The Secret Garden

During our time in LA working with Samaritan’s Purse doing hurricane relief, we had the opportunity to meet Ria and Adi. This is that story.

All morning we had worked a particularly trying job, full of hauling tree limbs while also trying to avoid getting stung by the many wasps living in the vehicles parked right in our only walkway. A couple of us ended up getting stung, me included. I remember getting in the van after finishing and secretly thinking to myself, “I hope we call it an early day and go back to base after this.” The Lord had other plans. We pulled up to our next job, and I’d love to say my heart and attitude were aligned with the Lord and so full of joy to be serving another homeowner, but that would be a lie. I was hot and tired and my neck hurt from getting stung. 

I hopped out of the van and couldn't believe my eyes. In the middle of a neighborhood badly affected by the hurricane stood an oasis. A safe heaven.

A secret garden.

Oh, how good the Lord is to give us just what we need, even when our hearts are not in the right place. Standing in the midst of this beautiful garden, I felt so much peace wash over me. Tears pricked my eyes as I stood in awe. This was a garden full of so much life. A symbol of hope in such a difficult time.

And then I met the gardeners. Sweet Ria and her husband Adi. Having both emigrated to the US many, many years ago, they met in Colorado, where Ria was working as a nanny. They quickly fell in love and eventually made their way to Louisiana and created a life for themselves. Adi has a background in gardening, and it is his happy place. Even in the midst of an Alzheimer's diagnosis, he is still out in his garden every day. This day we found him scooping lime into a pile of leaves to help them compost better. What a beautiful thing to watch him work with so much purpose and be able to take pride in his creation.

Ria is such a sweet soul. She has a lifetime worth of stories to tell, and even just hearing a small snippet of them filled me with so much joy.

I remember my Grandma telling me about how hospitality was such an important thing to Europeans, but I don’t think I had ever truly experienced it until I stepped into their home. The instant we walked in we were asked if we needed a chair, water was offered, and both days we worked treats “magically” appeared for us to enjoy.

In their old age, Adi and Ria have become very childlike in the sweetest way. A smile always gracing their faces, despite the pain and hardship they were facing. Their marriage, a testament to the beauty of a couple growing old together.

I pray one day I will see them again in heaven. Their lives whole and complete, free of the sorrows and pain that come from living in a broken world.