Transplants

Transplanting... probably most gardeners' favorite thing to do. After all, that's what gardening is all about, isn't it? We take those little seedlings that we have started from seed, and we transplant them... we set them out in their chosen place in the garden so they can add their beauty or provide their fruits.

And I love the fact that here in this part of the country I can find something to transplant just about any time of year. Even in the cold of late winter, I can transplant pansies or dianthus, as long as the ground isn't frozen. But when it comes to transplanting, it's not the pansies or the petunias or the peppers that come to mind. It is, and always will be, my dear friend Allison.

Allison, like me, is a true plant lover. She never misses a chance to visit the nursery where I work, just to see if we have anything new since her last visit. We look up and down every row of tables filled with annuals and perennials. We search out the perfect combination of colors and textures and shapes for the dozens of containers that she plants every season. "I need something for those pots on both sides of my door. What do you think about these?" "Now, help me find something for that little bed by my front door." "Oh, aren't these the cutest things? I've got to find some place that I can use them! Will they work in those pots I put on my patio? What do you think?" We plan, we discuss, we arrange, we switch, we change our minds, we go back to our first choices and start all over again. The shopping, the planning, and even the visiting bring her as much joy as "transplanting" her choices and then enjoying them all season long.

Today is a special day for Allison. Today she returns home from a different kind of "transplanting." Allison has received her second heart transplant. That's right... her second heart transplant. Quoting Joan Amatruda, a nationally-known heart transplant coordinator, "a retransplantation is rare, rare, rare. To survive is even more rare. But today Allison returns to her hometown where many homes and businesses are displaying green ribbons, the symbol of organ transplants. Is Allison rare? You'd better believe it! But it's not the statistics of retransplantations that make her rare. It's her incredibly positive outlook on life, her ability to see the best in all situations, her zest for life, her beautiful smile and her sweet, sweet spirit. These things have never changed, never wavered one bit through trials and setbacks and times she dealt with incredible physical struggles and challenges.

Allison had been on our prayer list at church, and one Wednesday night in particular as I looked at her name and prayed specifically for her, I caught myself feeling less than optimistic about the situation. In that very moment, it was as if God stopped me in mid-prayer and asked me, "Do you believe that I'm still a God of miracles?" Of course I did... why wouldn't I? Immediately, I felt as if I were being questioned again, "Do you think I am stingy with my miracles?" The first transplant was a miracle. Why would a second one be any more difficult for the God of the universe? Why would He want any less to do it again, if it were in His will? Suddenly I felt an assurance and was able to pray expectantly... expecting God to answer and to work another miracle in Allison's life, if that was what He chose to do. It was early the next morning that I got a phone call from my husband at work. Allison's brother-in-law had called and left Richard a voice mail in the middle of the night... Allison was getting a heart!

What are the odds of getting a second heart transplant? I don't know. I'm sure I could have "googled" it, but it really doesn't matter. I'm just thankful that Allison has been "transplanted" into my life's garden of friends. She is the epitome of 'blooming where you're planted.'

The crew at The Green Thumbs (Molly, James, Norman, Kathy, Sharon, Dennis & Janet) can't wait until Allison is back to see the Spring plants. James is proud of the green ribbon being displayed at The Green Thumbs in honor of "Miss Fogg".

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" Ephesians 3:20-21