Greetings, and welcome!
I am Diligent Warrior Maiden, daughter of the Thane—or at least, that is what my name means… But I have not been living up to that name lately. I have been more like a Procrastinating (I was supposed to start this blog back in January!), Frustrated and Scatterbrained Maiden, who hasn’t been acting at all like she’s the daughter of Someone important! But the thing about names and their meanings, is that they tend to fit somehow. I believe names are divinely assigned, without mistake. And so, even though I have not been living up to my name (and feeling very much like a failure because of it), I believe the time is approaching when I will. As the caterpillar said in Alice in Wonderland, “You’re not hardly Alice”, and later, “You’re almost Alice”; so it is with all of us who must become what is our name.
Let me tell you a story:
There once was a hobbit named Pansy, who didn’t actually live in a hole in the ground, but in a normal house, just like you. The house was out in the country, nestled near golden rolling foothills which, when they wore their verdant green, looked like someplace in Britain; and when they donned the golden and brown garb of other seasons, held a silent, gentle, solitary beauty.
This hobbit loved to keep chickens, and also had a parakeet. Of course, gardening came with the territory, and she kept a lovely little garden for a time. She was much like Rapunzel in the Disney movie—kept busy with little hobbies like reading, penmanship, singing, playing music, sewing, making models, and crocheting and cross-stitching, as well as baking and canning and things like that. She even tried painting one time, but it didn’t last long. One of the hobbit’s dreams was to become like an old-fashioned lady: well mannered, gracious, and elegant. Teatime was also a very important time of day, and she always used her lovely teaware, even if there was naught to partake of besides the tea.
One winter, one of the hobbit’s pet hens contracted tetanus. She scrambled to her mother’s bookshelf where all the herb books were kept, and read and read till her mind was numb, and then scoured through the cupboards to find whatever herbs could be used. One herb, lobelia, the book said would relax the muscles of the mouth and thereby enable the patient to be fed other foods/medicines. So that’s what she did! And to her amazement, it worked! After a whole month of carefully nursing that hen, it got well again and gradually regained strength.
After that time, the hobbit decided she wanted to learn more about herbs. So she went off on an adventure to study with the elves who, of course, are very wise and knowledgeable about herb-lore…
That hobbit, of course, is me. And although I’m not exactly studying with the elves, I am learning about herbs and holistic health. And what I am discovering along the way is fascinating and life changing! In learning about God’s creation, I am also learning about His ways. Just as we can discern things about an artist by studying their works, and as we can read a person by their handwriting, so it is with nature—it reflects the One who created it.
So what is the reason for this modern, newfangled type thing in cyberspace called a weblog? It is to share with you what I am learning about herbs, and life, and all sorts of things. I would be honored to have you follow along and share your thoughts about things. I love a good discussion!
Threads of Truth: 