The women’s group at my church held its Spring Brunch yesterday. I signed up to attend as soon as I heard about it, and was looking forward to it for a number of reasons. For one thing, I was excited about meeting and getting to know some of the women at our new church. For another, the speaker was going to be a woman from a local nursery, who would be talking about herbs, one of my passions – and one that I’ve been especially looking forward to pursuing now that we’re getting our new house in order and getting pretty well settled in. And, of course, whenever words like “women’s” and “brunch” are used in the same sentence, you can be pretty confident you’re going to eat well.

I scored on all three counts. Walking into the room where brunch would be served, I met another woman who was fairly new to the area. We sat together at a table that had some long-time members of the church and the community, and we all enjoyed lovely and lively conversations as we ate.

The woman from the nursery was entertaining as well as informative, and I learned a lot not only about different herbs, but other edibles from the garden – including how to repel deer and “bad bugs” while attracting the good bugs that feed on the bad ones. As a bonus, everyone in attendance received a small tomato plant to take home, and I also won one of the door prizes – a container of praying mantis egg cases, which I now know will be beneficial to my plants, as long as I get them out in the garden before they hatch in the garage.

The Spring Brunch began with Mass at 9:00, and as I said some silent prayers before Mass started, I found myself asking God to put me in the path of people who needed me to be in their path, and to put in my path the people I needed to have in mine. I’m sure He did, although I don’t know yet how – or which – new acquaintances will blossom into new friendships. I just know that they will. That’s called faith.

I’ve already made one trip to the nursery, and will be going back again soon with a detailed list of the seedlings and supplies I’ll need to get my herb garden going, as well as the tomato and pepper plants I can turn into salads and salsa later on in the season. I’m now looking forward to spending the next few months planting, nurturing, and watching things grow. Things like faith. Friendship. And lots of basil and oregano.

May 5, 2017
©Betty Liedtke, 2017

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