Five Minute Friday: Garden -

From Lisa-Jo Baker, the Gypsy Mama: "On Fridays around these parts we like to write. Not for comments or traffic or anyone else's agenda. But for fun, for practice, for joy at the sound of syllables, sentences and paragraphs all strung together by the voice of the speaker. We love to just write without worrying if it's just right or not. For five minutes flat."

Today's prompt: Garden:

~ Go ~ 

It's 12:47 on a Valentines Day morning and I can't get over how much I've been blessed.

They told me relationships take up so much time and work and energy and I stared at them straight in the face because I couldn't understand how love couldn't run so deep and hard and strong that it wouldn't overlook it all. 

But there were the thorns, the deep roots that were pulled up, 

with years of friendship suddenly left to die and I thought I'd never know it ever again. 

And then you came along, you and you and you.....
and you reminded me what it was like to feel wanted and cared for, watered like the summer rain in the Colorado greenhouse gardens. 

The work was the pulling away of the weeds of shallow talking and what-if's,

the planting of hopes and dreams and desires to be known, to be loved for me,

the watering was the rain of God's grace, full and free and wild and clean,

the sprouts the kindness of our Savior in giving me so many to know as my own, to hold onto,

the roots which ran strong and deep and true and honest,

and then.....the blossoms came - like Spring in the desert, they came forth more beautiful than I could have asked for. 

Roses and lilies - pure and sweet and so fragrantly spectacular that tears filled my eyes. 

There was jasmine and honeysuckle of the sweet love that has poured over me. 

And then came gardenias and camellias, of reminding me that His mercies have followed me
and prepared for me the growth that I will need, the experiences I have been given, the richness of life.

The magnolias, strong and true. The orange blossoms of unexpected kindness and trust. 

It was work, in the end.....but work that produces the utmost joy in the dearest of places. The garden in the heart of love for each other. And the most wonderful thing to me is that while God was changing me from desert to ocean, from sadness to joy, from hurt to life.....

He was giving me YOU as my friends. 

And it has been my joy to grow in the garden of friendship......with you. 

I love you my friends. Happy Valentines Day. 

~ Jean Marie ~ 

Photos taken: June 2013, Colorado.