Today, in search of Peace,
I stepped outside my door –
needing healing and guidance
and, oh, so much more,
a Sanctuary of Silence is my goal –
seeking rest for my weary soul
as violence and darkness
take their toll
and I long for the Way that will
make me whole . . .

As I walked slowly through my yard,
a scene caught my eye – in my neighbor’s yard
which had always been filled with a beautiful mix
of colorful plants which my neighbor lovingly tended
until she reached a time when she could no longer
get out and work in her yard –

Now, the wheelbarrow sits overgrown,
with its handles sticking up,
the bird bath has no water in it,
and a large pot she used to put new plants
in before they were put in her yard sits empty –

It is obvious the colorful flowers have
come up on their own,
when they choose to, just as colorful as ever,
but in a more obviously “wild” arrangement
and I stood staring, amazed at the mix
of colors and textures that
made a beautiful, relaxing picture
no one had put together –
there was an unseen “gardener”
with excellent skills directing
the scene before me with
Life spilling out all around, over, and
through the whole area –
everything growing, at the direction of
an unseen gardener –
unseen, but evidenced by the beauty
like a picture painted by a master painter!

I wonder . . . could that “unseen gardener”
grow the mix of colors and textures
in my world into a picture of beauty?
maybe even grow beauty inside me?
empty out some areas and grow Life over
other places so that an empty “wheelbarrow”
(like my heart maybe) becomes covered and
filled with the beauty of Life
under the skillful direction of
an “unseen gardener”