Life affirming surprises energize and nurture the spirit | Candace McKibben
It would be difficult to imagine how many times I have been by the westbound rest area along I-10 just beyond the US/90 Sanderson exit. As a child, numerous times on annual trips to visit family in Georgia or Alabama. And as an adult, many more times, returning home to Louisville, Nashville, and for the last 33 years, Tallahassee, after visiting my parents, siblings, and now grown children living in Jacksonville.
I imagine that I have walked past the prominent but faded sign at the rest area facilities with information about the wildlife and rare beauty to be found on the nearby Fanny Bay trail in the Osceola National Forest hundreds of times without ever reading it.
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But for whatever reason, I read it on Memorial Day of this past week. And my husband and I enjoyed a break in our journey home after visiting my son and his family, by taking a lovely hike along an interpretive trail which leads you through pine flatwoods into a cypress swamp with ancient cypress trees.
A walk near ancient cypress
The Fanny Bay Trail has helpful signage to orient you to the habitats of the forest, including the pine woods, seepage bogs, floodplain forest, and cypress domes. The 1.1-mile roundtrip trail ventures near towering cypress trees, barking frogs, and iridescent dragonflies.
At the far end of the trail is a boardwalk that winds through the swamp forest of Fanny Bay. Two trees of note along the boardwalk include a rare two trunk cypress tree and a massive ancient cypress, what Florida Trails calls the “Holy Grail of the hike” at the turnaround on the boardwalk.
The rest area doubles as a visitor center for the Osceola National Forest, created by President Herbert Hoover’s proclamation on July 10, 1931, and named in honor of the noted Seminole warrior, Osceola. The forest covers a 289.3 square mile area, and 13 different activities are offered over the span of these miles. What a pleasant surprise to learn more about the national park and to discover such beauty so accessible to the interstate!
Eulogy for a trailblazer
But it is not the only surprise I have experienced of late. Recently, I had the sacred privilege of offering the eulogy for an inspiring woman who has long served our community in various ways. Born in 1926, Mary Maud Sharpe was known by generations of 3-year-olds at Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church as a loving Sunday School teacher.
She first taught when her own son was 3 and not a fan of the class. She continued for more than 60 years, much to the delight of many children who vied for a seat in her lap. Being beloved by 3-year-olds for 60 plus years is, in itself, amazing.
But Mary Maud was not only effective with 3-year-olds. She was a trailblazer as a woman interested in chemistry when she attended high school, the first female to be a member of four honor societies as a chemistry graduate from Florida State University.
She was the first female chief of the field laboratory for the Florida Department of Agriculture, the first woman President of the National Association of American Feed Control Officials in 1978, a founding member and the original secretary for the Florida Department of Agriculture Credit Union, Flagg Credit Union, and one of the first female members of the once all-male Tallahassee Camellia Society, which was founded in 1947 and opened its doors to women in 1985. She was the first female President of the Camellia Society in 1998.
As a precise chemist, she was a remarkable cook, and she generously shared her delicious food as a way to show others her love. She was wise, industrious, creative, and lived life fully for 97 years. When I think of all that she accomplished in her lifetime, I am moved by her deep humility. What a surprise to learn the ways in which this unassuming brilliant woman opened doors for other women throughout her long, loving, and devoted life.
'Guns to Gardens' at Good Shepherd
This week I received an email from a friend I admire containing yet another surprise. She wanted to be sure that I was aware of the “Guns to Gardens” Safe Surrender Event being held at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 4665 Thomasville Road from 10 a.m. to noon on June 10.
“Guns to Gardens” is a national grass roots movement that started in Colorado Springs. The Tallahassee Chapter is comprised of volunteers from eight local churches along with other concerned citizens and is sponsoring the event in cooperation with the Leon County Sheriff’s Department.
I had read about “Guns to Gardens” and the “RAWtools” organization they partner with just last week in preparation for June’s Gun Violence Awareness Month, but did not realize we have a Tallahassee chapter which was formed shortly after the Uvalde, Texas, tragedy a year ago.
The event on June 10 will be the first “Guns to Gardens” event in Florida, and the community event will be one of 11such events nationally. People surrender their guns for a number of reasons. If you elect to participate, bring the unloaded gun to the church in the trunk of your car.
A trained volunteer will remove the gun for the dismantling process and the raw materials will be sent to “RAWtools” to be forged into gardening tools. After the guns are dismantled, you will receive a gift card as a thank-you for disposing of your unwanted guns. You also will have peace of mind in knowing the gun will not be used to harm others but instead to cultivate life as they are refashioned into gardening tools.
If you would like to learn more about “Guns to Gardens” or “RAWtools,” please see gunstogardenstlh.org and rawtools.org and please help spread the word.
Researchers at the Greater Good Science Center in Berkeley, California, tell us that surprise, whether good or bad, is critical for bringing vitality to our lives. These recent surprises, all of which are good, have energized me, and I am grateful. I pray we all have a few surprises to nurture our spirits as we enter the month of June.
The Rev. Candace McKibben is an ordained minister and pastor of Tallahassee Fellowship.