My Lovely Garden

My lovely garden-

So carefully nurtured;

Cuttings and seedlings, so many hopes and dreams

Ravaged by violent winds and angry rain

I shook my fist at the storm clouds,

Helpless as what I had tended was swept away.

Only the strongest and best rooted survived;

And in their tenacity would bloom great and unexpected beauty.

The storm clouds fled,

The Sun restored.

And just, there,

Gleaming, shimmering

In the new light,

Long hidden, forgotten treasure

Once buried under my best laid plans.

A couple of years ago, shortly after I sent my second husband packing, I had a strange dream. In it I was at home, having coffee with a very dear friend, when an terrible storm arose. Thunderstorms here cause the gutters to fill quickly, the storm sewers can not keep up, and the water began to rise up over the lawn. My friend suddenly, in a panic, said she needed to get home, gave me a cursory hug and fled (or so it felt).

I stood alone watching the water rise from my window, bitterly thinking; "Fine, leave me here, alone. I don't need your help". My thoughts were angry & self-pitying. I was having hard time dealing with the emotional fallout of being single again. And then in my dream my whole attitude shifted. The water stopped rising & I realized my house was on higher ground, and my thoughts were that I was OK and I would be fine.

I wondered about the dream for several days, and then, finally the pieces fell into place. My ex had been making my life complicated and uncomfortable. He was hurting and angry, and I was bearing the brunt of his pain still. I felt like I had been left to cope with all of this on my own, like I had no one to lean on. And then I heard Holy Spirit tell me my house was on higher ground, my life is planted in The Rock, and I will be OK, all would be well.

Not long after that things settled down with my ex. I re-established ground rules for our communication and refused to get drawn into his drama. And today, when the storm clouds gather & I see the water start to rise I remember that my house is on higher ground.

Coming through the storms of life reveals new treasures, and sometimes has restored old, long forgotten dreams.

What storms have you weathered? What treasure did the rain uncover?