Garden of Hope

Our spring lawns, once lush and green, were crunching under our feet. The fields of endless rows of corn displayed drying husks months too soon. Though we have received some respite with the recent thunderstorms, it will take more than a few showers to restore all the plants, and some, including crops, may be beyond remedy.

These pictures are from my gardens, which I have maintained throughout the drought by daily watering. Though time-consuming, this was very important to me, because watching my gardens grow brings me joy and hope. I would suffer along with my plants if I allowed them to whither and die.

This tiny portion of earth that I have kept watered has kept my hope alive that life will be restored in the parched areas of the Midwest and beyond. This drought has left many shrubs crispy and brown, and trees have languished with the lack of moisture. I shudder to think of the farmers who depend on their crops as their livelihood, wondering if there will be any crops at all to harvest.

Thankfully rains, sometimes in the form of storms and torrential downpours, including hail and high winds have scattered over our parched land here in Southeastern Wisconsin, bringing respite to the plants and hope to the farmers.

Amidst the despair of watching so many plants succumb to the drought, these bright gardens of mine have given me hope that life will be restored once again.

This awful drought in the season of what is normally a thriving growth period has reminded me of winter, when all hope can be lost of seeing the natural world spring back to life. We wait anxiously hoping for life to be restored.

There are times in our personal lives, too, where seasons of drought or deep winter affect how we find hope in our lives, yet we need to have hope to believe in new beginnings.

One way to begin finding hope is to be grateful for what we have instead of bemoaning what we do not have. It is helpful to make a daily list of what you are thankful for. Make this a habit. It can be little things, simple things, things that bring you joy.

When we begin to focus on what is good in our lives, we find the strength to make it through the challenging times. Daily keeping our focus on God, who provides all we need, and offering thanks to Him for the goodness in our lives, helps to keep our thoughts more positive. This, in turn, kindles our hope for better tomorrows.

We believe in the goodness that life can bring. Though we must suffer through storms of life and difficult times when we feel our hearts will break, if we an can focus on what is good and true, offering thanks and truly feeling grateful, we can weather whatever comes our way, whether it be drought or storm.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy —think about such things."  Phillipians 4:8 (NIV)

Spring has Sprung!

Under ominous skies, the first of our April showers approaches. But we don't have to wait until May for our flowers. Truth be told, the daffodils and tulips are already beginning to bloom, and some have shared their sweet palate of color with us for many days already.

Springtime beat the robins to my backyard this year. Usually, through the cold and blustery month of March, these harbingers of spring with their russet breasts and bright yellow beaks hop around last year’s lawn looking for bits of something to eat.

This year, we experienced an unusual warm spell in mid-March. Record-setting temperatures caused my white magnolia to bloom over a month early. Sadly its normally long-lasting tepals turned brown and blew off within days due to the extreme heat. It usually is not eighty degrees when my magnolia tree blooms! 

The return to more ‘normal’ temperatures (forty degrees colder!) under relatively gloomy skies, turned everyone’s feelings back to an internal winter. People seemed grumpy and sad. Though we knew the early warmth was unusual weather for these parts, we had reveled in the expectation of an early summer.

Winter hats, coats, gloves and scarves were discarded as we dug out our shorts and tank tops. I found the heat exhausting, too much too soon, but still didn’t want to complain. After months of cold, even a mild winter like last season’s can wear on you after awhile.

The gift of all of this warm weather has been the early flowers, and new leaves on the trees and shrubs. Green looks great on the natural world, especially after months of seeing only brown or white in the landscape. Several neighbors have already cut their grass. They seem to be enjoying getting their mowers out and thankfully storing the snow blowers for the warm seasons.

The bulbs we planted at our church with the Sunday school classes last fall are up and blooming earlier than planned, but since the return to cooler temperatures, the flowers are lasting longer and the blooms should last through Easter day.

Everyone at church is noticing the flowers and commenting on their beauty. We planted about 250 bulbs, about 75 of which were little crocuses. This year the crocuses came and went in a matter of days with the heat.

The tulips and daffodils are in their glory, and I’m amazed how many people have commented to me how beautiful the church grounds appear. While I am thrilled that people would notice our efforts  (and thankful that everything actually came up!) my real joy will be to see the children’s faces as they realize how they contributed to adding beauty to their church property. And not just for this season, but for many spring seasons to come.

Our heritage is in our children. Teach them to sow, and to reap. Teach them to sing, and to pray. Show them a merciful God who loves them unconditionally. And love them without reservation.  Let them know forgiveness, and teach them to practice it. Demonstrate compassion, and acceptance. The future of humanity depends on it.