A Place of Peace, and Cacti

In the Bible, the Gospel is sometimes referred to as the Gospel of Peace.  In the sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us, blessed are the peacemakers.  Which speaks volumes to me.

I did not come from a life of peace, from a home of peace.  In fact, I still deal with the effects of a slight anxiety disorder, fits of rage, bouts of depression.  The love and peace of Jesus Christ has entered my life slowly, almost unnoticeable at times, like the dawning of a bright, sunny morning.  I look around at my life and realize how much more light, joy, peace and hope there is and I want more.

I want this peace for my own life and it's a gift I want to give to others.  A home devoid of hostility and secrets.  A home full of love and openness, even when being open is hard.

I see that our home could be a great tool in this goal.  Not only the inside, but the outside as well.  In fact, one of my big deams is a prayer garden, named for the prayers of peace I am already praying over it as well as the intention that it would be a place for all the members of our family and any guests to find an invitation to get away and to seek Jesus.

The grand idea is to have a medium size area, about 20' by 30' with a little fence around it.  Drought resistant (and hopefully native, to encourage birds and butterflies) hedges just inside the fence and then little rock pathways, with cacti and succulents full of breathtaking desert flowers.  Sprinkled throughout will be chairs, benches and a table with an umbrella.  Large landscaping rocks with scripture scrolled on them.  Bird feeders and wild flower seeds in little nooks and crannies.

From: share landscaping 

I plan to create it slowly.  With the refuse of the home improvement projects of other, more wealthy people.  With plant trimmings from family and friends.  From small native offshoots we commission from the local foothills.  And perhaps a Southern California black walnut tree - whose nuts were eaten by local Indians and are quite similar to the walnuts harvested by commercial walnut farmers.

From:  Cal Poly Pomona Black Walnut Grove

I am excited to begin.  It will be my first outdoor project, that I'll work on while the kids play outside every morning.  And all I will need to start is a spade, a shovel and a rake.  Hopefully, we'll have enough money left from outfitting the inside of the house to buy some quality garden tools.