One sunny day my mom called, (her nickname is Mutti). She asked if I was home and could she bring something to put in my yard. Since we were working in our yard - how timely, we agreed and she headed over. Jumping out of her vehicle, she pulled out what looked like a stick and asked if she might plant it. Of course! She asked me where it might be planted. I asked what conditions did it need to grow? Mutti advised that it be near another bush right in the front of the house, in the front yard. This stick? In the front yard? Ok, it's Mutti. This is the person that had refrigerator magnets stating, "I sleep in the house, I live in my garden". OK, let's put it in the front yard and let's see what happens. Well, it survived the Michigan winter and through the next and kept getting a little bigger. It was a large stick. Then at some point, a couple years later, it bloomed. It was a most amazing hydrangea that looked as if the stick would break. But it survived and grew bigger and bigger. In about 5 or 6 years it was huge and had massive blooms all over it, as if it had always been there. Of course, it was meant to be there. Mutti saw this stick and knew where it would thrive. That small plant needed healthy conditions, soil, sun, and space to grow. In her yard, it had started out as a "volunteer," nearly crowded out by some large plants. In time, it would have at least been lost and more likely been strangled. May we all see the wonderful stick in ourselves and others, providing space and time to be whatever we are to be.
Peace,
Kate Bower, Director Transfiguration Spirituality Center
