The wildflowers I picked for our Open House this week-end are wilted this morning. They were so beautiful when I placed them in the vase on our dining room table. They are bold and colorful yet delicate. Here today, gone tomorrow, fleeting beauty…
It was my son Garrett who convinced me to plant large patches of wildflowers in our yard to attract the bees and butterflies. I now have a small patch of milkweed to offer food for the Monarchs but I haven’t seen any for years. They have all but been driven away by the overuse of herbicides and pesticides on our farm fields. I understand why the farmers have used these chemicals to increase crop yields but if we destroy our pollinators, there will be no crops. We must find ways to use less harmful chemicals and provide places of respite for the bees and butterflies.
Lady Bird Johnson understood the importance of the wildflower when she and actress, Helen Hayes founded the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin Texas in 1982. It is a veritable sanctuary of native plants and natural landscapes, a place of respite for the pollinators and other wildlife. We had the opportunity to visit there when my daughter, Rozie lived in Austin. I would highly recommend a visit there to any lover of nature. It is a paradise indeed.
Isn’t it interesting that the word “sanctuary” is used both as a name for a place of refuge for wildlife and also the name for a holy place of worship? Shouldn’t our churches be a place of refuge and respite, a safe place for seekers? Yet in many instances, this is not the case. We pick and choose who can enter our “sanctuary” as if it is reserved for a few select people. Jesus said, “Come all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The emphasis on all is mine but I think you get the picture.
We offer sanctuary to those we believe to be worthy. If a person’s lifestyle doesn’t fit our definition, then they are excluded. I am divorced and it has not been that long ago that I would have been excluded because of this. Even today in many Catholic congregations, those who are divorced are excluded from taking Holy Communion. Who are we to withhold the Body and Blood of Christ to those who seek to embrace Him? Would my divorce be the path that God would choose for me to take? No. It has brought much pain and suffering to all those involved. However, through it there has been forgiveness and change of hearts that probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
As a divorcee, I am now accepted in the church but I see my friends who are gay being excluded from many congregations. Why am I accepted and they are not? Can we not see them for the beautiful children of God that they are? Not one of us stands before God pure and holy. Then how can we judge the behavior of one and not another? It is hypocritical.
Our churches should be sanctuaries dedicated to be places of refuge and respite for everyone. Many of our churches are but it’s difficult to see them. We must purposefully plant patches of wildflowers, so to speak, to attract seekers from every walk of life to join us. Otherwise we will find ourselves alone, inwardly focused only. Jesus, who we claim to be our refuge and savior, was never meant to be withheld for a select few, but offered to everyone.
