40 Ways My Labyrinth is Like My Life--#9

9. Its foundation was laid before I came into the picture.

As detailed in the first post in this series, when I moved into my present house, I found the remains of a labyrinth, which I restored. Someone had taken a lot of time and trouble, researching labyrinth patterns, choosing one, measuring, laying out lines, and marking the whole thing with dozens and dozens of little stakes. The hardest part of creating a labyrinth was already done for me. The entry was marked with two 4x4 posts, dug deeply into the ground, and a tree was planted at the center. In fact, I was informed that if I ever wanted to move that tree, only 3-4 feet high at the time, I should be aware that a beloved dog was buried there. So in a sense, the labyrinth was already consecrated as burial ground, and the tree was the dog's memorial. I never planned to move the tree, anyway. As those who have read my book, Gardens of the Soul, know, I use the imagery of a tree--an evergreen, even!--to represent the deep center of my being, and I thought having one at the center of the labyrinth was perfect!

Today, five years later, the tree is much higher than my head, and the ashes of my beloved lie under it. The whole place has been much prayed over and is, if possible, more consecrated and holy than ever. (I believe all ground bears the fingerprint of God and is holy, or meant to be.)

When I "opened my eyes," so to speak, on my life--that is to say, when my own conscious memories begin, my foundation was already laid, too. God had long ago laid whatever plans God lays--opinions vary, and the one thing I'm pretty certain of is that no human really knows! Human families had come together and interwoven in various ways, and one of their sons and one of their daughters had come together to create a new family. In the course of time, a baby girl was born, already wired to have course dark hair, green eyes, no dimples (more's the pity), a wide-ranging, curious brain, and a way with words and fiber. When I was a young adult, I was firmly on the side of nurture over nature, but the older I get, the more I realize how much is built into us from the beginning, so who knows what other tendencies and abilities were already present?

The very first two things I learned in life were that my mother would always love me, provide for me, and care for me, no matter what, and that God was right next to and within me and would do all that and more.

The foundation was laid. What I would build on it was up to me.