The pink and blue flowers in my round flower bed are myosotis, whose common English name is forget-me-nots. Cynthia loved seeing them in the Spring, and the cheerful way they multiply to try to take over the whole garden. Now she has passed “from the land of the dying into the land of the living” (C.S. Lewis).

No Cynthia, we will forget you not, even those who only met you once never forgot the experience, as many are writing and telling us about.

She did many things well, and two of them were hospitality and traditions. Ask Celia about the times Cynthia served After-8 chocolate mints after a meal, but announced that we couldn’t actually have any until after 8 PM. Any guest who thought she was kidding immediately found out that she wasn’t!

So we are continuing one of our traditions, that of inviting the Burtigny staff over into our garden once in the Spring and once in the Summer. That will happen tomorrow at 5, with the help of Phil & Amy, Steve & Marie, and Matt and Celia.

Many ask how I’m doing . . . the tears come at completely unexpected moments, but the grace is always there. Another of the plants in my garden is rue, which the English medieval church called “the herb of grace”. I offer a tiny bit to visitors, so they can know what grace tastes like . . . some, newer believers, expect it to be sweet. But the grace of rue has a very bitter taste . . .

Another image for the grace I’m living on is the water which runs from the spring up on the hill down to supply some of the YWAM buildings, including our apartment. It’s not visible, but it’s clear and cold and always dependable. Every time I need it, it’s there; and it sustains me.
The Lord is good . . . all the time.