The Flowers in My Garden

Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, "Friendship is a sheltering tree."

Beautiful. Poetic. True.

I like to think of friendship as a garden and my friends the flowers that give it beauty, poetry, truth. I had the privilege of celebrating an amazing friend on her 40th birthday a few weeks ago. She is a flower that EVERYONE wants in their garden. (It was evident by the 90 people in attendance at her "Girlfriends Luncheon"). We had such a blast! Yummy, pretty food in abundance. Laughter filling the rafters and pouring out the doors. Crafting everywhere...each guest could scrap a page for Kimberly's book, make a purse, a key chain, a pair of earrings. I was able to share a bit about friendship at this gathering. I shared my thoughts on "Gardening". As you look around your garden, what do you see? Are there vibrant colors? Do you see diversity? What about a plant that you have had for years...it is probably yielding little off shoots of itself. (I think of these as friends that have become yours because of another friend!) There are things that will keep your garden from being all that it was intended to be...weeds like gossip, judgements, jealousy. It does not take a lot to keep up the garden...simply consistency. Make sure to water, weed and tend. The rewards are so breathtaking.

Some flowers are delicate, yet sturdy. Some need very little care and are sometimes the most exquisite. Others multiply like crazy. No matter where I look, I find I am surrounded by beauty. Lord, thank you for this amazing garden! I am truly grateful.