The green foliage taking over the flower beds of our new house promised beauty. The leaves were so confident, so strong, so widespread I was certain they’d been planted with purpose.
But as we unpacked our belongings, those leaves grew. And grew. And then sprouted little purple blooms that nowhere near justified all those leaves. What we’d expected to be flowers were weeds.
When new, paler green foliage popped up in other parts of the landscaping, I knew better than to hope. These were going to be weeds. As if they knew my suspicions, they grew into weird plants with a single capsule at the end of a long, furry stem. Weeds. Those capsules, some kind of pod, would surely open and spew hundreds of cottony seeds, spreading the the infestation further.
And then, one day, I looked out, and what I’d labelled weeds turned out to be gorgeous poppy hybrids.
This is how it’s been to move. Unexpected disappointments. Blessings growing right under my nose.
In the midst of this confusion, Christina Hubbard of Creative and Free suggested I join the book club at GraceTable.org, which is reading Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy. I signed up immediately; I’ve come to trust Christina’s taste in books implicitly. That trust has now expanded to the GraceTable blog, and to Christie Purifoy’s writing.
Roots and Sky, which on it’s basic level is a memoir about the process of making an old farmhouse a home, came at just the right time in my life. I’m trying to make a house a home, too.
But the pages speak to so much more vital issues than that. Thoughtfully and beautifully written, this book puts words to thoughts and experiences common to all of us, whether we’re in the midst of a move or not.
Though we don’t face all the same external challenges, we do come up against many of the same questions. How it could be that days spent in a dream-come-true feel ordinary? Why does this have to be a process? What’s the value in the waiting, in the striving? What does it mean to truly come home, and when will we finally be able to say we have?
Because of all of this, because I so appreciate both GraceTable and Roots and Sky, it’s an honor to be guest posting on GraceTable today about one of the ways Roots and Sky resonated with me. I hope you’ll click through to read it. If you do, consider subscribing to their blog and checking out Roots and Sky for yourself!
P.S. I’m not putting an affiliate link to Roots and Sky in this post because I’d rather you use those on GraceTable, supporting the beautiful work they do. If you’re interested in the book and the book club, here’s an introduction.
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