See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? – Isaiah 43.19

As I work in my garden, and especially in the vegetable patch, I am always happy to see new things springing forth: the tender asparagus shoots, the jewelled globe of a young radish, and the soft buds of a new rose. I think it is the experience that keeps gardeners going, this hope and expectation of something new springing up in one’s patch. It is a promise of more, of good things to eat, of beauty to enjoy, of life for the bees and butterflies I share the space with.

Of course no garden is always happy. Gardening is also a great exercise in self-discipline. Last week I pulled out the broccoli plants I had so hopefully planted months ago. Despite my best care and attention, there were no florets in sight, but there were plenty of caterpillars and other bugs gorging themselves on my hard work. It was heartbreaking and not a little frustrating, but I would rather grow something that will thrive than continue to give energy to plants that were never going to be productive.

The garden is a place for experimentation and hope. We plant the old favourites, the reliable producers that come back again and again (I am looking at you, lettuce) knowing that they will bring us joy. And we are always trying something new, a new variety, a different plant altogether, in the hope that we might discover a new old favourite. Sometimes, oftentimes, our experiments fail, but every now and then something new springs up and takes hold, and wins a place in our hearts and gardens.

This Community is a bit like a garden. It has been a faithful and reliable producer of rich spirituality and encouragement for many women over a long time. There are deep roots and fertile soil to nurture us. And we are planting something new in the garden. We are trying a different variety of Community, open to women who are still seeking a spiritual centre in a world vastly different from that known to Caroline Amy and her colleagues in 19th Century Brisbane. It is an experiment. It may thrive or it may not, but for now we are tending it carefully and feeding and watering it as best we can.

We wait for the new shoots to spring up, to point to what new thing God is doing among us. We will be patient. We will perceive it together.