Panagia’s Garden

This year at Panagia’s Garden, we explored the theme of Light, seeing the light, meeting the light, following the light, and ultimately being transformed by the light. The children planted some flower gardens and were shown different examples of plants, some that were cared for properly, and some that were kept in darkness.

The plant in the darkness, to my surprise, grew the tallest, but the flowers had not blossomed, no leaves had grown, and even the stem itself was pale and ghostly. The plants that were receiving sunlight did not grow as tall, however they flowered and grew leaves, and they were a healthy green. They looked like they had come into proper and healthy being. The difference was astonishing.

In our lives we often hear, or ourselves express the desire to be happy. As if that is not just a feeling but also the key, as if it’s the way, the journey, and the destination. Yet neither happiness, nor strength nor wit, nor wisdom, nor reason will bring about the acquisition of anything eternal.

The plant left in darkness grew, but it did so out of desperation, in hope of some type of survival. The plants with the light, grew in measured ways, low to the ground and well balanced, leave's well prepared to take in the sunlight and a root system in place to keep it upright.

The plant that knew darkness was given a chance, and was brought out to the light, it too blossomed rather quickly even, and brought out leaves, and started to gain color, and began to come to life but the early difficulties did not disappear. The stem and roots were weak and could no longer hold up the plant and leaves, it found itself down in the dirt, incapable of handling proper function due to its stunted growth early on. Much care will be needed to get the plant back on track; it may even prove to be impossible beyond a certain point.

The pursuit of happiness and any other worldly thing will lead to exactly the first result... a mangled sense of self, desperate to cling onto anything that may bring about a hope of life, even tremendous growth in particular ways. It will wear us out, and ultimately it will leave us ill prepared to bear the weight of a truly healthy life, and ill prepared to meet our maker, and to respond to the transformation He has in store for us beyond this earthly world.

So we too must come to see the light, to meet the light, to follow the light, and be transformed by the light, and to do so early and often in our lives, so that as we come into ourselves slowly we can do so appropriately all the way through, and not be humbled, but rather be humble and meek in our reliance on Christ.

May God bless and keep you,

Fr. Yanni Michaelidis