ease up on this special help given to us.

By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek