Today has been a perfect example of how a garden is a gateway to hospitality!

A young mother in our church asked to come over for a visit and sit on the back porch with her four-week-old infant. My answer was an exuberant, “Yes please!” What a gift to hold and rock that swaddled bundle on such a crisp fall morning. There’s nothing like holding a newborn! The humming birds dove over our heads heading to the red turk’s cap and the crimson salvia. Cardinals, finches, and one gawky wood pecker  fussed over right-of-place on the bird feeder.

Later in the day, a widow down the street walked by as I was picking late summer blooms. She stopped for a wiff of the flowers and thanked me yet again for the banana bread I had dropped off several weeks before. She shared with me how hard it is to live in her home with her husband of  65 years gone. She  then joined me on the front porch for an extended chat and unloaded her grief. I was able to run into the garage, open the freezer, and pull out another loaf of banana bread for her. I like to keep such things in the freezer just in case.

This afternoon, as I strolled down the front walkway, harvesting cosmos seeds on the way to pick up my mail, a swarm of butterflies, American Beauty and Monarch, engulfed me. I heard my neighbor’s one- year-old granddaughter squeal with delight. So, I quickly snipped some zinnias, put them in a simple jar, and walked over to their front porch. As I presented the humble bouquet, she put both her chubby hands to her lips and blew me kisses, the universal sign language gesture for “thank you.” I invited her over to my front garden to witness the butterflies nestled in the blue mist and purple fall aster. As she approached in her grandmother’s arms, the butterflies circled all around her. She flapped her hands in excitement and started singing a butterfly song. My heart skipped with joy and we all three delighted in the cloud of butterflies. Just as incense floats up in prayer, so did the squeals, songs, laughter, and sign language gestures float up in thanksgiving.

I am full to overflowing with blessings! Thank you, my garden, for nurturing me and welcoming my friends.

What prayers are floating around and up from you today?