Thanks, Grandpa!

My maternal grandfather dutifully followed in the footsteps of his male ancestors and became a pastor, but his passion was agriculture. He was able to transfer this love of growing things to me through three special visits.

When I was about seven years old, Grandpa and Grandma DeChant took a trip from Ohio to visit us in Colorado one summer. Grandpa took me for a walk and when we were almost home, he stooped and drew my attention to some vividly colored zinnias growing alongside the sidewalk in our neighbors' yard. The colors were striking, but it was a long-spent bloom, turned withered and brown that he held in his fingers to show me. As he retrieved the seeds from their little case, he opened up a new world to me. The miracle of all those seeds, being produced by a single bloom was revealed to me by the man who secretly longed to be a farmer.

Seven years later it was my pleasure to take a trip to visit my grandparents in Ohio. I was proud to attend church on Sunday and hear him preach, but it was our forays out into his garden that I cherished. I remember most his roses, day lilies, and pansies. While checking on his rose garden I was very impressed that he was not the least bit reticent to squish aphids between his fingers. I wondered, "Will I ever love gardening so much that I won't think twice about squishing aphids by hand?"

Several years later, Grandpa was gone, and my mother and I took a trip to her childhood home in Virginia. The church where her father preached had turned into an Italian restaurant after the new church was built, and the parsonage where she lived was long gone. We sat in the former sanctuary ordering from the menu, and she regaled me with stories from her childhood. She remembered that Grandpa had grown pansies in the shady area between the church and the parsonage. We looked at old photos of the church while our dinners were being prepared. Then, when our meals arrived, we were blessed to be presented with sumptuous food garnished with...pansies! Only God can orchestrate such memories.

I now joyfully garden, I always grow pansies, and I unabashedly squish aphids by hand. I also look forward to eventually being reunited with my grandfather where we can enjoy God's heavenly gardens.