I was invited down to my niece’s home for supper tonight. While our delicious supper was cooking, she served us fried green tomatoes fresh from their garden. As I sat at the bar munching the fried green goodness, I noticed all the vases of colorful zinnias sitting around and couldn’t help but be reminded of the Chinese Proverb reading, “He who plants a garden plants happiness.” While supper was cooking my niece and her husband and I happily chatted and bragged on our vegetable and flower gardens.

It is so rewarding to plant a seed and watch for that little seed to sprout. We nourish that seedling as it matures to reward us with its fruit. Once my vegetables sprout I watch them every day and marvel as the plants bloom and produce. I’m thrilled when I pick a yellow squash, a red tomato, a green cucumber warm from the day’s sunshine. Add a bouquet of vivid colored zinnias and sunflowers and I’m a very happy gardener. Alfred Austin captured the love of gardening in his quote, “The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” Picking a vegetable in the garden, feeling the warmth of God’s touch, reminds us to be thankful for this beautiful earth’s soil and it’s blessings of sunshine and rain.

“True friendship is like a zinnia; even in the absence of rain, it refuses to fade away.”

In biblical scripture God is depicted as a gardener. In John 15:1 Jesus states, “I am the vine, my father is the gardener.” God cultivates and nourishes our spiritual growth through his loving grace just as he provides sun and water for our gardens. We read in Genesis that God physically planted the first garden, Eden, providing Adam with everything he needed. In Psalm 104 we read God tends to the world giving water for the animals, homes for the birds, and provides food for all. God not only created the world but he continues to nourish it every day.

Searching for inspiration today, I looked back through several years of my Facebook posts. All the children in my family have grown up so. My nephew, headed off to medical school, and my oldest grandson, a junior in high school, are thriving after life threatening illnesses. We’re missing Chief in the holiday dinner photos of the last several years. Time really does fly and we don’t even know it’s speeding by. The older I get the more I realize how important our families are for our happiness and well being. I think our faith and our family are the most important things in our life. The love shared between our family members forms a bond and helps us connect with each other. In times of happiness and times of great sorrow our faith in God and the love of our families hold us close. Traditions carried on through generations of family members keep the family knit closely together.

When Rosalyn died our home was filled with our families for several days, They cleaned the yard, cleaned the house, fed us, supported us, cried with us. Chief and I could not have gotten through those sorrowful moments without the support of our families. Their love was a beacon of light in a nightmare of grief. When Chief died we were already living in the storm of Covid and the family had to be masked up and held at arms’ length. They supported us with Amazon deliveries of snacks and necessities. My nieces brought us new towels and much needed bedding and new pillows. My dearest friend brought baskets of necessities and treats. But I missed the family in the house and the hugs and the gathering to eat a meal together after the funeral. Covid took those traditions away. My oldest son Thomas and his family left after the funeral to go home to Augusta and my youngest son Stewart and I went back inside to a cold dark house. I’ll never forget how I felt when I shut the front door. I needed the closeness of family around me. It was a sad forlorn loneliness.

Ralph Emerson wrote, “For each thorn, there’s a rosebud. For each twilight, a dawn. For each trial, the strength to carry on. For each storm cloud, a rainbow. For each shadow, the sun. For each parting, sweet memories when sorrow is done.” Such beautiful true words.

“God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.” — Francis Bacon