Thoughts While Mowing the Lawn

Do you like mowing the lawn? Jeff Cavins does! In this episode, Jeff Cavins not only describes the joy he finds in mowing his lawn, but also offers some great ideas of things to think about while mowing the lawn or doing any other “humdrum” household task. Jeff claims that even the most regular tasks can be an opportunity for prayer and meditation.

Snippet from the Show
“Lead me to pastures, Lord, and graze there with me. Do not let my heart lean either to the right or to the left, but let your good Spirit guide me along the straight path.”
(Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. IV, p. 1214)

Food for Thought While Mowing the Lawn

When you are engaged in some regular activity such as mowing the lawn, waiting in the school pick up line, or cleaning the house, you can make those activities a temple in time. In other words, you can create a place to meditate and pray.

Praise God for his goodness!

Very often, when we go to prayer, our prayer can be eaten up by our needs/desires or our struggles. Yes, the Lord wants to hear about these things, but it is also important to praise God in our prayer. Look around you! What sort of goodness can you praise and thank God for? Consider your life and the blessings that have been bestowed upon you. Praise God!

St. John Damascene, Priest, and Doctor: “Lead me to pastures, Lord, and graze there with me. Do not let my heart lean either to the right or to the left, but let your good Spirit guide me along the straight path.” (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. IV, p. 1214)

Memorize a verse from the Bible.

Memorizing Scripture can be incredibly beneficial to your prayer life and ultimately, your relationship with God. When you memorize Scripture, it makes it possible to rely on that Scripture in good and bad times. Perhaps, you need to pray, but you don’t know what to say - Scripture is perfect for this situation. What better words to pray than words inspired by the Holy Spirit?

Pray for your family! Pray for the one who you would normally be discouraged about.

One of the most important things for us to pray for are the people God has put in our life, namely our family. Indeed, it is our responsibility to pray for our family members. So, take this opportunity to think of your family members. Praise God for them and ask God to bestow graces upon them so that they may follow God’s will for their lives.

Pray about a difficult situation, either at work or with a family member or friend.

Life is not without difficulties and God wants to hear about them. Yes, God knows all things, but he desires that we share them with him anyways. When we bring these challenges to the Lord, it gives us the opportunity to reflect on them with the Lord and also ask for his grace and guidance.

Meditate on a vice and virtue.

Vice is bad. Virtue is good. When we meditate upon vice and virtue, it can help us identify where we struggle with different vices and what virtues we need to grow in.

• Gluttony vs Temperance
• Greed vs Generosity
• Pride vs Humility
• Anger vs Patience
• Lust vs Chastity
• Sloth vs Diligence
• Envy vs Contentment