As Memorial Day comes upon us, we are once again called to rediscover the true meaning of the observance, which was, is, and always will be a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

Memorial Day recalls honor, tradition, dedication, and ultimate sacrifice. It speaks of heroism, bravery, and stories often left untold by veterans. It is, as its name suggests, memories and memorials to those who served, whether voiced or not or silenced forever.

Years ago, before we bought our home in Elgin, Illinois, my wife and I lived in another community. Directly across the street from us was one of the more ancient cemeteries of the town. It was an ideal place to go for a stroll; it was, after all, one of the quietest places around.

There, we found a grave, secluded, forgotten, shrouded in a tangled litany of limbs from a heavenward-straining flowering tree, in all likelihood planted in memory of the young life which, a century-and-a-half ago, had slipped far too early from the arms of those who loved her.

Someoneís wife, she was. Possibly someoneís mother, though, judging from her youth, what children… Full Story

Spring. Mother's Day. A Sunday afternoon. All great times to work in your yard. It takes a lot of faith to put those fragile plants in the ground, rely on nature, and your memory of when things last were watered, getting the soil just right, and ultimately remembering what is a weed and what is not.

It can be one of those moments when a lot of religion is lost in the effort.

Well, here is a simple way of keeping faith, religion, spirituality in your garden. There is an entire realm of legend and lore in which many plants are firmly rooted. Simply plant them, and every time you see them, recall the mystery blossoming all around them. These plants speak to us in open and frank ways.

Very soon, you will have a veritable living storybook of parables, saints, and the goodness of God. For example, one of the most intriguing, and probably least known, story tells of Eve sitting outside the Garden of Eden after the Fall. Ever since Adam and Eve had been banished from the Garden, no flowers had bloomed, snow fell ceaselessly, and Eve wept inconsolably. An angel was… Full Story