Often while I work in my front yard garden, my neighbors walk by and leave me with lovely comments. As much as I enjoy my garden for myself, I am thrilled that others are able to enjoy it too. I tell my husband and kids this is our little garden ministry, blessing the neighborhood. However, it’s interesting how people start to know who we are by our gardens. They also identify us by what we do in the neighborhood.

If we are not gardening in our yard, then we are walking in our neighborhood…enjoying other terrific gardens! When we lived at an Air Force base in North Texas, I took my little ones out for walks almost daily. I’d be astonished at how often I’d meet people around base and they’d identify us "that family who walks in the neighborhood". One of these ladies, whom I had never met before, asked if she and her kids could join us on our walks. On another occasion, a good friend of mine down the street, finally asked if she could join our daily walks with her children. What attracted them to walking with us?

One day while walking out of the neighborhood to a nearby playground, we were approached by a huge rottweiler who leapt at us and greeted us with big licks! Thankfully, we were on his "friends" list! He followed us everywhere…to the playground, played with my kids, then started to follow us home. Everyone thought he was our dog. As we walked by his real home, the owner saw him and claimed him. Who would join our walks next?

A few weeks ago I took a rare walk by myself, since my kids were still busy with their chores. A few streets from us, I saw a lady gardening and enjoyed watching the cat laying down in her driveway, lazily watching her weed. We chatted for a few moments and I asked about her cat. She was surprised to see that cat because it wasn’t hers. Then she asked me about my kids. Apparently she had seen us on previous walks and missed the kids this time.

On all of these walks, I’ve been keeping an eye on the surroundings…the beauty of the yards, the cloud formations in the sky, the safety of my son riding his bike, watching for traffic, while chatting with my dd. We’ve seen ducks nesting with their eggs in tree tops! We’ve watched hawks soar high in the sky and swallows swoop before our paths. One day two little girls asked us if we had seen their turtle that ran away from home! Through it all we greet the neighbors who are out as we pass by. I usually take it for just that, a mere greeting. However, now that I know that some people actually notice us, I ponder deeper questions. How much do they see? What kind of witness are we? What are we saying about who we are when we are out? Are we glorifying God in our walk? A garden witness is easy, abut the test is our witness when we walk.

As I ponder these deep thoughts, I anticipate our walk past one particular house. It is a small yard loaded with more plants than grass. There are roses, yellow daisies, yucca plants, lantana and crepe myrtles, all immaculately kept. The gardener there we often meet, an elderly lady, covered from head to toe to protect herself from the sun. We enjoy telling her how lovely her garden is. I am glad she has a garden ministry, blessing us with her green thumb!