From There to Here
Gardening is my passion, writing an unexpected calling. I've wrestled with the question: which is primary? and have landed on the notion that I'm a gardener who writes rather than a writer who gardens. Gardening grounds me and inspires my writing; writing is my voice affirming and honoring the Great Master Gardener of the Universe.
I have no degrees, certifications, or awards. I'm just a person who's lived a life of mistakes covered by grace. For many years I walked my own path in my own way, living a shallow version of Christianity. I thought things such as good behavior, moral principles, and social justice satisfied God's requirements; but I desired Truth. Eventually, I discovered that Truth isn't a thing but a Person, the person of Christ, without whom it's impossible to live rightly. I committed. I doubted. I hung in.
Sometime around 2009 I began to see mental pictures of a place in my back yard where God was celebrated. My heart felt the idea came from outside myself.The visions persisted, and, in 2011, I took a step of faith to act on it.
Since then, I've labored to bring the vision to reality. The slab became a patio, and the prayer garden was born. Often listening to worshipful music as I work, wondering about the what, why, and when of God's plan, awe, gratitude and prayers rise up. The veil between heaven and earth seems thinner and I become aware of a Muse in the Garden who works and walks beside me.
In 2014 I was invited to write a column in a women's online magazine called A Bundle of Thyme. I had no idea the two would intertwine so closely. Most of the stories offered here, primarily personal essays, were originally written for my column called Firmly Planted (Encouragement section). Through reading my stories, poems, the prayer garden story, and whatever else you find here, you can walk with me from There to Here. I pray you are inspired.
With gratitude and prayers,
Dina
