Dear Reader:

I remember in summer Bible School one year (when I was around seven or eight) being asked to bring in a line of scripture….one for each of the five days of Bible School… that started with our first name. A girl next to me said, “Boy you sure are lucky….you’ve got the Beatitudes to get you through the whole week…even with some to spare.”

The “What” I thought? Obviously I had not been paying much attention in Sunday School but I ran home and asked mother to help me find where the Beatitudes were in the Bible. My fellow Bible School attendee was right….I had been “blessed.” I had hit the jackpot….So I  magnanimously gave Billy Jones the last three Beatitudes (of the eight) to help him out. 

And today I still feel blessed….more now than ever. For whatever reason God has bestowed on me the greatest blessing that life on Earth can offer….time. Time to see my children grow into the adults they are meant to be and my grandchildren to simply grow… taller and wiser, filled with curiosity and love for God’s Creation to us….our home here on Earth.

I saw a blessing to the Earth-healers awhile back and I thought how appropriate and befitting it is to recognize those  amazing human beings who want to help repair the damage done to God’s gift to us. Here is one paragraph from the blessing.

“We give thanks for all those who are moved, in their lives, to heal and protect the earth, in small ways and in large. Blessings on the composter, the gardeners, the breeders of worms and mushrooms, the soil-builders, those who cleanse the waters and purify the air, all those who clean up the messes others have made. Blessings on those who defend trees and who plant trees, who guard the forests and who renew the forests. Blessings on those who prevent erosion, who restore the salmon and the fisheries, who guard the healing herbs and who know the lore of the wild plants. Blessings on those who heal the cities and bring them alive again with excitement and creativity and love. Gratitude and blessings to all who stand against greed, who risk themselves, to those who have bled and been wounded, and to those who have given their lives in service of the earth.”

(Excerpted from The Earth Path by Starhawk.)

I am not one to lead crowds or give speeches but, like water and cookies, I can plant trees for my grandchildren’s future enjoyment (and shade) or a flower to give a friend. I can take seeds and watch them grow into something beautiful ….a gift back to God for my home.

Gardening has given me a new outlook on life. It has finally dawned on me that if life isn’t adding up for us….then we need to start subtracting! We need to simplify our lives, put our hands in the dirt, feel God’s Creation beneath our fingers and realize we have everything we need because we are all “blessed” as Children of God.

So until tomorrow….Like the beautiful card Honey just sent me says: Plant so your own heart will grow. (Hafiz)…Let’s all work on enlarging the capacity of our hearts to grow in love with our fellow Earth-dwellers and healers.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh