gardening | Simply Faithful

For Rose Caillier, blogging is more than sharing healthy recipes and parenting tips – it’s about faith.

The Penfield, NY, podiatrist-turned-stay-at-home-mom doles out advice on everything from choosing the right shoes for your toddler to teaching kids about tithing and treating people with respect, even when those people are your enemies.

“My friends love it,” Caillier says as her 3-year-old daughter settles in to sleep for the night. “I think they appreciate it because it’s something they usually don’t see.”

And her blog, wisdomformom.com, opens doors for one-on-one discussions about faith.

“It’s like a balloon you release with a message inside it,” she says. “You never know whose yard it’s going to land in.”

I like that imagery, the idea of sharing what you believe is sacred and letting it take root wherever it lands. For years I wanted to plant my religious ideas in very specific places – flowerbeds that I thought looked a little overgrown and out of control.

I assumed I knew where the seeds of my faith needed to go, without pausing to ask God for much direction. Now, I assume I know very little.

“The blog is a great way to start other people thinking,” says Caillier, who began her site about two years ago. She’d research things for her own daughter (What are the best and worst fast food meals for kids?) and then share what she found with others. “I have seen it grow and now I have almost a sense of responsibility to post.”

It’s not always easy to open your heart and share personal experiences, but Caillier has it right. It is our responsibility to reach out to others and offer encouragement and wisdom, regardless of our platform.

She does that best in a post about a Sansevieria plant that sat on a friend’s kitchen windowsill during Hurricane Katrina. The floodwaters came. Neighborhoods were leveled. Palm trees were ripped from their roots. Yet, the plant remained.

“Every time I see it, I am reminded that sometimes in order to get through life’s challenges, all that is needed is to just keep still,” Caillier writes.

Now that’s something I’d welcome to take root in my yard.

When my husband and I first married we rented an old house with a small, unruly yard. We happened to inherit six tomato plants from our neighbor and I was on the back deck putting them in pots when I found myself lamenting about how much stronger and larger they would grow if I could just plant them in the ground. Give them room for roots, you know.

Then a tiny, unwelcome thought made its way into my mind. What if I moved beyond the container and allowed myself to grow roots? For five years I’d lived in New York, yet kept my heart with my family in Oklahoma. Sure, I’d made friends but I hadn’t really gotten involved in the community in any kind of meaningful way. I’d tried some churches but hadn’t settled in anywhere. I’d blamed it all on my crazy hours at work but really it was my attitude – my idea that this was only temporary.

By the time those tomatoes ripened, I realized how I was limiting myself and my life began to change. It seems like such a simple observation now, but one I may not have grasped without the help of putting my hands in the soil and planting, of being close enough to creation to hear the Creator.

I know many people view gardening as a spiritual practice and they create quiet, sacred spaces for prayer and reflection. I’ve visited local rock gardens, a labyrinth bordered by flowers and a stunning synagogue where vines climb up the inside of its A-shaped walls. My blood pressure drops just thinking about it.

Some day I’d like to have a place in my yard to sit and enjoy a peaceful view, but for now I’ll have to enjoy other people’s gardens. We’ve moved into a home of our own and last summer we tore out a deck and removed shrubs to make way for growing boys, soccer balls and plastic ride-on tractors.

On the side of our house, though, are heirloom tomato plants, cucumbers, peppers and a lone pumpkin – all with plenty of room to grow.

Where does the Farmer want spiritual seeds planted?

Putting down spiritual roots

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