Garden Party

My garden is my peaceful place--as I have said in a previous blog post--my home and yard are my most favorite places--it is family, it is faith, it is fellowship here in this home.  This weekend I was blessed with the most ah-mazing treat.  A group of some of my dearest friends and women from a ministry in our church called Sarah's Angels--arrived at my home for a "garden party". The pulled up in cars filled with flowers and topiaries and potting soil, and pots, shovels, and gardening gloves.  We pulled out all my dead or spent winter flowers, re-planted where needed, and then they began potting the most glorious arrays of colored blooms in all areas of my yard--big pots of color by the pool and jacuzzi, pots of color and two gorgeous topiaries on my cabana, herb gardens, pansies, primroses, freesia, ronunculous, petunias..draping vines...flowers up the walkway to the cabana, pots and flowers all over my courtyard patio and fireplace, flowers all around my front porch and front fountain (pictures to come soon on Facebook).  I LOVE to work in  my yard and garden--I have designed a flowing English garden that grows bigger and fuller each year, and I get to bask in all the the Lord has created so we can see his glory here on earth.  Being in the sun, digging in the dirt, seeing the colors pop-- it all brings me so much pleasure.  But on Saturday's garden party, these ladies worked with me and got done in three hours what would have taken me an entire weekend (without interruption of boys' sports games, chores, etc) to get accomplished.  But the best part was before all these precious women left, we gathered in the backyard in a circle and these friends prayed over me, my healing, my family and my garden.  This is what "church" is for all of you who think it is just a "religion". It is community. It is love. It is being the hands and feet and gardeners for Jesus. My sweet friends Mary and Patricia stayed longer and helped my do some "re-staging" of my cabana and back patio--moving things around a bit for better placement...and then I spent some time this morning adding some more Easter touches.  A garden is always a work in progress--something always needs to be cut back, pruned, fertilized, watered, and even dug up and thrown out.  And that is how it is with our relationship with Jesus.  He is our Gardener.  Sometimes things in our lives need to be cut out, pruned, or even thrown out. Sometimes we need extra fertilizer or sun from His Word or from fellowship.  But like plants, we all need water to survive....and Jesus is the Living Water.

My garden party was a glorious day filled with colorful friendship and love.  Yesterday morning after my run, I sat in my backyard and journaled and read from God's Word.....I look at my garden and realize how much I am blessed.

**A note about our ministry at Canyon Springs Church called "Sarah's Angels"--it is a ministry headed up by an amazing servant hearted woman named Rose Ann.  It is named after Sarah--a woman from our church who died way too young from breast cancer which spread throughout her body.  It is a ministry that cares for people in our church who are going through an illness or a family need.  There are teams of people who are care managers for each person or family in need and Jenny Madsen is my care manager and she oversees the people who are helping my family through this time.  It is an incredible ministry with people who do so much "behind the scenes" and serve in ways no one will ever know.  When the team of women left my "garden party", I found little garden angels places all throughout my yard--stones with "faith" written on them, bronze angels on picks sticking out of a plant, angels in pots and on pathways--it was their reminder that they (the team) and angels are with me through this journey.

***And before I leave this post, I just want to make a quick theological point (being a Youth Director and all)--I have explained this to my youth kids, but many people don't understand the spiritual concept of angels.  Here is Angel Basics 101 and I mean basics.....Angels are created beings that live in heaven and also oversee us here on earth.  That is where you hear the term "guardian angel"-yes we have angels who guard and protect us. There are fallen angels (Lucifer being the leader, but that is a whole other blog post)...or a sermon...
But one things angels are NOT--they are NOT our relatives who have died.....humans do not BECOME angels. We can use the term "angel" as a term of endearment or say, "You are such an angel to do this for me" or have a team called "Angels" who do things to help or serve others, but  angels are angels and humans are humans.**

I will have reports of my Pet scan, my MRI and my oncology appointment on tomorrow's blog post as I meet with my oncologist at 4:00 pm today (March 26).  Prayers appreciated.....

Blessings