THE PLACE WHERE NO SANE PERSON GOES

At the bottom of our African garden, beyond the rockery and down the brick steps, there is a spot where nothing will grow, except a very old and very large tree.  

I have tried all kinds of ground covers, shrubs, and plants but they just refused to thrive. I had mostly given up on that patch and allowed it to be the end of the map where dragons be and no sane person goes.

For a while I ignored that patch, hardening my heart and turning my head in the opposite direction every time I passed by. Except, it is not my nature to ignore what is struggling so I sat myself down on the second step and faced the stubborn soil. Then, turning my head to the left to think through my repertoire of resilient plants, I saw what I had never seen before.

I saw the length of our beautiful garden; first the rockery, then the lush green grass that led into the Camelia Garden and beyond that, the majestic Helderberg mountain range. I was stunned. From my low vantage point on the step, I realized that I was sitting in the most peaceful and most beautiful spot in the entire garden and, for years, I had missed this. For years I had stood in this spot and looked down and wondered why it was so disappointing.

With this new perspective, we placed paving blocks and some pebble gravel on the ground. In the corner, where nothing would grow, a swing bench found a home and, with that, this has become one of my favorite spots in the entire garden. Gently swinging under the deep shade of the ancient tree, I see exactly what this spot was always intended to be. It is a sanctuary.  A joy. A place of stunning beauty.

How often do we look at a part of our life and see dragons? How often do we beg God to change it? How dissatisfied do we become and maybe we even harden our heart and look the other way.

Perhaps it simply needs a change of perspective. Maybe if we quiet our soul, remove all preconceived ideas, and look around at what this dragon has to offer, we might find that it has wings, and it can fly.

May we think on these things!

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26