Nearer my God to Thee…

Dear Reader:

What a beautiful and truthful statement! I do go to my garden when the dew is still on the roses and I go midday, at sunset, and when the birds sing their last lullaby. It is where I feel God’s Presence over my life… and surrender it each day to Him.

Every time I hear the phrase ” Nearer my God to Thee” … the historian pops out and immediately I am taken to the scenes from James Cameron’s movie interpretation of the Titanic. As the unsinkable ship sinks into the frigid Atlantic…the strings ( violins) began playing this old hymn written by Sarah Fuller Adams… the lyrics are based on the re-telling of Jacob’s Dream from Genesis 28: 11-12.

And as true gardeners’ sheepishly admit… it is a rare day when a new plant isn’t being introduced to the earlier plants …settled in and glowing.

We have all heard the tried and true statement… ” A Little Goes a Long Way” and that is true of gardens too. Yet with Mother’s Day approaching … I can never think of anything else to give but flowers from my garden… hanging baskets and/ or decorative planters… even bird houses.

I think back on all the plants given me by so many friends… some plants lasted only awhile but oh how beautiful they were while here… as well as some ( now) of my friends!

So until tomorrow… we have all heard the expression ” Fake it til You Make It.” But I had never seen this expression before…

The more I thought about this interpretation… the more I realized how true it is… when the rug of life gets pulled from under us… faith is all we have to literally fall back on… yet it is enough!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

**This stem/ flower fell out of a basket and found a way to keep growing! The miracle of life!**

Since sharing the ” Penny” story with you a few days ago I find myself checking out the pavements to and from businesses, stores… wherever I am. This ” Lincoln” looks like it had a hard life… run over and crushed many times… eerily similar to Lincoln’s Presidency and prior life… at first it looks abstract… but flip it sideways and you can barely catch “In God We Trust” and the top of his head. Good luck!

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

View all posts by Becky Dingle →

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.