This is my current Love garden (Oct 4, 2020). I went on Facebook last night and found a picture of the garden on one of my friends Facebook pages. I make a garden that spells out love each season and I couldn’t wait to redo the summer version that was a bit sparse from the drought that we have been living through. For this one, I wanted something bright, something full and robust. I’ve been waiting and waiting for the flowers to blossom (as I am not the most patient person). Finally over the weekend the V began to turn red. Yahoo… Love is alive and well in North Sutton.

I created this garden as a response to the climate of the 2016 election for my little slice of North Road. It has been a labor of love for me through these past years. I think maybe 12 to 15 different versions of this garden has unfolded through these years. It was meant to ground me and my community in something larger than the divisions that we feel sometimes with all the political signs yelling at us. I am part of you and you are part of me. I am one petal and you are another but we, collectively, make a great garden together.

So today: May you know love in your life. May you be held by something larger than any suffering can feel. May you know of a love that heals even in the face of great pain.

– Rev. Michelle DeCoste