Grace Fills My Garden

April showers bring May flowers. I have heard this quote since I was a child. When visiting my Nonnie Rose, I often found myself dancing in the multiple gardens with excitement. Nonnie's gardens were graced with the love of her gentle hands, which turned the soil into glorious, colorful flowers. Today, I understand the hope-filled goals she had for her grandchildren. I am honored to continue her dreams for the family.

While I am not the gardener with the green thumb that my Nonnie was, I love watching my blossoms open their petals after rainstorms. Unfortunately, my herb garden was overrun by fresh mint last summer. The gardeners pulled all the mint, but this April, the mint stubbornly decided to intermingle with my flowers. Now I need to wait for the gardener to redo the bed. I shall pick the mint before the current area is created into a new bed. I hope new growth will restore the garden's beauty. This time, the herbs will grow with grace in their rectangular outdoor pot while new flowers find companions other than mint.

One of my beds

   Magnolia buds open

“Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.”—May Sarton

“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” – May Sarton, poet/novelist

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Today, I am celebrating the birthday of my youngest grandgirl, Lila. Time moves on quickly. She turned 3 today!

As you can see, I finished my Poetry Friday blog after the party. I plan on visiting Poetry Friday poets blog posts over the long weekend.

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Take a virtual ride on the Ferris Wheel at Carol Labuzzetta's Poetry Friday blog post. Click here to read about Carol's new plans and read other poets' blog posts.

Have a wonderful family and friends Memorial Day.

Cherish the Now!

As I read through other writers' posts, I often choose a line or two that makes me pause. Cherish each fleeting now was written by slicer/poet, Molly Hogan. Her thought made me connect to the past and back to the present. If only I knew that my husband's time would be unexpectedly shortened, I might have cherished ordinary days with more intent. The if-onlys in my life still pop-up but I know that I cannot rewrite our history. What I need to learn is how to stop obsessing on what I can't keep up with. I also need to put my energy into what I can do in small amounts each day. I found the following poem by Wendell Berry several times during last week. It made me take a mindful pause. 

Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

The above poem allows me "For a time, to rest in the grace of the world". With this thought, I decided to create a Golden Shovel poem from my heart to my husband's resting place.

The family journeyed along the coast for

nine days ready to celebrate a  

life no longer existing in real time.

My husband  journeyed also. I

honored his love and felt his spirit rest.

The sun opened our hearts in 

layers of clouds and the 

blessings of God's grace 

recycled in a pool of 

ocean waves surrounding the

memories of our world.

I shall cherish each fleeting now!

draft 2025 @CVarsalona

This is my Slice of My Life that will be placed at Two Writing Teachers, 

a meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

Gratitude for Grace

There have been times in everyone's lives that missteps taken lead us down a path that is not well-suited for our balanced living. It is with faith and hope that we rise from the fall to move forward. 

It is for amazing grace that I am grateful. 

Gratitude for Grace

When toils abound
And troubles arise
Grace is present
And ever abides
Lifting us gently. 
Catching our steps.
Pushing us forward
Beyond our missteps.

cvarsalona 2014

This poem is embedded in the Animoto video I created. 
The link is above (click Gratitude for Grace).

May the following renditions of "Amazing Grace" allow you to rest in the presence and power of the Divine who provides for us not only in times of toil but on a daily basis. 

Andrea Boccelli

Il Divo

On a perfect fall day Chris Tomlin sings the song for the movie "Amazing Grace" 

May you rest in peace and grace as you find fall in the bounty of nature. 

This week Holly Mueller has invited us to write about grace for the Spiritual Journey Thursday community. I thank Holly for this topic since this week has been filled with grace for me. Eleven years ago I walked on the edge of darkness when diagnosed with lymphoma but through the power of faith, medicine, the support of family and friends, and the grace that surrounded me I survived. Monday was my annual visit to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City where my oncologist greeted me with a smile and a message of healthy living. In tribute to the power of Divine Grace I created this post. 

Thank you to Holly for this simple reminder.