Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Leonard Cohen
Welcome to Serenity Garden! This is a special little piece of heaven just for cancer survivors, and their friends and relatives. There are beautiful flowers and benches, information about cancer, and the walkway is lined with bricks. Each brick is donated by the loved one of a cancer victim, and has their name engraved on it. But the very centerpiece of this garden is THE BELL. The bell stands in the center as a symbol of hope to all cancer survivors.There are rules about who can ring it. It is to be rung three times to celebrate the end of your cancer treatment. Or in memory of a loved one who cancer took away. My pictures show Phil and my friend, who both have had cancer. Phil rang it to celebrate his cancer survival, and so did my friend. I rang it for my mom. We read the bricks with all the names of the people who lost their battle and wondered if they ever rang the bell. A few weeks ago, someone stole the bell. The city is begging them just to return it quietly and no questions will be asked. Can you steal hope? If so, then that is what these thieves have done. I hope they never have to battle cancer.
"We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you."
Psalm 33:20,22
40 comments:
That's sad. Around here it's usually bored boys who do that sort of thing. Praying it does get returned. We're going to be taking part in the local Relay of Life next Friday. I'm hoping my team is funny enough to keep me awake all night. Our girls are both working at the corporate office of the American Cancer Society right now. I've walked that road with many. Rejoicing for the survivors in your family.
Such a beautiful garden, Ginny. How very sad that someone would steal the bell - the centerpiece and such an important symbol for so many. Thank you for sharing this uplifting Bible verse.
It is sad ti think that someone would take something like that,and perhaps for no good reason.I do hope it will be found.
It take a very low person to do such a thing. I hope they get the bell back. That is a lovely garden
Somebody stole "the bell"??? Geesh! Ya' about have to nail everything down. That's low life!
This makes me so angry!!!! Ok time to pray. Lets all pray for the return of the bell. That garden sounds like a beautiful place.I wish I could visit it. I have faith that it will be returned and when it's back could you ring it for me? I wish there was something like that here. you live in such a lovely place. Praying for the return of that bell. we need to keep hope alive! Blessings, Joanne
It's hard to believe that someone stole the bell. It really makes me angry that someone did that to a symbol of hope for so many people. I hope it is soon found.
What a peaceful place.. I do hope they get the bell back!
I'm just dumbfounded that someone would do such a thing - just shaking my head here!!! May God stir their conscience so that it's brought back. What a lovely garden!! We have a beautiful garden where I work and I keep wanting to make it more of a special memorial garden - perhaps even a source of fundraising for this vital ministry to our frail and fragile elderly. It's just that ours is under snow more than 6 months of the year!!
This is a beautiful and thoughtful place to visit!
The garden looks so beautiful, a place of serenity and peace. What a shame that someone had to upset everything by taking the bell. I do hope it is found soon.
I love that quote by Leonard Cohen (although I can't remember the song?) The garden and that bell sound like a lovely idea and it's hard to understand why anyone would even get it in their head to steal it. Unless of course they really think it holds magic power to heal. I hope it turns up again. I did not know your Phil had cancer. So glad he was able to ring that bell in celebration.
last year, we fellow bloggers rang our bells all over the bell for Barry. But sadly, the bells didn't help. Barry died.
Bring a hope by ringing the bell.. yes, I think it will bring some encouragement to those who are really depressed at this time..
I don't understand what motivates people to do such awful things. But, you cannot steal hope. Hope is eternal and it is also internal.
What a beautiful garden. How sad that someone would steal that bell. I hope it will be returned soon.
Takes all kind of people for the world to go round.... even bad ones unfortunately. But the bell really has no value to anyone other than the people that ring it so it's difficult to understand why anyone would want to take it. What a shame. Where is this garden?
Di
What a neat place. That's terrible someone stole the bell. i hope it gets returned safely :-(
It's such a beautiful garden and I'm sure such a place of solace for many people. It's so tragic that anyone would want to steal that bell - but they can't steal hope!
Mary
I guess there are creeps every where that do anything bad.
Well they can steal the bell - but they can never steal the hope!
Lovely garden...lovely post. What kind of moron steals stuff like that?
Ginny...we can only pray that the thieves find compassion in their heart and will choose to do the right thing. May they never have to endure cancer or their loved one; perhaps that is my prayer for them because they will definitely need hope.
Which NO, can not be stolen; only representations of hope.
We did the Susan B. Komen race for the cure yesterday and gosh, talking about hope...
I was going to ask you to ring the bell for me....
how sad tht someone stole that... praying that God works on their heart to bring it back.
Oh, I hope someone returns the bell..such a beautiful thing to do and have.
this is a beautiful place and i am happy that Phil got to ring the bell. this world is not my home, were just a passing through, that is what came to my mind when i saw this and i don't know why. the bell thing is hienous and the world is so crazy.
I hope that the bell would be returned. Nice post. I'll be having minor surgery in just over a week to remove a Basal Cell skin cancer. I will be fine. Have a super nice day today and thanks for your fine posts.
A most interesting blog, Ginny! And the pictures you took of the garden are extra-ordinaire! Phil looks great having survived cancer.
A very heart warming post. Such a lovely garden.
Such a beautiful caring garden for cancer patients, surviviers and families. Like, Pam, I first thought of "bored" kids taking the bell for "kicks". Praise God that Phill could ring it. As you know Terry lost his kidney to cancer in 1998. I believe they should write a message to place where the bell was...a message that hope cannot be "stolen" and have some sort of "touchstone" so one could place their hand on it until the bell is returned. Do you have an "ARBY's restaurant where you are? Maybe they could donate a bell, like they have in their stores to "ring if you had good service". Thank you for sharing this beautiful story Ginny. Am going to share with Terry tonight. Blessings on your week.
This is awful..weren't there a couple of wheel chairs stolen from people..besides veteran's medals looted out of cemeteries, train tracks ect..what in the world is the matter of people? Now a bell!! Well, my dad got cancer on or where his apendix is quite a number of years ago..was but he had it removed and is ok. Beautiful garden!
my heart gave a little pause when you said the bell had been stolen ... but hope lives eternal
Oh how sad that the bell was stolen! I hope someone didn't take it to have it melted down as scrap metal. That is heartless. I hope it is returned and if not that a new one can soon replace it. The Serenity Garden is a beautiful place.
It's really sad that someone could steal that bell with all that it symbolizes. But the garden is beautiful! What a nice feeling it must be to be able to ring that bell. I hope it does get to return to its rightful place one day.
Good morning Ginny. I'm just catching up... for some reason, your blog doesn't show up on my blog reader and so it's not easy to find you sometimes. I'm going to try to 'follow' you again and see if I can get you to come up.
Anyway... ohh, I love the lavender gifts and what I've learned about lavender. This was such an interesting post and I now understand Bible verses better as well. THANK YOU!
The ice cream place, well... that smile on Anne Marie's face says it all. She is beautiful!
This world is so full of evil, and I am not surprised that this special bell was stolen. One day there will be judgement and I would not want to be in their shoes!!
Have a beautiful Monday, Ginny.
Hello, I come by your blog via another Blogging Buddie, and I just wanted to stop by and introduce my self.. My name is Karen, co~author of http://heartofthehome-blog.blogspot.com/ my friend Missy and I recently started a new womens ministry , God has put on our hearts to encourage women, wives, mothers, etc...So I hope you will get a chance to swing by and visit Heart of the Home.. and say Hi..
I enjoyed reading your post and look forward to becoming Blogging Buddies with you as well..
God Bless,
I will never understand some people. The missing bell is very sad--both that it's missing and that someone(s) has taken it.
What a lovely place and idea. I do hope the bell returns and the purloiner begs forgiveness.
Best,
Bonnie
So sad....
OMGoodness, that is horrible. I can't stand to see that happen. Apparently the person that stole the bell never had cancer or lost someone to cancer because that person just doesn't get it.
I hope your community finds it soon.
xxoo
Deborah
Oh wow - that is so sad!!
Looks like a very beautiful and peaceful place and I hope the bell is returned very soon.
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