Having spent the morning catching up with paperwork, I decided to relax in the afternoon by doing a bit of gardening. We are hosting an ‘afternoon tea’ event later in the week, hopefully in the garden if weather permits. It’s amazing how quickly things can get out of hand in a garden, we have a wonderful array of nettles at the bottom which I’m told are very good for breeding butterflies. This has now been designated the wildlife patch which means I don’t need to get stung trying to dig them out!
One of the wonderful things about a garden is that it can become a haven, not only for wildlife but of plants that hold special significance, collections that have been gathered over the years from friends and relatives. Today’s photo shows a beautiful ‘Madonna Lily’ which was given to me by my father many years ago. In springtime we have my grandmother’s ‘Lily of the Valley’ followed by white ‘Arum Lilies’ courtesy of David’s Great Aunt Em. They are all very beautiful each with their own characteristics. Each type of lily needs to be planted in a different position in the garden to thrive.
Last year the Arum lilies had to be moved to avoid being lost under the concrete foundations of an extension. I rescued the roots and placed them in various places around the garden. Ironically the roots that were planted the poorest soil, in a narrow strip by the wall of the house produced the largest most abundant flowers.
Maybe there’s an analogy for us in this. We are all different, each with our special characteristics. We all have our comfort zones in life and in our faith, but sometimes it’s good to be uprooted, to be challenged, taken out of our comfort zone providing the opportunity to become stronger and more robust in our faith.
Every blessing, Sandra
