Welcome to
The Chaplain's Corner
January 2010
There is a story about a couple who had gardened together for many years, turning their yard into a showplace of color. They enjoyed many hours relaxing and admiring the results of their hard work. Then sadly, they learned that the husband had a terminal illness and perhaps a few months to live. They decided he would stay at home with help from nurses and hospice when the time came.
By fall, the end was near, and oddly, the husband began to insist that his wife get out more with friends to have lunch, and go shopping. He became upset when she hesitated and so she agreed, and their friends were supportive of this idea. He husband died within a month, and she was left to mourn his passing. Her interest in her garden was fading also. Even the return of spring did little to entice her outside, until one day she noticed something different about the gardens. New daffodils coming up; hundreds of them- they grouped together, lined the driveway, the house and ringed the trees!
A few days later, she received a request from their attorney to come to his office and he gave her an envelope to open when she returned home. Two smaller packages were inside. The first contained a video of her husband explaining that the daffodils were planted so that they would be blooming on their anniversary for years to come. The second video showed friends and neighbors who worked together to give this loving gift while her husband sat in a lawn chair, watching. Her photo she framed? Her husband smiling and waving a trowel.
As we welcome spring this year and see the thousands of daffodils planted statewide, may we remember the Chinese proverb: “He who plants a garden plants happiness.”
Source: Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul,
article by Nicole Woodward.
October 2009
When our youngest daughter was in the tenth grade, we had the opportunity to "move" for three months to Macclesfield, England. My husband served as a consultant to oversee the installation of a new dye range. We enrolled our daughter in an English school and each morning I was free to explore this new country-thousands of miles from home! We attended a small Methodist church; I joined an interdenominational prayer group, and we had many meals with our new friends. We learned that the modern conveniences we "can't live without" were not important. Each day was filled with new discoveries. We were in the valley between two mountains, and even as the morning snow would disappear in town, it still glistened on the mountains. It was a great experience, but homecoming was WONDERFUL!
In America, we have opportunities that other countries can only dream of. Sometimes we forget the quote from Richard Carlson,"Life, like an automobile is driven from the inside out, not the other way around." It helps to take stock of our blessings, measure our appreciation and maybe change the direction in which we are headed. Look, really look, at the beauty that surrounds us, and carry that mental picture with you throughout the day. Greet others with a smile and realize how easy it is to do so. Think of each day as a gift, wrapped and ready to be opened with delight and anticipation. Nuture a plant -it will show you how to practice unconditional love! Life is short and unpredictable, spread your joy TODAY. And a quote from the late Betty Feezor "God expects me to live one day at a time, so that at the end of each day I may feel that I have not wasted the few precious minutes I have on this earth, but that I have made some small contribution".
In response to all He has done for us let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good. Hebrews 11:24
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August 2009
THOU SHALT
Thou shalt enjoy this lovely world which God has made: sun, moon, and stars; fields, flowers and trees; wind warmth and rain; earth, sea and sky.
Thou shalt enjoy the gift of love from parents, sweetheart, wife,
the love which goes on loving when you are most unlovely.
Thou shalt enjoy home-where you do not visit but belong; where your absence means a gap which no one else can fill.
Thou shalt enjoy the trustfulness of little children and their adoring belief that there is nothing you do not know and nothing you cannot do.
Thou shalt enjoy friends, their loyalty and fellowship, their constancy in sorrow, and their unprotesting acceptance of your timely help.
Thou shalt enjoy wholesome laughter, the ludicrous incident, and the side-splitting joke.
Thou shalt enjoy art, music, the cinema, literature, eloquence, animals, singing, rhythm and games.
Thou shalt enjoy the privilege of helping others; the poor and sick, the aged and maimed.
Thou shalt enjoy peace. This peace shall not attach only to your circumstances; it shall abide in your heart.
Thou shalt enjoy God; the knowledge that He is there and that He is love; that He cares for all.
By Rev. Dr. W.E. Sangster for those who think life can be a series of "Thou Shalt Nots"
Thought for the day: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
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MEMO TO ALL DISTRICT DIRECTORS AND CLUB PRESIDENTS
I need your help in keeping an accurate record of any deceased garden club member during the current year, so they will be remembered appropriately at our state meeting in April. Please send me information on any deceased member, showing name, garden club, city and state. Also the date of death will be helpful. I appreciate your assistance and certainly don’t want to overlook the contributions these members made to the Garden Club of South Carolina.
Also my personal thanks as Chaplain.
Mildred
************************************July 2009
FOR THE GARDEN OF DAILY LIVING
Plant three rows of peas
1. Peace of mind
2. Peace of heart
3. Peace of soul
Plant four rows of squash
1. Squash gossip
2. Squash indifference
3. Squash selfishness
Plant four rows of lettuce
1. Lettuce be faithful
2. Lettuce be kind
3. Lettuce be patient
4. Lettuce really love each other
No garden without turnips
1. Turnip for meetings
2. Turnip for service
3. Turnip to help one another
To conclude our garden we must have thyme
1.Thyme for each other.
2.Thyme for family
3.Thyme for friends
Water freely with patience and cultivate with love. There is much fruit
in your garden because you reap what you sow. Pass it on!
Thought for the day: Life is a gift. Live it, enjoy it, celebrate it and fulfill it.
submitted by
Mildred Parker, Chaplain
Garden Club of South Carolina
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SLOW ME DOWN LORD, LORD
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind...Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills. Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory, that help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations- of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift, that there is more to life than increasing speed.
Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oaks and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.
Author unknown
Mildred Parker, Chaplain GCSC
