Walking the path

Walking the path before us can be unsettling.

I am a creature of habit, of routine.

I love the familar traditions that make up day to day existance.

In times of great turmoil,

it sometimes seems,

as if it is,

at least metaphorically,

very dark.

The unknown path is scary.

The familar road a distant memory.

It seems sometimes as if I am all alone.

Perhaps you have felt this way as well.

I know in my heart, that I am not.

That I have family and friends who love me.

Yet,

for the first time,

it really is just me standing out in the world.

Discovering its beauty

and quivering a little in the dark.

I smile when I imagine that this is how most people feel from time to time,

when their lives are at a beginning point of some kind.

It just has been an awfully long time since I've felt this way.

So, when it's dark on the path and I'm scared.

I look for a light.

May you,

may I,

find what we are looking for...

May we remember the One who is the Light

and cling to him...

instead of quivering quite so much.

Peace to you this evening and always.

May you be blessed.

Sigh...

Three gardens

A perennial bed filled with itty animals, rocks and whimsy...

A mixed bed where Mary stands watch...

Even an empty annual bed where I can plant my zinnias and sunflowers...

All stand in readiness for the warm sun to awaken them...

...for seeds to be placed..

squirrels to dig them up...

for our annual "war" to begin!

Tears came to my eyes when I looked at the fruits of so many hours of love.

I'm an emotional person.

I tend to cry when I'm happy and when I'm sad too.

To see the stones placed,

the gardens edged in small pebbles

and all the planters full of dirt,

made me stand in awe.

In silence,

with a broom in my hand,

I just stared.

Unable to believe how beautiful it has turned out...

...grateful..

...happy...

...proud...

...blessed...

New Beginnings

Today I filled my front flower bed.

It needs a few more bags of dirt.
I'm going to let it settle and then add in a little more.

To make sure my garden is all my own,

I laid down landscape fabric before I started.

My dreams may not be the same as anyone who came before me.

I want my my garden to be my own.

It took a little extra time to move the stones and lay the barrier down.

In the long run though,

I know I will be grateful.

Starting over in life is not so easy.

My garden makes me excited.

The fresh start is a challenge.

I must confess though,

the new opportunities in my personal life

often inspire nerves

that I haven't felt since my teenage years.

I chuckle at my own uncertainty some days.

I pray that as we walk the road of life,

we do not unnecessarily fear the adventures we face.

I fervently hope that we take the lessons of our past,

wrap ourselves in the "fabric" of our faith

(hopefully it will keep out weeds!)

and

step out into the sunshine.

Life is meant to be lived.

May the garden of your life be beautiful and full of good growth!

The gardens are moved...

Sixty pavers made their way into two cars aided by three adults and one dear daughter.

Now they are nestled around the front and side of my new home and stand ready to be filled with dirt.

Hanging baskets...

little rabbits...

porch boxes...

even my fire pit...

all made the transition.

Now, back at the old house I sit,

still and quiet.

typing...

thinking...

Taking only the two smaller gardens means that I've decided that only my grandmother's black-eyed Susan's are coming with me.

All the rest can stay.

As one of my friends suggested, my gardens are fresh canvases.

What an apt way of describing the opportunity before me.

I hope that when you are given a chance for a new start,

whether it is a new job, a new hobby or a new friendship,

that you will find the strength to embrace the possibilities that are before you.

I have always liked the idea that when a door closes that somewhere one opens.

I think the sentiment holds truth.

Tonight, may you find peace.

The future is uncertain for us all.

Yet, we are promised we are not alone.

Embrace this truth.

Walk on with confidence.

We are blessed!

A New Home

This evening I signed my lease and got my keys.

Before I left my house to go in to finish up the paperwork, I loaded three things into the car. I took a Bible, my grandmother's ceramic garden toad and my statue of Mary.

After I had access to my new abode, my parents, my eldest daughter and I drove to the house.

I got out of the car and placed Mary in the center of where my front garden will be.

I placed the dear sweet toad that has been a part of happy gardens longer than I have been alive, on the side of the house near the downspout.

I motioned for the rest of my dear ones to come and handed the Bible to my dad.

I know my eldest thought I'd gone a little kooky, but it just seemed right to me.

I asked my dad to read from the book of Matthew chapter 6 verses 25 to 33.

I would have to say that these are the verses that have sustained me in my darkest hours.

They speak of trust and love; the assurance of an unending and unshakable, loving God.

Life holds no guarantees.

Sometimes sad things happen.

I really believe...

I honestly do...

That there is someone who made us...

Who loves us...

Who hears us when we cry...

I am on a path that I would never have guessed would have been mine to tread. I am sometimes scared. Sometimes I worry about the "what if's" in life.

Then...

I see a tiny toad...

Get an email from a dear friend...

Find a wonderful deal on tiny tomatoes...

Receive a hug from my children and a enthusiastic tail wag from my dog.

It is then...

that I stop...

that I realize...

How blessed I am.

That regardless of my future.

I will walk on!

That I still have a lifetime of adventure!

Tonight, I wish for you...

Peace and assurance,

joy and adventure!

May you be blessed.

Ready to go!

This afternoon I dismantled my two smaller flower gardens!

Now sixty cement pavers stand in lines awaiting transport to their new home.

An angel, a turtle, a frog and even a couple of bunnies await reassignment.

...a birdbath and a trellis...

...some planters and garden rocks....

...Hanging pots and lawn furniture all stand ready....

A satisfying collection of happy things...
...good memories to take with me...
....flowers from loved ones long gone and from cherished friends who still make me smile daily...

A garden is a place of growth.

I wish for you...

I wish for me...

That this will be a season of growing for us all.

Of beauty...

Of happiness...

Of new beginnings!