Friends
It’s started again! My Gypsy Garden in my driveway has its first official bloom, and it’s a color I have never planted before!
Today, I share a message I wrote in Late August of 2025 with every intention of publishing it. Yet, before I could put the finishing touches on the message, my father became seriously ill and I stopped writing for awhile. The story got shuffled to a back seat in my notes, and I never shared it. Since I have been playing in my plants a bunch lately, the story came to mind, and I decided it was too good not to share. So here it is, better late than never!
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“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:10 – NLT
I didn’t plan on it. It never crossed my mind. If you had told me it could happen, I would have laughed at you and refused to believe it.
All I did was buy some bright blue pots and arrange them at the top of my driveway next to the wall of our carport. It was an area reserved for visitor parking, and I decided it needed a little sprucing up. Yes, a few flowers would be just the thing.
Still, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that planting a few vinca flowers in those colorful pots would have yielded such results. Never!
There is the old adage, “if you build it, they will come.” Well, I didn’t build it. I didn’t plant it. I didn’t even water it. But, boy, did they come!
About five feet below that row of pots is a length-wise crack in the concrete, and that’s where it all started. Tiny seeds spilled over the edge of my flower pots and floated down the driveway into that crack. Finding purchase in some hidden dirt, watered by the rains and warmed by the sun, they sprouted. Then they grew, and they grew, and they bloomed. Then they spread. And they spread. And they spread!
From the original landing place, they spread vertically to an adjacent crack, and then onto another horizontal crack. The vinca plants grew thicker, taller, and erupted into a cascade of blooms. They mixed, and mingled, and created brand new colors that I’ve never planted before. It was incredible, and the sight made Eric and me chuckle even as we scratched our heads in disbelief.
But this year is more than incredible. It’s absolutely unbelievable!
Chalk it up to tons of rain mixed with days of bright hot sunshine, and those vinca have spread beyond belief. They now fill every tiny hole in the concrete and every crack that extends in any direction. The plants are halfway up my shins with a plethora of blooms that simply melt a gardener’s heart.
But there’s more, yes, more than that. The vinca has now found purchase in the grass that skirts the length of the driveway. Yep, on both sides, all the way down! Yes, nearly to the mailbox on the main road. Not only that, but they are creating a new flower bed in the pine straw that surrounds the maple tree beside the driveway.
It beats all I’ve ever seen! The Amazon driver now parks his truck at the end of the driveway and walks the packages up, lest he run over the bright blooms. Eric is now backing into the road from our side driveway instead of using the circular driveway as he usually does. He laughs and says that he doesn’t have the heart to run over the flowers!
I didn’t plant them. I didn’t water them. I just let them have their way. And their way is beautiful even if a bit comical. My cousin called it a work of art, and I would agree, but it’s not my art. No, this artwork belongs to the Creator of the universe.
As I gaze over my driveway, shaking my head and chuckling in amazement, I can’t help but ponder about those resilient little plants. I let them have their way, and the results are a thing of beauty.. I can’t help but wonder if I let God freely have His way in me, would the results be a thing of beauty too?? Can I let Him take the broken parts of me and bring forth beauty? Can I let Him enter the hidden spaces, sweeping away the dirt and the grime? Am I willing to let go of my incessant need for control and let Him plant seeds of peace, and joy, and hope?
God can bring beauty out of brokenness.. He can plant seeds of joy where sorrow dwells. He can bring sunshine to the darkest of days. By His grace, we can find hope beyond hurt and life beyond loss.
As I wander through my driveway garden, bright, happy vinca flowers brushing my shins, I see quite clearly what happens when you let God’s creation have its way. This crazy, comical, incredible work of art makes me ask myself an important question. Will I let God have His way with me?
Will you?
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“Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”
Psalm 51:12 – NLT
PRAYER
O Lord of All Creation, we stand amazed by the beauty You have showered upon the earth. We are awed by the splendor we find in our gardens, along our beaches, in the fields, and woods, and mountain paths. The world is alive with beauty, and we can be too, if we let You have Your way in us, healing, restoring, resurrecting. Give us the courage to let go, and let You go to work in us.
In the Beautiful Name of Jesus, we pray,
Amen
Blessings,
Anita
-APS 6/8/2026
Faith Beyond Sight 