Plant Diaries: Magnolia Says Push Open the Gate

A magnolia tree lives in our backyard. Have you ever smelled one? It will draw you in and take you to a dreamy place if you choose. Its unmistakable sweetness is right there, just past the gate.

This time of year, around the summer solstice, this magnolia tree takes me to my dreamworld. My outer life may look a bit boring, but my inner world is a colorful place of exploration.

I’ve learned to keep my dreams alive. Why? When I stop dreaming, I get sad and directionless. That is why I dream big. However, lately my dreaming has left me frustrated. Many dreams haven’t gone anywhere. If you understand the Law of Attraction, you know that where your thoughts go, your energy flows. You have to manifest in your dreams before you can manifest in your life. I’ve done a lot of manifesting in my inner world. So why hasn’t it show up yet?

Magnolia whispered the answer to me. “You need to do your part. You have to walk the path and push open the gate.” So, you mean I can’t just sit on my laurels? What if I don’t know what direction to go?

“You’ve got to make a choice, Kathy.”

In the early part of my life, I was a wanderer. I never knew exactly where I wanted to live or what I wanted to do. Given that, I went to a couple of universities before dropping out, then I stretched myself in the multi-level marketing industry. I had no idea where life was taking me. I wasn’t yet confident at making choices.

Except this one unforgettable day in 1998. My parent’s number buzzed on my pager. Remember those? You may still have one in your junk drawer, or by now, likely featured on Antiques Roadshow. I called back on an outdoor payphone in a strip mall parking lot.

My Mom had a worried tone that day. “Your brother’s wife needs to be on bedrest for six weeks to heal from acute health issues. He asked me to come down to Arizona to take care of the kids. I just don’t know if I can do it. Do I have the energy and strength to look after three children under the age of five?”

I remember that moment clear – the moment I made that choice. Without a second of hesitation, I said, “I’ll do it, Mom. Call Paul and tell him I’ll be there in 48 hours. Please call my sister Ruth and see if she can generously help us with airfare. Don’t worry, I’ll do it.”

I hung up that AT&T payphone with its distinctive click. I looked around, and thought, “What did I just DO? Did I really just say that?”

God spoke for me that day, making a choice for me since I stunk at it. If I would have taken time to think about it, I wouldn’t have had the guts to make this cross-country, life-changing choice. But I did it in seconds. I was stunned, but there was no time to think. I now had a mission with a deadline.

Within 48 hours as planned, I arrived in Phoenix, Arizona. I lived with my brother Paul for an unforgettable six months, creating beautiful memories with him and his family while his wife regained physical health. From there I moved to Sedona, Arizona, beautiful red rocks country where wanderers like me thrive. That truly set a course for my life, as there I met my husband Jeff, and we have created many beautiful memories and children over the past 20 years. My life would be very different, had it not been for that pager buzz in 1998.

I wish that spirit spoke through me every day, as easily as that day 23 years ago. I’ve been asking spirit to make choices for me, but there’s silence on the other end of my payphone these days. So, intoxicated by Magnolia’s blooms, she spoke again.

“I’ve been waiting for YOU to make a choice! This is one of the gifts of human flesh and bone. Your dreams will come true as soon as you start walking, make a choice, then use your own strength to push open the gate to your dreams.”

We have to open our own gate. It’s not God versus us that does it. God lives within each of us, and “Heaven is within you,” said Jesus Christ. Once we focus our human intention, then we must use our own physical strength to open the gate and walk the path.

On the other side, are the dreams of your choice.