Over the Backyard Fence

My friend Mary and I have been reading a book together for the past couple of months. We read a bit on our own and then share our thoughts over coffee. The book is A Tree Full of Angels; Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary by Macrina Wiederkehr. I've had so many 'aha moments,' and it is with this in mind that I'm joining Friday Fave Five in giving thanks for an awesome week.

Looking for God in the here and now ~ I love this passage: "To keep the spark of life inside me ablaze! What a precious responsibility! . . . If the spark of life in me is ablaze, that means I am full of enthusiasm, and to be full of enthusiasm means to be possessed with God." (Macrina Wiederkehr, A Tree Full of Angels) In the book, the author talks about 'gathering up the crumbs,' those little things in our lives that will make for us a banquet. FFF is one thing that guides me do this each week.

Going to the garden center ~ I picked up an order of rosebushes at the nursery earlier this week. The people who work there love what they do. They tromp around the wet ground in their boots with muddy garden gloves and smiles on their faces. They grow the rosebushes in the greenhouses where a corner of one is made up to serve as an office. An old table holds the computer and peg boards that line the walls are stacked with tags bearing the names of the hundreds of different roses they sell. The light rain doesn't bother them as they carry my order to the car. 

Bird walks with the local club ~ I've found that gardeners and birders are people that teach me to pay attention. There's so much to learn! A flower isn't just a flower and a bird isn't just a bird. Where I would once go on a walk and hardly notice my surroundings, I now come home and boast of seeing a dozen different kinds of birds. I'm grateful for the others that surround me, teaching me to open my eyes and see Grace in a moment, in a flower, in a bird.

 Seizing the moment ~ My friend Mary (mentioned above) and I wanted to get together for coffee this week, but our calendars and to-do lists didn't allow time. Yesterday, I was walking into the grocery store and heard a familiar voice, "Excuse me, ma'am." It was Mary, and we embraced in a hug, and then  decided to go grab coffee right then and there, because life is too short. 

My husband ~ My gardening buddy, who digs all the big holes in our clay-filled Colorado soil, sets up drip systems, and then tells me how beautiful my gardens look. He does all the hard work! How grateful I am for this partner in life. He's a gem.

Happy Friday to everybody. Have an awesome weekend:)