A Community Garden of Hope for Heidi

A special thanks to my wonderful husband, Ed, for weed-eating around the entire garden and star for Memorial Day weekend. It looks amazing. 
Rather than enjoying some time on the deck, he surprised us with this. 

This is the first year since the garden was built that the garden wasn't spruced up for Memorial Day. There are a couple reasons. 

One, my parents have hired someone to build up the star again and stabilize it. The snowmobiles running over the top of it in the winters has done a number on the wood. So, rather than put in flowers and have to do it again, we are waiting until the new frame is built to add the flowers.

Secondly, the lawn hadn't been mowed yet so we decided there wasn't much use in worrying about the garden since you couldn't see it through the tall grass. Well, my wonderful husband, Ed, decided to take the weed-eater up to the garden after working at our house and my parents. 

He knew how much we, my parents and I, wanted the garden to look nice for Memorial Day. He also understood that with the planned reconstruction, we couldn't plant. So he did the next best thing. He weed-eated around the garden, in the shape of a circle so when the store mows, they don't need to worry about getting in the triangles.

I'm thankful for my husband for many reasons yet see the garden stand out in the midst of the tall grass brought tears to my eyes. It's funny how things come to pass down the road. When the star garden was built, I didn't appreciate the full meaning. It isn't really a garden, it's a symbol of community and hope. 

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Look at the photo and message shared on Facebook this past weekend...Heidi is remembered by many and some of those, stop at the garden to pay their respects. 

This might be the location of her abduction, but it's also a place of hope and community. 

No matter how tall the grass or worn the wood, one thing remains ~ the symbol of hope and community. Heidi is never forgotten and thanks to our wonderful town of New Haven, there is a place for everyone to stop, visit, pray, and remember Heidi...one of America's missing...

Just like the story of Moses from the Bible, there is hope in the tall grass. This garden might not save lives yet it does offer encouragement to our community, family, friends, and others traveling through.

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"Just then, Pharaoh’s daughter went to the river to bathe. 
She saw the basket in the tall grass. Her servants were walking beside the river, 
so she told one of them to go get the basket. The king’s daughter opened the basket and saw a baby boy. The baby was crying and she felt sorry for him. 
Then she noticed that it was one of the Hebrew babies."
Exodus 2:5-6 ERV

What symbolizes HOPE in your life? A ribbon, bird, or ?