Faith | Gardens are a gift for the soul. Take a stroll

The following reflection germinated while strolling through a large, manicured masterpiece garden that is over 100 years old.

Perhaps you’ve witnessed the overwhelming visual sensation of Butchart Gardens of Victoria, B.C., or the aforementioned Duncan, Rose and Japanese Gardens (among others) that grace Spokane’s Manito Park—human-made marvels.

Maybe you’ve seen the magnificent springtime wildflowers vividly blanketing the slopes of Mt. Rainier above Paradise Lodge or wildflowers stubbornly coloring in muted tones the dry rolling hills and prairies of the Channeled Scablands—handiwork of the Gardener Divine.

From these grand designs to simpler neighborhood and community gardens to personal plots nursed from the soil, gardens are gifts, collaborative gifts of nature and people who tend them.

Indeed, they are gifts of creation and the created order from the Master Gardener and Giver of Life. The Book of Genesis records the ancient, yet radical faith conviction that our world, Planet Earth, had its beginnings, its genesis, in a garden of sorts. From beginnings long faded in the mists of time, it is this same faith and faithfulness that gives meaning and purpose to the existence of creation and our roles and responsibilities therein.

Of course, geography, geology, botany, agronomy and their related sciences teach us that there’s a lot more going on in our world than just gardens and gardening. Yet, I contend that the incredible cyclic alchemy of uniting light, soil (usually), water, and seed in a garden is truly essential to our being, belonging, and behaving as the humans we are created to be.

The life-giving miracle of nature, creativity, and labor that results in gardens continually reminds us that we are of the soil (Hebrew, adam), that we depend on the fruits (yes ... and vegetables!) of the soils and seas to provide for our physical needs ... and that we will each return to the soil. Further, all consumers of these fruits and florals depend on the labors and tools of countless others to provide all the steps required to produce produce, so to speak, and all the myriad types of foods.

Beyond the physical aspects of gardens, allow me to focus here on the emotional, social, and even spiritual gifts that gardens give to those able to appreciate them.

Whether creating, tending, or viewing a garden, people of all generations and stations in life have found and testified to the blessings of gardens. Providing delight to the downcast, solace to the conflicted, hope to the discouraged, and reverence to the seeker, gardens may be some of the holiest places about us.

Whether working alone deep in thought, prayer, or wonder, or strolling with others in conversation or silence, the visual, tactile, olfactory, and auditory beauty found in gardens great and small, wild or curated, provides a gently powerful balm for our souls.

When you next pause and consider a single flower or grand array, or listen to the birdsongs or breezes, or sit and take in the big picture of a garden or meadow, give thanks for gardens and gardeners!

Timothy J. Ledbetter, DMin, BCC is a retired American Baptist-endorsed professional chaplain and member of Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Avenue, Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.