Prologue

Gardening is in my bones. Growing up, we grew field corn and watermelons and raised cows on eighty acres in South Texas, a flat land of sandy soil, fruit stands, and people living on a shoestring. As a child, I remember picking fresh vegetables with my mother, plucking a cucumber from the vine and taking an earthy bite right then and there. The wonder of pulling peanuts out of the ground with my father and the rich smell of them roasting in the oven is a vivid memory.

Years later, I had a large vegetable garden on our two acres nestled in the beautiful pine trees just east of Austin, Texas. Despite very sandy soil and fire ants, I grew lots of things fairly successfully. Delicious dill pickles from my friend Ruth’s recipe was the height of my short-lived canning efforts; but I had no experience with anything but produce.

After moving to the city, I planted a few things here and there, but there was no time for serious gardening. Most of my knowledge has been gleaned since 2011 when I began creating a prayer garden in my backyard— a space conducive to spiritual reflection and connection. It’s a garden with several seating areas surrounded by ornamentals, natives, several fountains and bird baths, and purposeful garden art.

I'm not an expert by any means. I learn as I go, through trial and error, relying on the knowledge of others. The work of gardening is rewarding, but it can also be frustrating and disappointing. Weather, pests, and diseases happen. Plants and the environment don’t conform to my expectations and ideas. But over and above reward, frustration, and disappointment, I find it healing, creative, and therapeutic. The splendor of God clearly displayed in the natural world inspires me to hold on to a higher truth. Sometimes the leaves rustling in the wind whisper things I hadn't thought of before, and they become stories or poems. Sometimes  the messages are just assimilated and tucked away as they pass through my being,

This is the story of how a bare backyard evolved into a “sacred space” that has deepened my relationship with God. I offer lessons learned, mistakes made, and wonders seen. You may be inspired by a sampling of DIY projects, mostly done on a budget with re-purposed items. “Whisperings” of stories, poetry, and epiphanies born through my labors are sprinkled in to fertilize your soul, so to speak. It’s a story of faith, defined as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. As you will see, what was not, now is, and it started from a mind’s-eye picture with no “substance” at all. It began with a vision and has become more than I ever dreamed.

While my garden may not be magazine-worthy and my gardening advice is rudimentary, my experience is real and true. Through my “gardening with God” experiences, stories and poetry, perhaps embers lying dormant in your soul will ignite. What your true self longs for, what God created you for—can happen if you reach for God and pursue what you hear. God is closer than the air we breathe.

This is a garden story, and a God story. Click the button to read The Vision.

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