The Wood's Secret Garden

Since the rains have, for the most part, stopped; Michael and I decided to put our little balcony hide-away back in order.  It did not take us long, as we had done much of the prep work over the past several weekends.  I love our little balcony Hide-Away!  When you live in a tiny 540 square foot, one bedroom apartment, you truly appreciate the added living space. 

It was an exciting afternoon in the Secret Garden.  We have been waiting and watching our little garden patch of dirt, since building the planter box at the base of our stairway and sowing the wild flower seeds.  Since we bought them at Grocery Outlet (a discount store), my fear was that the seeds may have been old and would therefore never sprout.  It was a week ago tomorrow that we sowed them. Everyday this week, upon arriving home from work, I squat down near the edge of the walkway to get a ground level view where I can inspect the soil for any sign of life.  Yesterday, this was what we discovered: It may seem silly to get so excited about a tiny little green sprout!  But it is in these little things that we delight as we see in them the beauty of the creator of the Universe and the sign of new life coming from what would have been seen as a dead, dry, lifeless seed.  It is a picture of the "new birth" that we who are in Christ have experienc...

It was not our intention to spend time exploring the Secret Garden this afternoon--it was just a trip to check the mail.  However, I did grab my camera bag and slipped it over my shoulder before we left.  On the way back, we took the path that runs behind the apartment complex and, there to greet us, was a cat.  As we approached him, we noticed a most peculiar thing.  He had one green eye and one blue eye.  I had seen this on dogs, but never on a cat.  I sat down at the base of one of the stairways hoping to get a picture of those eyes.  I only had time to take three shots before the cat decided that he had had enough of our company. I was delighted that, out of just three shots, I got one where the stair railing ended up dividing his face right down the middle.  You couldn't plan a shot like that! As usual, Michael and I wanted to know what causes a cat to have eyes of different colors; so, we researched ...

About a week ago, Michael and I decided that we would look for a bag, box or canister of wild flower seeds and that we would scatter them all over the Secret Garden. We were not sure where exactly, or if they would even germinate; but, thought that it would be a lovely idea. While standing in line at the Grocery Outlet, Michael glanced over and there they were. A large box of mixed wild flower seeds. The box said that the seeds would cover up to 750 square feet. We knew roughly how large an area that would be since our one bedroom apartment is only 540 square feet. That's a lot of wild flowers for only $3.99. After getting the box home and reading the instructions, we realized that it was not going to be as easy as simply scattering them all around the Secret Garden. The instructions said you must 1) rid the soil of all other vegetation (well that wasn't going to happen); 2) break-up the soil (neither was that); 3) rack the soil (You gotta be kidding me); and, 4)  make sure...

It has been awhile since Michael and I have ventured out into the Secret Garden.  It's been almost a year since we moved into this magic place and we have seen the garden transformed with the passing of the seasons.  So much has changed.  The fruiting mulberry tree, that once reached passed the roof tops along the north side of our balcony is gone, cut down to save the cement walkway from its massive root structure.  The Giant Oak, that we watched fall--making a natural bridge across the creek in May 2010 as we were dining with a friend, is gone--chopped into pieces and drug away by the County's maintenance crew just a few months ago, leaving a huge, empty, stark space in the landscape on the western bank of the creek.  The cuttings from the Wandering Jew from North Carolina, that we had planted in three places along the banks of the creek, have all washed away during the winter storms. Our first year in the Garden was so mag...

Just four days after Michael's car was stolen, we got a phone call. This morning I had to write another poem to tell "the rest of the story". On Christmas Eve, they stole his car— And as crazy as this might sound; I was praising God for the loss; Never thinking it would be found. God has taught me many things Through the loss of this earthly treasure. How Michael dealt with this loss, Was a blessing beyond measure. He was sad—that is true; But, he handled it with grace. He never once doubted God No anger—Not a trace. I got to see, through this, first hand, What Michael views as “treasure”. The man I married, has it right, And this brought me great pleasure! How he acted; what he said; Touched me to the core. His faith was never shaken Which makes me love him even more. For I hold things with open hands For things will come and go. The only thing that I hold dear Is the One I’ve come to know. God has taught us many things Through this unfortunate circumstance— As long as w...

As many of you know, this was our first Christmas together as a married couple, and it is a Christmas we won't soon forget. Not for the reasons one might think. I sat down early this morning (Sunday) before getting ready for church and wrote a poem to express my thoughts. After reading to Michael, what I had penned, he took pen to paper and wrote the last seven stanzas. We will let the poem speak for itself: “What did you get for Christmas?” Some fudge, some socks, a cigar? Or did you get something really neat Like a vintage acoustic guitar? When I return to work this week That is a question they may ask. They’ll want to know just what I got And on what pleasures I did bask. I’ll have to answer honestly It’s not about wrapped things. It’s not about what we get But what our Savior brings. Our hearts are filled with joy this year And nothing can change that fact No matter what the world might do To tempt, to entice, to detract. From all we hold so great and true In our minds, our sou...