Flowers - The Pathway to God

Some say that our eyes are the windows to the soul.  I believe that but I can one better that phrase, I say flowers are the pathway to God.  After all, God gave us our gardens to plant flowers, trees and shrubs.  He gave us our gardens to mediate with the bees, butterflies and dragonflies that all seem to propagate in our yards.   But God  also gave us these lovelies to appreciate Him.

These thoughts came to me this morning as I re-potted some flowers for my new yard.  It was a bit windy this morning but we endured and the first attempt at my garden came together nicely.  My new pot bench is now full, pots now arranged on the patio and lavender ready to for holes to be dug.  The house is done other than to hang the pictures.  The pictures can wait but my garden however, could not.

Those who know me well, know how much I love to be outside in my yard.  Two houses ago, I replanted the small yard after we moved in.  That house was a new house, the yard was a blank slate but for some "builders plants."  All but my hydrangea was pulled out and I went to work planting roses, camellias, daffodils and other various potted plants that hung from the eves of the back deck.  

The last summer I lived in that house, alone for the most part, I loved sitting out enjoying the sweet smell of my roses and Sweet Peas that climbed the Evergreen trees at the back fence.  That last summer, Mom and I sat out in the yard with the dogs, smelling the roses and watching the birds feed from the feeders I had strategically placed.   We sat and laughed about the past, silly things that we remembered and enjoyed our last amount of time together.  The hydrangea had grown so large over those 12 years, it peeked in my dining room window, smiling in like a good friend who had come to visit.  Sadly Mom died that November and the next February, I moved into my last Washington home.

That home had a huge yard, with a pickle ball court and beautifully landscaped yard.  I planted tons of potted plants that hung in and around the deck.  Strawberries grew wild and roses were planted.  One problem however, it really wasn't my yard, my garden, my creation.  As hard as I tried to love it, nurture my flowers, lavender plants and roses, it still wasn't really my garden, my creation.

This new garden is another blank slate, just like the remainder of my life.  This new garden has a route to be plotted along the fence line, just like my new adventure being plotted to the UK.  This new garden is mine, my creative venture, my new life.  This morning after my pots were finished, I started charting the course for my next trip the the UK.  It's amazing how much energy I had after getting my fingernails dirty.  It's amazing how my maps started making sense and my trip started to take form.  It's all due to the peace I found with my flowers and pots.  

This new garden will take shape, just like my life.  It will grow and flourish just like my dreams.  And, it will be mine this time with the help of God the creator all all things.  So my dears, our eyes may be the window to our souls but our flowers are the pathway to God.