“Gardens are not made by singing “oh, how beautiful and sitting in the shade.” Rudyard Kipling

We know this. We appreciate the garden. Whether in person or in a picture, we can look at a garden and instinctively know that a lot of work went into creating it. We look at the design and see the creativity of the designer. We look at the layout and we know the care that went into planting each seed and bulb. We know that there is a lot of weed pulling and watering and nurture that goes into keeping the garden looking its finest. We feel the beauty that emanates from a perfectly planned garden; we smell the essence of flower scents. Our senses are delighted and we know something of the garden’s designer even if we do not who it is.  We agree with Kipling – gardens are not made by chance- springing into being.

We know this. The magnificent garden that is earth must have a designer, a creator, an intelligence that brings together all that is. We see the care that has gone into the development of each animal, plant, structure and person. We know that for this world to survive despite us, there must be nurture that makes it so. We experience the beauty that exists for our enjoyment every day. Our senses, although dulled by our own inventions, can still be delighted by the red sky in the morning or the pink and blue hues of the sun going down at night or the touching caress of a beloved pet. We know the designer even when we do not. Always there, always within our grasp, always available if we pause to look and listen.

We know this. We each are a plant in the garden. With each passing moment we become more of the essence that is us. Each day we grow within the garden as a plant grows within the garden, minutely changing. But we err in believing that it is our garden, our own creation. We cultivate our thoughts and feelings and give no heed to the one who planted us here, the one who nurtures us, the one who gives us what we need to live another day, the one who tends us, the one who loves us. 

Gardens are not made by singing o how beautiful and sitting in the shade