The Garden is Open

We’ve written several times about the evolving vision for a prayer garden called The Lavender Pavilion. Since our move here to Oregon, we’ve slowly been developing this garden on a 1/3-acre strip of our property. (If you want to read the whole story, click “Lavender Pavilion” under the Labels heading on the sidebar).

The centerpiece of the garden is a prayer path (labyrinth) that we completed this summer. Our goal was to use all natural materials and to employ a somewhat classical design. After much research, we chose a 7-circuit, neo-medieval plan, and we laid it out on 40’-diameter circle. To walk into the center and out again is a trip of roughly 1000’.  

We hauled many loads of crushed gravel to use for the base (about 9 tons) and then used four types of rock to create the labyrinth:

** Rainbow rock (2 tons) of various colors, sizes, and shapes line the pathways that lead people to the center.

** Rainbow pebbles fill the open spaces at intersections and add color.

** 5 mini basalt columns in the center catch the eye and point upward to heaven.

 

** White marble chips surround the basalt columns to create contrast and add beauty.

Laying down the path was quite a task. It’s not easy to place rocks in circles and keep the curves lined up! We had to print out a pattern, create a template, carefully measure and lay out “marker rocks” at key quadrants and intersections, then place everything by hand. (And, of course, continually measure and adjust along the way). 

Afterward, we then installed two non-natural (man-made) items: an arched and open gateway to welcome people in, and a decorative mailbox. The mailbox is one of two in the garden at the moment.

We use these mailboxes for two reasons. First, they are attractive and add a nice design element to the garden. Second, they are a practical – and weatherproof – place to hold information and instructions for those who visit.

We have a second arch and mailbox at the main entrance to the Garden.

When we finished the labyrinth, Julie invited a number of friends over for a time of dedication and prayer.  

There still is much work to be done, because the Lavender Pavilion always will be a work in progress. But it now is officially “open” on Mondays and Thursdays, during daylight hours.

We welcome friends, neighbors and family members to stop by to pray,to reflect, and to take a break from the hurried nature of life.

-       Bruce & Julie

A Quiet Garden Under Development

This is our vision for the ministry of a place called “The Lavender Pavilion”.

The Lavender Pavilion is designed as a place for a brief personal retreat. This 1/3-acre garden offers the opportunity to step away from the hectic pace of daily life and experience some moments of serenity. While all are welcome, we have specifically designed the garden with women in mind. 

This quiet place is a work in progress. When fully developed, it will offer a variety of plants and flowers, a few “themed” garden areas and some water features, all surrounding a central prayer path (labyrinth). There will be scattered benches for those who want to sit, read, ponder, or pray. A covered shelter will provide the opportunity to enjoy the garden during our many rainy months. 

The garden is conveniently located on the Springfield/Eugene border. As a result, women from throughout the area easily can stop by for a moment, a few minutes, or for a more extended time of rest and reflection. Walk the prayer path…read some Scripture…or enjoy the beauty of the flowers while pondering the majesty of God. Moments such as these bring refreshment to our souls and greater clarity to our lives.

The Lavender Pavilion is located on the historic farm property of Bruce & Julie White. (Our home is one of the original farmhouses built in this part of town and was constructed around 1905.) The garden is being personally developed by us, with the assistance of a few friends, as our gift to the community.

We are so excited to see this vision slowly and steadily unfold. The vision has evolved since 2010, but God is faithful and He is equipping us to keep pressing forward. We are learning that God does not care much about time, so we do what we can…when we can…and we leave the details up to Him. We are truly grateful to the family and friends who have supported us in various ways to help develop this garden.

Once the garden officially “opens” we hope to develop a simple website to highlight it’s availability to the community. As we invite people to enjoy time at The Lavender Pavilion, we probably will issue the following guidelines:

Since the garden is on our private property, we ask all visitors to respect our privacy, as well as the privacy of our neighbors. Limited parking is available adjacent to our narrow, country lane. When you visit, please drive slowly and carefully. And please limit your visits to daytime hours.

Our hope is to complete the labyrinth this summer and then make the garden available as we continue to develop it.

-       Julie & Bruce White

The Evolution of a Vision

In the past, we have posted updates about creating a ministry called The Lavender Pavilion. In particular, we described the vision God gave Julie for a prayer garden where women (mostly) can come to pray, reflect, and experience God’s presence [see “Pursuing a God-Sized Dream” – July 16, 2010 and other later posts labeled "Lavender Pavilion"]. 

This dream was born early in 2010 in our former hometown of Fullerton, California. With God’s continual prodding and encouragement, the dream continues to be fulfilled at our current home in Springfield, Oregon.

After arriving here in the fall of 2010, we spent a great deal of time clearing the land to build a prayer garden. About a third of our property (a century-old farmhouse) was an unused pasture surrounded by barbed wire and full of decades of debris: blackberry bushes, weeds, a rotting 3-stall stable, piles of old cement and lumber, and more. We cleared the property down to bare dirt, carved out a parking area, laid out an initial path in the garden, and have done quite a bit of planting. We’re also close to completing a labyrinth (prayer path) that will the central focus of this “quiet garden.” Much work still needs to be done, but it is rewarding to watch this piece of dirt slowly become a garden.

The original goal was to create a non-profit organization, and Julie would develop a ministry for women based around the prayer garden. That idea was formed back in southern California, when we considered purchasing a piece of property where the ministry could take place. Here in Oregon, we faced a different challenge because the garden would be built on our own residential property. This created some major legal hurdles. We won’t bore you with the details, but – after an initial consultation with an attorney - we realized that turning the Lavender Pavilion into a non-profit would be a difficult and costly endeavor.

So we decided to simply forge ahead on our own and develop the garden as our gift to the community. This place on our land will be known as The Lavender Pavilion.

Meanwhile, we went through the necessary steps to create a new non-profit ministry called the unfolding soul. This organization now has been up and running for more than a year. It’s a registered Oregon non-profit corporation and has received tax-exempt status as a religious organization from the IRS. the unfolding soul serves as the umbrella for Julie’s ministry to (primarily) women; a ministry that is slowly and steadily growing here in the Pacific Northwest.

Much of Julie’s ministry takes place away from our property. But several times a year, she offers ministry events in our home. At times, these events will take advantage of the adjacent prayer garden. Even when an event does not use the garden, we expect that women may linger afterward to enjoy some quiet moments of rest and reflection.

In the next couple of posts, we will offer a more detailed description of both The Lavender Pavilion and the unfolding soul. The vision has evolved, but it still is being fulfilled. 

We’ve learned that when God gives us a vision, the specifics may emerge in ways that are different from what we originally conceived. And yet if we are patient...if we are faithful...the vision can become a reality.

-       Julie & Bruce

The Dream Edges Into Reality

At various times, we’ve posted about Julie’s vision for The Lavender Pavilion.  In particular, we’ve described the very specific vision God gave her for a prayer garden where women (mostly) can come to pray, reflect, and experience God’s presence.  [see “Pursuing a God-Sized Dream” – July 16, 2010].  This dream was born in 2010 in Fullerton, California…and it now is being fulfilled, 4 years later, here in Springfield, Oregon.

It has been a slow journey – one that continues to test our patience – because we are a long way from the fulfillment of the dream.  We are learning that God does not care much about time, so we do what we can, when we can, and we leave the details up to Him. 

And yet now – for the first time – the dream actually is edging into reality. 

We finally have finished clearing the pasture of weeds, brush, blackberries, rotting lumber, cement, sundry pieces of metal, and other stuff left behind by former residents of this old farm property over the past 100 years.  We finally are done with the process of simply removing old stuff, and we now have the joy of creating something entirely new. 

As a first step, we built a parking area where visitors to our home will be able to access the prayer garden.

We rented a mini-loader (a “walk-behind” Bobcat) to carve out the parking area along our back lane.  We had to make multiple passes, in multiple directions, in order to get the ground relatively smooth. 

We learned that doing this kind of work in August is not real smart, because our clay soil is dry and packed hard.  If we do any excavating in the future, we will do it when the soil is slightly damp and much softer. 

All of the roads, lanes, and driveways in our semi-rural neighborhood are gravel, so – after the excavation – we had 20 cubic yards of gravel dumped on site.  Two huge truckloads; the driver told me the total load weighed 30 tons!  

We then shoveled and wheel-barrowed and raked it around to level it.  As a final step, we needed to pack it down.  Rather than rent a roller, I just drove my Jeep back-and-forth over it for about 40 minutes.  It worked great! 

Parking areas like this usually are framed with railroad ties, 4x4’s, or 4x8’s, but we wanted to do something different.  We want the whole garden – even the parking area – to be attractive.  We also want to re-purpose various items and use them in the garden.  (For example, some of the “junk” we discovered in the pasture will find a new home in the garden). 

So – instead of using lumber – we framed the parking area with limbs from the huge 100-year old cedar tree in our front yard.  The heavy snows of the last two winters broke off a number of branches, and we also had the tree pruned.  As a result, we have limbs galore stored in our barn!

All of this cedar will be used in the garden to line the pathways, and we started with the parking area.  The dirt we excavated has been mounded up behind the cedar logs, and eventually we will plant shrubs on these mounds.  This will add color and beauty as people arrive, and will help create a visual barrier between the garden and the parked cars. 

The whole parking lot project took about 13 hours over two days.  Hot, sweaty work in 90-degree temps. 

       

As we watched this take shape, the vision became real to us for the first time.  Yes, it’s just a parking area…but it is far more than a place to park cars.  To us, this is a tangible sign that now we are creating.  We are building.  We are moving forward.  And we are filled with an incredible sense of joy.  The joy of building something for God and for God’s people.  And we are filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God for trusting us with this vision. 

And we continue to move forward.

We’ve measured and laid out the boundaries for the first walkway through the garden, which will be lined with cedar limbs and “paved” with bark chips.  (Our local supplier has a product called “walk-on bark” that is ideal for this purpose.  It allows us to create pathways much more quickly and economically than using stepping-stones, pavers, or cement.  Also, if a pathway ever needs to be relocated, it can be done with minimal cost and hassle.)  This initial walkway will lead to an area we are calling The Prayer Path; a place of seclusion where visitors can walk, pray, and hopefully experience the presence of God. 

The garden will include many other features, but The Prayer Path will be at the very heart of The Lavender Pavilion.   

Reaching this point has involved lots of patience…lots of prayer…and huge amounts of physical labor.  Yet there has been great joy in tackling this project together, one step at a time.  There also is tremendous joy…and soul satisfaction…in watching God work in us and through us to give birth to His vision. 

-       Bruce & Julie