Places of Our Lives II – Gardens

In this series we’re exploring places that affect and shape our lives; places where we feel connected, rooted, peaceful, “at home.”

As places of beauty and spaces providing enjoyable pastimes, gardens have been favorite places for master gardeners and amateurs alike, providing pleasure for poets, artists, saints, and world leaders. leaders. Informal and formal, they’ve provided settings for literature and films.

Gardens exist in a place. Amhurst, Massachusetts was the backdrop for Emily Dickinson’s garden.Yes, Dickinson, the iconic poet, was a gardener. She collected wildflowers, studied botany at Amhurst College, tended plants in a glass conservatory and a flower garden, and gave pressed flower cards as gifts. She forced bulbs inside during the long harsh winters, and dug in the dirt as soon as the ground thawed. Eager for spring, she proclaimed March the Month of Proclamation. Gardening was the inspiration for many of her poems.

Mable Ringling’s gardens are situated on Sarasota Bay, where, as part of the Ringling Circus Museum, on the estate of the Italian-style villa, Ca’ d’Zan, her Rose Garden boasts over one thousand bushes, and 400 varieties. Her Secret Garden, is an informal collection of bromeliads, succulents, and bougainvillea. In Mable’s Dwarf Garden, whimsical statues peek out from among bromeliads, hibiscus, and bamboo.    

In Francis Burnett’s novel, a garden becomes a place of healing for the young, spoiled, and bad-tempered orphan, Mary, who goes to live with her uncle on the Yorkshire Moors. Left to herself, Mary meets Dicken, her housemaid’s brother, and learns about a “secret” garden on the estate. After a friendly robin leads Mary to find the key to the garden, she and Dicken begin tending overgrown dormant rose bushes. When they discover the uncle’s son, Colin, who is bedridden with a supposed spinal deformity, they arrange for him to join them in the garden and help them revitalize the place they’ve discovered.  Through their friendship and interactions with nature, they become healthier and happier: “All that troubled her [Mary]was whether the roses were dead or perhaps some of them had survived and put out leaves and buds as the weather got warmer.  She did not want a dead garden. How wonderful it would be if thousands of roses grew on every side!” (Secret Garden, Chapter 9)

The small rural town of Giverny, north of Paris, is the setting for Claude Monet’s famous gardens. He spent years transforming Clos-Normand into a living en plein air (outdoor) painting, planting thousands of flowers in straight-lined patterns. In 1893 Monet he converted a vacant lot across the road from the Clos-Normand into a water garden by diverting water from the stream Ru, an arm of the Epte river. That garden became famous for his paintings of water lilies, its green Japanese bridge, and oriental plants. Monet was so proud of his garden, he received his guests there and spent hours contemplating it. “All my resources go into my garden. It is my most beautiful masterpiece. I am in raptures.”

Chartwell, on the western boundary of Kent, became Winston Churchill’s getaway.. He was captivated by the tranquility of the house and gardens, and when Downing Street called, he fretted, “A day away from Chartwell is a day wasted.” The walled garden, which Churchill helped build, is planted in traditional English cottage style. The one thousand rose bushes in the Golden Rose Walk, were a gift to the Churchills from their children on their golden wedding anniversary. Looking past the gardens to the countryside beyond, Churchill observed, “I bought Chartwell for this view.”

Even Cicero, the Roman statesman, loved gardens. In 106 B.C. he wrote, “If you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need.” 

I feel closer to God when digging in my garden.

It shouldn’t surprise us that gardens play such a role in our lives – after all, “God Almighty first planted a garden; indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures. (Francis Bacon)

Janet Hasselbring – janethasselbring23@gmail.com

Places of Our Lives I

January 2024 – Places of Our Lives

I’m writing in my study, one of my favorite places. Within its silver sage walls, I’m surrounded by photographs of my children and grandchildren and artwork of places I’ve traveled; one, a farm scene, reminds me of my roots. It’s cozy here, even though the room is open to the rest of the house, lending a spaciousness, not only to the room but also to the flow and connection of ideas. Behind me, windows open to the woods, where birds twitter and flit through the trees and squirrels chatter as they go about their endless games of “acorn management.”  The hum of distant traffic reminds me there’s a world out there. A stunning paperweight and a funky yellow vase are mementos of my mother, who was creative and loved beauty. The yellow vase once housed her pins and needles; now it holds my paperclips. On my left is a pile of files containing aspects of my life; on my right is a copy of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, silently chiding me to “edit useless words.” Snack, my Welshie, lays at my feet. The room (and house beyond), provides a delightful, constantly stimulating backdrop against which my life and ideas unfold, as if it’s conversing with me. This place inspires me.

What is your favorite place? A place where you feel connected, rooted, peaceful, “at home.”

Place or setting in a story sets the mood, influences the way characters behave, affects the dialogue, foreshadows events, and invokes emotional responses.

For example, the Cheshire Cat, announces, in a concise description of the strange world Alice has discovered down the rabbit hole: “We’re all mad here!” She (and Carroll) made up the word, “curiouser,” just to describe her journey through this weird, confusing, yet oddly refreshing place. What would Alice in Wonderland be without the “wonder”land?

Just as the characters in the stories we read are affected by their surroundings, so we too, are consciously or subconsciously influenced by place.

In this series, I invite you to explore with me places that affect and shape our lives:

Outdoor places – perhaps a garden, where “we are closer to the heart of God than anywhere else on earth.” (Anon)  

Homes – places that express who we are, not just shelters and places to store our stuff. Sarah Saranka notes, “The more a house expresses your passions, the more you’ll feel “at home” there. (The Not So Big Life) One of my parents’ favorite places was a porch where they could commune with nature and find respite from their chores.

Vacation spots – I’m hiking with my daughter in Acadia National Park. We stop on a summit, where I watch in horror as she heads out to a rock ledge for lunch. With trepidation I join her. Suspended in space, she is exuberant; I, an acrophobiac, am paralyzed with fear. One mismove…Then a surreal sense of calm comes over me, making this one of the most memorable moments of our trip.

Third places – places between home (our first place), and work/school/retirement (our second place), where we choose to spend our time. One of my favorite “Third” places is the pickleball court, where I   invariably meet new people or am reacquainted with people from the past, am accepted no matter my skill level, and where I celebrate fun, life, and good sportsmanship. Access my article on “The Disappearance of Bowling Leagues and the New ‘Third’ Place, in the July/August issue of SP at https://seniorresourceswmi.org/senior-perspectives-newspaper/ or https://janethasselbring.wordpress.com/blog 

Inner lives – the stories we tell day by day, moment by moment through the thoughts we harbor, the beliefs we accept, the scenes and events we rehearse in the hidden studio of our minds.  

If you’d like to share a description of your favorite place, send to janethasselbring23@gmail.com. Please indicate whether I could use your description in a future article in this series.

Janet Hasselbring

Dolly Parton’s (Imagination Library) Journey Behind Our Walls

“Imagine telling a father or mother behind bars that their preschooler can receive a free book from Dolly Parton every month.” (Tjapkes)

Two organizations…

Humanity for Prisoners (HFP)), is an organization whose mission, of showing compassion to prisoners and their families, is based on the teachings of Jesus: “Remember those in prison as if you were there with them.” “I was in prison and you visited me…whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me.” (Hebrews 13:3, Matthew 25:36,40) HFP is the only agency of its kind. As prisoners of the state, not only do parents feel isolated and marginalized, they feel helpless in the rearing of their children. “When I was incarcerated in 2008, I longed to bond and have a connection with my three-year-old son; however, there was little I could do behind the bars and fences of prison.”(Hartman*)

and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL), a preschool literacy program which provides children, from birth to age 5, with a developmentally appropriate book, signed by Dolly, every month, sent to their home. Research proves that daily reading with a child is the single best way to improve reading readiness. Children who grow up with books view them as their best friends. The program also helps the parents of vulnerable children, often illiterate themselves, learn to read along with their child!  The cost of sponsoring a child is $30.00 a year and covered by a local affiliate.  

form a Partnership providing books to preschoolers of inmates in MI prisons.

This partnership is one “made in heaven,” if one studies the troubling research connecting (il)literacy and incarceration: States base the number of jail cells they will need on the number of children not reading by the end of third grade.

Dr. Ben Carson knows the power of having books in the home. He and his brother were living on the streets, with drugs, crime, and eventually prison, in their future, until their mom, wanting her sons to have a better life than she, required them to read two books a week. Books changed his life: “Between the covers of a book, I could go anywhere, be anyone, and do anything.”

With this partnership, MI inmates are encouraged to register their children, in cities where they reside. Their registrations will be covered by DPIL local affiliates, supplemented by MI literacy grants (divided in regions/hubs covering the state), seeking to raise reading/academic scores. These grants target our most vulnerable populations – children of those behind bars. 

Locally, the United Way of the Lakeshore is the DPIL affiliate; however, of the thirteen counties in Region IV Hub, eleven of which now have DPIL programs. 

“What a wonderful opportunity for parents, in prison, to play a part in their child’s future, ensuring their children are receiving a book each month!” (Barbara Saunders Sims) “Had I known of a program like the Imagination Library, I would have jumped at the chance to register my child for free books!” (Hartman)

This partnership aims to replace the cycle of crime with renewal through literacy.  If one compares the annual cost of sponsoring a child for books with the cost of incarceration, $30.00 is a bargain.

We’re excited about this initiative. We think Dolly will be excited too, when she hears about what we’re up to!  We’re hoping our efforts will spark a nationwide movement to help children of prisoners.

To learn more about the DPIL, visit unitedwaylakeshore.org/dpil. To see if a family is eligible for free books, visit imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/

To learn more about HFP, visit humanityforprisoners.org. To watch a trailer of the documentary, “Behind Our Walls,” visit https://www.secondmilevideo.com/documentary.

Janet Hasselbring – janethasselbring23@gmail.com

Contributing to this article:

Doug Tjapkes, Founder and Mark Hartman*, Executive Director/President, HFP, and Barbara Saunders Sims, Director, United Way of the Lakeshore in Oceana County, barbara@unitedwaylakeshore.org

Christmas 2023 – Joy!

Christmas 2023 – Joy!

    A Christmas wish granted.  After over fifty years of separation, my parents will witness the homecoming of their son – not in person, but definitely in spirit.

Fifty-seven years ago, in 1966, my brother, at nineteen, entered the military.  After basic training, he was deployed to Vietnam, where he served missions in Reconnaissance and Special Forces.

      My parents couldn’t have known, when they said goodbye, that the relationship with their youngest son would forever be altered by the horrors of war, “where the brutal killing of innocents on both sides cannot be explained – soldiers dealt with the pain of their feelings, forced into extreme situations that have no obvious solutions and devastating lasting consequences. ” *   

     My brother survived the jungles of Vietnam, and another peacetime enlistment, but after leaving the military, he severed communication with his family.

  Every Christmas, as my mother addressed her holiday cards, decorated the tree, wrapped presents, baked cookies, and gathered with her family, she and my father hoped and prayed they would hear from their son. 

 “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” (C.S. Lewis)

In the memoir, In the Garden: An Ordinary Woman; an Extraordinary Life, I describe my mother’s suffering, and how love for her son and a deep abiding faith and trust in God transformed her into an extraordinary, humbled, Christ-like woman. I saw God in the face of my mother.

 At first, my parents believed that if their son could be located, he would come home; however, it was not to be.

 “How does a mother accept the unacceptable? How does she accept being separated from a son, she carried in her womb, and nursed at her breast? How many bottles would it take to hold the tears she sheds?” **

 Broken and helpless, my parents threw themselves upon the mercies of their Lord. They never forsook their Jesus. In deep despair, they prayed for guidance and acceptance:

 “Ellen addresses her Christmas cards, setting aside a special one to put in her son’s Christmas package.

 ‘Ellen.’ A shouting in her ear.

 ‘My Lord.’

‘I am here.’

‘Lord, my son, alas, my son. Please, if it is Your will, Lord, bring my son home!’ Her voice trails off in a wail of grief.

It is quiet for a time.

‘Ellen, It is written: …this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’

 ‘Your son?’ she murmurs.

A sudden revelation, like a lightning flash, breaks through her pain.  ‘Jesus, Your only Son, sent to earth at Christmas, the Son, who would die on a cross.  Then You know how I feel, Lord?’ Pain gushing forth. Sheer panic. ‘But, I love him so! I cannot live without him!’

His voice was calm, reassuring. ‘Cling to that love, Ellen. Trust me. Remember, I love him too.’

A mere whisper. ‘I will try. Help me, Lord.’

‘I will never leave nor forsake you, dear one. Be strong in your faith. Finish your task.’ He was gone.”**

     “To live is to suffer,” is one of Buddha’s Noble Truths. God never promises our journey will be smooth and free of pain; however, He promises to walk with us in the pain. Scripture teaches that affliction is a necessary step in our development as a follower of God. Great lives bear out this truth.

     “God says, ‘If you suffer, I’ll give you grace to go forward.’”  (Billy Graham)

     Over time, my parents came to accept and respect their son’s decision. They prayed for his well-being; for peace after the trauma of war; for spiritual growth. They learned to love without needing to feel loved in return – the Love that came down at Christmas.

     “O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.” (St. Francis)

      Postscript: This summer, my brother contacted our family, and this fall, he’s coming home to the farm where he grew up. 

     “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

   Joy to the World!

*The Things They Carried, O’Brien

** In the Garden, Janet Hasselbring Note: Ellen’s conversations with her Lord, during the defining moments of her life, are sprinkled throughout the memoir to show that prayer changes things, transmuting despair into hope, and suffering into acceptance and spiritual growth.

Bio for Janet Hasselbring

 Janet lives in west MI with her husband, Don, and Welsh terrier, Snack.  Jan drags herself off the tennis and pickleball courts occasionally to write. Her writings include Tales from Pelican Cove, a series of books featuring wild/shorebirds from FL and beyond, Country Dairy, which describes life on her family farm, in west MI, in the 1930’s, when her parents lived and worked on the land, and Tweets, A Twitter Feed of Short Stories and Articles. She is a multiple NAMPA winner. Her piano gets lonely because she chooses to whack fuzzy yellow balls and dink pickleballs instead of tickling its ivories.

Schmidt Heritage Park – “If You Build It…” *

Wilson – The message wafted in on the early morning breeze.  It was merely a whisper: “If you build it, they will come.” Wilson heard it as he stood watch in the garden on the Schmidt farm. Build what, he wondered; who will come? He shrugged off the message and got to work. Those pesky crows were at the cabbages again.

     During his morning break, Wilson gazed beyond the garden, to the fields in the distance. The message dogged him, like a pesky mosquito. Suddenly, his purview seemed limited, confining; his job, paltry and purposeless.  And the words, “they will come,” made him realize he was lonely. Jim Schmidt, owner of the farm, had residences in MI and TX.  For months, Wilson was alone.  

     Wilson’s brain, not used to weighty activity, began to twitch. He knew the only constant in life is change. Scaring crows and vermin, while boring, was constant and comfortable, while change could be scary. Another twitch, this one more like a jolt. Wilson tucked in his plaid shirt, straightened his overalls, and squared his shoulders. Wasn’t his name Wilson – a name associated with sports, racquets, balls, courts? Hold on, courts?  “If you build them…” Looking at the acreage beyond the garden, the message began taking shape in his mind. He needed to talk to Jim.

The History – The Schmidt Farm began in the late 1800s when Jim great-grandfather purchased 160 acres in Grand Haven Township.  Between 1900 and 1950 the farm sustained the family, with wheat, corn, hay, vegetables, and potatoes, an apple orchard, ten Holstein cows, and calves/yearlings sold at auction.  Jim’s Uncle Bill Sr inherited the farm in 1955 and started selling off acreage. Concerned and wanting to keep the farm in the family, Jim purchased the remaining 78 acres and upon his uncle’s death in 1993, the farm was his.

        Jim upgraded the outbuildings and silo, put in new fencing, a new power source, and a well. He cleared brush and dead trees.  When a winter storm leveled the barn in 2008, Jim replaced it to its original design, lining one wall with wood he salvaged. He installed the original cow stanchions and calf pen. The centennial farm became an impressive landmark.

The Legacy – In 2019 Schmidt donated 67 acres of land to GH Charter Township for a recreational park. In 2020 taxpayers approved a Parks and Recreation bond and on May 2, 2022, construction began on Schmidt Heritage Park (SHP).**

Phase 1, includes 12 pickleball courts, 6 soccer fields, a softball and baseball field, a trail around the park’s perimeter, restrooms, shelters, and parking. Future phases include two baseball diamonds, two softball fields, more restrooms, shelters, and parking.  Eventually, the area containing the barn, outbuildings, and Wilson’s garden, will be available for public use.   A dedication, of Phase I, held on June 28, included a flag ceremony and an appearance by MSU’s Sparty (paid for by Schmidt, an MSU alum).  Wilson, wielding a pickleball paddle (which he discovered is also helpful in scaring crows), watched over the proceedings from the garden, proclaiming SHP officially open to the public.

According to Schmidt, “After 125 years, I’m humbled the Schmidt family farm is a unique recreational park for this community.” Wilson had no comment.

Postscript – SHP a ‘Third’ Place

      A ‘Third’ place describes venues where people spend time between home, their ‘First’ place, and work/school, their ‘Second’ place – informal places where new acquaintances are made, friendships renewed; leveling places where everyone is welcome, no matter their age, profession, or social class; places where camaraderie reigns and prestige and self-aggrandizement have no place; places necessary to the wellbeing of a community; places that are disappearing due to mallification, suburbs, and freeway expansion; however, thanks to the craze of pickleball and SHP, there’s a new ‘Third’ place in town!

*Field of Dreams

**For a virtual tour of SHP’s development visit

https://www.preinnewhof.com/construction_projects/ghct-schmidt/

Access my article on “The Disappearance of Bowling Leagues and the New ‘Third’ Place, in the July/August issue of SP at https://seniorresourceswmi.org/senior-perspectives-newspaper/ or 

https://janethasselbring.wordpress.com/blog/

The Disappearance of Bowling Leagues and the New “Third” Place

Janet Hasselbring

 In his book, The Great Good Place, sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term, ‘Third’ place to describe places in the community where people spend time outside of home, our ‘First’ place, and work/school, our ‘Second’ place. 

Historically, ‘Third’ places were bowling alleys, clubs, and service organizations, such as the Lions, Kiwanis, or Rotary – neutral places where participants shared interests and engaged in conversations; places where “regulars” lent character, set the tone, making new and old members feel at home; leveling places where status, profession, and class were unimportant. Wit, congeniality, and commraderie prevailed while pretension and self-recognition were discouraged.

Early on, cafes, coffee shops, general stores, and pubs were gathering places, where one could exchange ideas, build relationships, hang out and just “be.” Prior to the “mallification” of America that began in the late 50’s and accelerated through the 70’s and 80’s, ‘third’ places were abundant; “anchors of community,” according to Robert Putnam. In his work, Bowling Alone, Putnam describes the steady decline in bowling league registrations to highlight that Americans aren’t joining groups and clubs (‘Third’ places), that historically promoted trust, cooperation, congeniality, and cooperative discourse.  And, society is paying the price: “If we neglect informal gathering places, we make a jungle of what once was a garden, and diminish the quality of people needed to cultivate that garden.” (Oldenberg)

 We know the modern trend toward isolation is real. Today the ‘Third’ place is likely to be more virtual and commercial than cathartic. With COVID, alienation and isolation were compounded. Masks, Starbucks, and lifestyle centers, which combine retail with other services such as restaurants, theaters, apartment complexes, etc., hardly lend themselves to significant social interaction. No matter how advanced our technology or how many public policies are implemented, when we neglect the informal group experience, we disempower ourselves and weaken the democratic process. 

 While we have social interaction and build relationships at home and at work/school, our first and second places, the Third’ place is unique. As the old saying goes, “Home is a place where they have to take you in,” and school and work come with formal imposed codes of conduct. On the other hand, the ‘Third’ place is where you choose to spend time. 

Enter the craze of pickleball, the sport that has become America’s new town square – a ‘Third’ place filling the void of social interaction, one that many, especially seniors, in retirement, didn’t have.  Pickleball started with seniors after all!  Now everyone, everywhere, is playing this zany game!

 Pickleball fulfills all the characteristics of a ‘third’ place – an informal, leveling place where we meet new people or become reacquainted, often unexpectedly, with old friends, collaborate with them, and chat in between games; where regulars set the tone, welcoming players, no matter their playing level, class, age, or profession; where prestige and self-aggrandizement have no place. Pickleball is not only fun to play, it’s entertainment. Recently a Legends competition between former tennis greats raised one million dollars for charity. 

 Pickleball may be the new bowling league; time will tell if it has staying power. We certainly seem wired for this crazy addictive game. A meme says it all: “No, I don’t play pickleball all the time…oh, wait a minute, yes I do.”

 ‘Gotta go. I have a game in 10’ You come too…

For places to play near you visit Places 2Play.org. Thanks to Mitch Dunn for introducing me to the ‘Third’ place.

 Janet lives in west MI with her husband, Don, and Welsh terrier, Snack. Jan drags herself off the tennis and pickleball courts occasionally to write. Her writings include Tales from Pelican Cove, a series of books featuring wild/shorebirds from FL and beyond, Country Dairy, which describes life on her family farm, in west MI, in the 1930’s, when her parents lived and worked on the land, and Tweets, A Twitter Feed of Short Stories and Articles. Her piano gets lonely because she chooses to whack fuzzy yellow balls and dink pickleballs instead of tickling its ivories.

A Lenten Challenge – “Lord, Help Me Be the Person My Dog Thinks I Am”

A Lenten Challenge

       “Lord, help me be the person my dog thinks I am.” (Anon) – my Lenten challenge this year.

      Lent

     Lent is the period preceding Easter in the Christian church devoted to abstinence, penitence, and reflection, commemorating Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (February 22, 2023), and ends on Holy Saturday (April 8) These 40 days comprise 57,600 moments of 2023’s 525,600 total. *

     One fourth of Americans, approximately eighty million people, mainly Christians, observe Lent, though any person of faith can participate, finding the disciplines helpful in their journey of faith.

     Lent is known as the time of “bright sadness,” as pilgrims experience a period of grief followed by joy.

     But Lent, derived from the Anglo-Saxon term, “lencten,” also refers to the lengthening of days, which occurs during this period. For Christians, the renewal of life in nature is tied closely to the resurrection of Jesus, but whatever one’s religious stance, everyone can rejoice as the dark days of winter slowly give way to the lighter longer days of spring:

      Bulbs, seemingly dead in their underground encasements, burst forth in a profusion of color, buds swell on branches, plants, seemingly dead, wake up, sprouting sprout verdant green, robins bound sturdily across the lawn singing their cheery roundelay.

     Chronos and Kairos Time

      The Greeks called this passing of sequential time, season by season, month by month, moment by moment, Chronos; however, they designated another time as Kairos, which has to do with the quality of the moments we spend – moments when Eternity breaks through our everyday lives,infusing them with spirituality.

      Snack

       These are the moments I experience as I journey through Lent with our Welshie, Snack, trying to be the person she thinks I am. I spend lots of time with her, so I have lots of time to practice.

        Since Snack, a retired show dog, was gifted to us by her breeder two years ago, she’s woven herself into the fabric of our lives.  She’s now a certified therapy dog, no small feat for a breed known to be feisty and independent. She’s definitely got our number: “You may have adopted me, but I own you.”           No, she can’t speak in words, but her eyes speak volumes. 

      When Snack brings me her ball, she expects to play fetch. When she heads to the door on her cat-like paws, it’s time to head out. She has a nose like a grizzly.  If a dog’s nose is their newspaper, Snack reads an entire Wall Street Journal on our morning “sniffaris.”  She has virtual summits with friends along the way.  

      She strains on her leash, nose aquiver, tail wagging.   “Isn’t life great, Mum?” Truth be known, I don’t walk Snack; she walks me.  Though I know she’ll chase anything that moves, it’s hard to imagine her hunting badgers, fox, and vermin, what Welsh terriers were bred to do.    

       If she meets a dog and has a disagreement, they go at each other, then shake it off and go their separate ways, harboring no grudges or resentments – oh that we, humans, could be so wise!

 Snack is my moral compass. No little white lie or dishonesty is worth something untoward happening to her.

         I’m besotted with this dog. She inspires love, loyalty, patience, reliability, goodness, and joy.  I will do anything for her – including letting her go when her Kairos time is up, though I cannot imagine life without her.  

      “Lord, help me to be the person Snack thinks I am.” 

*The number 40, designating time periods, appears 146 times in Scripture,  and is thought by religious scholars to signify new life, transformation, or a change from one great task to another – the completion in the realization of an event. (Fathers of Mercy.com)     

Lent and Easter “In the Garden”

How Does Your Garden Grow? V – Lent and Easter “In the Garden”

 1. My Garden 

My garden at Veit’s Landing

 “I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on the roses

The voice I hear, falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me and He talks with me

He tells me I am His own.

And the joys (sorrows) we share, as we tarry there

None other has ever known.” (In the Garden, verse 1, C. Austin Miles, change mine)

        In this hymn, Miles describes the first Easter morning in the garden where Jesus was buried, when Mary, mistaking Jesus for the gardener, walked and talked with her risen Lord.

     The hymn is often dismissed as sentimental and unfit for vital corporate worship; however, Miles intends us to see Mary’s experience as one relived by anyone who confronts Jesus and realizes His presence in the daily “gardens” of their lives, reinforcing the truth that faith is a deeply personal experience.

    For many, the joy of Easter is directly proportionate to the solemnity of Lent – only when we realize the deep anguish of the cross – “My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” can we exclaim in joy and wonder: “He is not here; He has risen!”

 2. The Garden of Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus, forsaken by His disciples, struggles to accept the Father’s will that He suffer death and crucifixion.  In His presence, I share my struggles, disappointments, and grief at those loved and lost, the most recent, the sudden death of my beloved Welshie, Maggie May, who left us much too soon.

“The Dying’s have been too deep for me; before I raise my heart from one, another has come.”  (Letters, Dickinson) The word, “deep,” aptly invokes a vision of Dickinson drowning in a pile of loved ones. I know the feeling.

               “One day in March 1912,” Miles recalls, “I picked up my Bible; it opened to my favorite chapter, John 20 – the meeting of Jesus and Mary in the garden. As I read, I became part of the scene, a silent observer to that moment when Mary knelt before her Lord. Under the inspiration of this vision, I wrote the words of the poem, and that evening composed the music.” (Forty Gospel Hymns, Sanville) 

      Throughout the hymn, Miles uses the senses to create an intimate atmosphere. The “dew” depicts both a glistening visual and implies dampness in the air. The auditory effects, he “speaks,” and “sings” add to the distinct feeling that Mary’s encounter could be ours.

 3. The Garden Tomb

The Garden Tomb

     Easter morning.  The stone is rolled away; the tomb is empty.

     “…the melody He gave to me, within my heart is ringing.” (verse 2)

     “I’d stay in the garden with Him,

     Though the night around me be falling,

     But He bids me go through the voice of woe,

     His voice to me is calling.

     …the joys we share… (Verse 3, In the Garden)

         In His presence, my sorrows turn to joy, and a melody rings in my heart. I realize,  “How lucky I am to have loved so many, I miss so much.”(Winnie the Pooh)

     I could stay with Him in the Garden Tomb forever, but it’s not to be. The spell is broken. He “bids me go,” and take up the burdens of life, but with the Easter promise that “because He lives, we too shall live.” This life is not the end. Eternity awaits and one day all will be redeemed. I’ll be reunited with those I’ve lost – even Maggie May. 

     “I come to the garden alone…” This year, keep Easter alive by “walking and talking” with Jesus, in the routines – the “gardens” of daily life.

Aslan

      Note: Meeting with God is not a matter to be taken lightly. Aslan, a lion, is the God-figure in Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles. When Lucy and Susan are to meet Aslan, Susan says, “Ooh…I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe?  I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “That you will dearie, and make no mistake,” replied Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just plain silly.” (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)     

A Case for Miracles – “I Believe that I May Understand”

“The Miracle on Beacon Boulevard…”

“I believe so that I may understand.” (Anselm of Canterbury)

           It happened on Palm Sunday, 2021. I was bringing Snack, my Welsh terrier, to Chowhound, on the corner of U.S. 31 and Beacon Boulevard, the busiest intersection in Grand Haven, to purchase a new collar. A Welsh breeder gave Snack to my husband and me, filling the void caused when our first Welsh, Maggie May, died suddenly of an immune disorder. Snack had a great run as a show dog and is slowly getting comfortable in her new home.

     During her fitting, Snack broke loose and ran towards the entrance. She stepped on the mat, which, to my horror, automatically opened the door. Away she ran towards the highway. In an instant, my world was chaos. As I rushed out, calling to her, I sensed someone sprinting past me. Snack, stopped, looked back momentarily, then turned and kept running.  

    In a trance, I watched her meandering among the vehicles.  I gave her up for dead. I couldn’t bear to watch the inevitable, but I couldn’t look away either. Then, I realized the cars were stopped or slowing down. The sprinter had outrun Snack. Her screams and waving arms had alerted the drivers to danger.

       Amidst the confusion, I saw a driver, waiting in the left turn lane for a red light, open her door. To my amazement, Snack ran around her car and jumped onto her lap. I watched, transfixed, as my hero gathered Snack in her arms. She brought her to me, and together we returned to the store, where we collapsed in shock and awe at what at just transpired.

     For days after, I reflected on the many factors that saved Snack’s life – the stoplight for the north and southbound cars had just turned green, so the cars were just starting up, the drivers in the lane, where the second hero was waiting, were stopped for a red light, Snack’s pause gave the sprinter time to reach the intersection first, and these two heroes were in the right places at the right time – there were too many coincidences to dismiss this as good fortune. Someone was watching over us.

     I view Snack’s rescue as a miracle, for what are coincidences, but clues to the Divine breaking through to our physical world – “…road flares calling our attention to something important; glimpses of what goes on beyond everyday distractions.” (Chopra)

      In the Christmas classic, The Miracle on 34^th Street, Doris, who rejects fantasy and notions of belief, hires Kris Kringle, who claims to be Santa Claus. When he is deemed mentally ill, Doris’s attorney, a believer, defends him, realizing it will take a miracle to vilify his client.

      Doris would have attributed Snack’s rescue to luck, her attorney, to a miracle.

     The axiom, “I believe that I may understand,” Kierkegaard’s leap of faith, flips the common notion of faith on its head, revealing the “world of the soul” and the wonder of miracles. In contrast, its opposite – understanding in order to believe, limits life to a gray, dull, humdrum existence.

     Chopra cautions, “We can choose to ignore the flares and hurry on, or we can pay attention and live out the miracle that is waiting for us.”

     Christmas provides the most dramatic example of a miracle; however, flares such as viewing a waterfall cascading over a cliff, spotting a redbird at a backyard feeder, or “bumping” into someone on a walk can demonstrate the Divine breaking through to our physical world.

           “There are two ways to live your life – as though everything is a miracle or as though nothing is.” (Einstein) It’s our choice. 

      May you experience the miracle of Christmas and pay attention to the flares along your journey in the new year.     

How Does Your Garden Grow? The Purest of Pleasures

    Spring is coming –  it’s time to grab your gardening tools!

   “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” (Monet)

     In a hectare (two and one-half acres), Monet mixed simple flowers, such as daisies and poppies, with rare varieties, and crafted a garden full of perspectives, symmetries, and colors. Later he would add the pond with its famous Japanese bridge covered with wisterias, other smaller bridges, weeping willows, bamboo, and the famous nympheas (water lilies), which would be the focus of his artistic creations for more than 20 years.

     By shaping subjects before painting them, he created his works twice. Always looking for mist and transparencies, he dedicated himself less to flowers than to their reflections in the water; a kind of inverted world transfigured by the liquid element.

     We’re fortunate to have a miniature copy of Monet’s garden locally, in Muskegon, MI, compete with a pond, a blue bridge and blue rose-covered archways.  All flowers and shrubs in the garden are identical to those in Monet’s. Other local memorial gardens include Heritage Memorial, Mike Miller Memorial and the John J. Helstrom Memorial at Muskegon Museum of Art.

     Memorial gardens are planted for the specific purpose of remembering someone or something special. They often have a theme or focal point and exemplify the idea that “The love of gardening is a seed that once planted never dies.” (Jekyll)  My favorites:

1.       Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI, known for its sculpture park and butterfly gardens, Olbrich Gardens, Madison, WI, sporting the Thai Pavilion (the only one outside Thailand), Selby Gardens, Sararsota, FL, famous for its orchids, and Chicago Botanic Gardens, Chicago, IL are botanical gardens, dedicated to the collection, cultivation, preservation, and display of a wide range of plants labeled with botanical names.

2.        Many gardens focus on a single bloom. In Holland, MI, a palette of color heralds the arrival of spring. During the Tulip Festival, rows of tulips line the city streets and mass plantings fill beds in fields and local parks.  At Windmill Island, the only authentic operating Dutch windmill in the U.S., over 100,000 blooms, and a mass planting of over 60,000 flowers, dazzle the eye. The Mable Ringling Garden, Sarasota, FL, was founded in 1913 and boasts 1,000 bushes representing more than 400 varieties of hybrids.

3.       The Emily Dickinson Garden in Amhurst, MA, recreates flowers and plants loved and tended by the poet in her reclusive years.

4.       While most gardens radiate a peaceful atmosphere, some have a special religious significance, such as the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, where Mary met her risen Lord.

5.       Some gardens have a special emphasis. The lavender labyrinth and herb garden at Cherry Point Market in Mears, MI offers a meditative space. The lavender is making a comeback after it was destroyed by the 2019 polar vortex.

6.      My favorite garden though, is my little piece of paradise, where I putter as I please. Whether you are working in your garden or visiting one, the rewards are many – gardens keep you physically fit, relieve stress, make you happy, boost your health, create a healthy environment, produce oxygen, and are great for kids.

“God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it’s the purest of human pleasures.” (Bacon, Essays).

*Did you Know?

 Of the 1775 official botanic gardens in 148 countries, the most notable is England’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. With 8.5 million items, it’s the world’s largest collection of plants.

One of the world’s largest privately-owned lavender farms is Australia’s Bridestowe Lavender Estate, with 260 acres of blooming purple beauty.

Lavender, part of the mint family, boasts 450 varieties worldwide and produces a mere ¼ tsp. of lavender oil per pound of flowerheads.

75% of cut flowers grown in the states come from California.

The hybrid tea rose blooms on average every 49 days during the growing season

The average household spends $503 on gardening annually and nearly 1/3 of the gardeners are aged 18 – 34.

During COVID 2019, approximately 16,000,000 people started gardening.