 |
Story by Tracy Leigh Brown
Photos by Dee Gillespie
For a couple immersed in beauty and life – it literally springs up on this bright September day in the flowers and plants surrounding them - Chuck and Kathy Gorsuch seem strangely preoccupied with pragmatic details.
A few minutes into the conversation, you get the feeling they are deeply rooted in the idea nothing happens by accident. For instance, how they came to head up a small workforce that takes care of the landscaping around Grace’s building.
“If you are looking for a big inspiring spiritual story about how we got involved,” Chuck says, “you probably won’t hear it from us. We both enjoy working with plants and gardens. We both feel we are called to help in the church when possible. This is a way we can do that.”
Even then, the amount of work versus expected results doesn’t always seem to add up. “The fact is this is a hard job. Sometimes it is hard to just relax because one is concerned about what has to be done and if the end result is going to be aesthetically pleasing.”
On this day, for example, an extended drought has taken its toll. Chuck, a record-keeping weather buff, acknowledges the obstacle like a bowler eyeing a 7-10 split. The effects are evident in the landscaping. A patch of Hosta plants a few feet to the right of the front doors of Grace are brown and curled like drying tobacco leaves.
Only the weeds seem immune. An explosion of Houttuynia, sometimes commonly called Cameleon, will require incalculable number of hours to eradicate, taking place at the same time of the chores of pruning, digging, and transplanting. Watering restrictions may be mandated. Gardening trouble always looms on the horizon.
Fact is: It’s a tough gig for a volunteer. Very few people give them feedback on their work. Most people work alone because of scheduling conflicts. The heat of the asphalt often forces early morning or late evening hours. You have to know the difference between a flower and a weed in the ground.
“People get into it, and they’re well meaning people,” Chuck says of the numerous volunteers who have given it a try, “but they don’t realize the time and work it takes.” Kathy adds, “A few people would help out but they’d never stay around for very long.”
For a garden, commitment is as necessary as water. “If you assign an area to a person to do and then they don’t show up, then the plot is left to grow up. And then someone else has to do it.”
Yet in the necessarily dirty process of gardening, the pull of obstacles and weeds and schedules, the seeds of mystery eventually spring in unexpected places. Volunteers appear.
“This year we have more volunteers then we ever have,” Kathy says. “We really appreciate the people who have made a commitment to help out.” As she passes by a lovely pot centered between Grace’s front doors, she lists the names: Marlene Roden, Linda Ebert, Debby Neese, Nancy and Gib Campbell, and Bob Lott.
The colors of the foliage strike you along with the tone of her voice. The Gorsuches believe it’s worth the effort.
“Its something that is relaxing and you have a sense of accomplishment when it’s done,” Chuck says, “and you know you’re helping the people of the church.”
A surprisingly strong sun beats down on them. Leaning on shovels, hands gloved, perspiration beading, they are silent for a while. They look around. Through a long trail of obstacles – and maybe because of them – they smile as they sense the beauty and diversity of God’s creation somehow springing to life.
Certainly, the Gorsuches believe, that’s no accident. At the same time, it’s a great mystery.
|
