Dear Jade,

Today, the blossoms, clothed in their sweet magentas and glorious lavenders, are in the garden dancing-swaying on every limb to every phrase that drips from their excited, beautiful lips...for you. For you, they sing their breath-taking songs; quote sonnets, remember Dickinson and praise the Lord for the perfection of this day, His day, which He has shared with us.

There have been few days recently that haven't been showered by the sadness inside of you-but these flowers celebrate you for that rain, and now they have something to give back to you. Would you come out and lay beneath them? They miss your eyes and your imagination; watching you paint with children and fall asleep to the beautiful music you bring with every step. Please come back, they say-please come back.

You see, while you were sleeping in, they waited for you outside your window panes dying to remind you of all that you are; pleading you-to let go of all that you've been.

They said this in your slumber. It reads as follows:

Jade,

You're a flower too-have you forgotten? Where have you been hiding? The winter was over long ago, and still-you rest inside, heavy hearted-with weary eyes. Your place, is out in the world-your feet were made to devour the sidewalks of this city. Your hands...where have they been? Have they fed a stranger who was in hunger-or satiated the souls of any of the broken with a touch and words of encouragement? Your speech is a glorious tune; have you forgotten why you were called?

The heart inside of you, is open and gentle, is patient and faithful, is loyal, loving, wide-eyed and eager-like that of a child's. When speech pours from you, spirits lift; children smile...and hope blossoms where there was once nothing but parched nothing-ness.

Why have you abandoned everything you love? Why in a fight, have YOU of all people ran away? If you do not fight-with your beautiful passion, your strong will, your gift of communication-who can fight? If you turn away, because of your fear-you not only fail yourself (and you deserve so much more than that), but also the weary who need your bravery; who depend on your vigor and your zealousness.

Why have you stopped working? Why has your poetry stopped weaving; your heart stopped expanding, your patience grown short? Why have you stopped appreciating what God has blessed you with?

Why have you forgotten us? We are simple, we know...but we had faith in you. Why have you abandoned us?

Why too, have you abandoned yourself?

You are valuable. You are capable; and you deserve more than only going half-way because you've stopped believing in yourself. In the valleys of discouragement and whirl-winds of chaos-you have hidden your face in guilt and fear.

You must pave the ways you are capable of paving, do the things that you fear doing, make the changes that seem impossible, create something new out of nothing. You ask us how...but we ask you how you could have forgotten.

The truth is, without progress and growth, without change, without doing everything we've never done there is no life at all. We cannot dig ruts...we cannot say "Well, our blossoms were defeated by the booming heat of summer...therefore we refuse to bloom again next year." We rest when we need it...but we rise again. We must. More than owing it to the people that depend on us...we owe it to ourselves.

We owe it to you.

And you owe it to us to love yourself, and come out to the garden-

And see for yourself

The new day that God has given you.