Getting Ready for the Dedication of the Grotto

Bud vases with mini carnations all in a row.

Beautiful fruit. Our huge refrigerator is full to the brim.

I was resting... after working at Church most of the day, getting ready for the Grotto dedication ceremony tomorrow evening. Joe said that he was going to take a drive by the Grotto and see if everything was perfect. He came home and said, "You have to come with me." We got in the car and took a drive by the Church. When I saw the Grotto garden, I was simply overcome with emotion...it was beautiful. The building and grounds workers had been there and finished planting the flowers....just in time. I didn't have my camera...but I was a mess and couldn't have taken a picture if I wanted to. After all these months of planning and talking and finally building....the Grotto is complete. It is just the way Joe planned it and the garden is just as I envisioned it. I had to hold back tears this morning, when we were putting bouquets on all the tables and filling the refrigerator with beautiful trays of fruits and vegetables. Have you ever cried over a bowl of strawberries? I know it's just an accumulation of joy that is making me this way. Tomorrow will be here soon and it is complete. We need places like this in our busy world today. You know how you feel in your own garden...when you are all alone with nature and feel a stillness all around you? Maybe you pray or meditate....clear your mind of problems, calm yourselves? That is how I hope this place will be used. My hope is that someone walking by, with a heavy load, will sit for a while and find peace.

Balisha