Category: Landscape Architecture

Landscape Architecture, Life, Short Stories, Work

Surrender All

As the months went by my heart began to feel the desire to have a regular schedule. The schedule that is monitored by human minds, the schedule that one studies for. The schedule that at times comes with a lack of sleep and insufficient nourishment. I found myself disturbed at the idea that I had lost such schedule. But I wondered why?

During the month of May, the numbers of people being laid-off at our office continued to increased due to COVID-19. Prior to me being laid-off along with two awesome co-workers, I worried that the following call would be directed to me. I didn’t want to give it a thought, but I prayed “Father, whenever my time in this place ends, I will be ok, because you are with me.”

So months later, I was annoyed at the idea that I missed having a regular schedule. It came with frustration after having a fantastic summer! I began to get discouraged that self-employment may not be the right decision. I felt guilty taking vacation, I was living in a vacation.

And then it clicked! I really missed working 40+ hours a week. I missed talking to team members and solving problems, I missed being part of a collaborative team. I missed thinking extra hard. God showed me the beauty of consistent work and need to do more than what our brains can handle.

But there was something more, I wanted control of my situation, which is probably what gave me frustration after returning to California from a wonderful vacation with my family. I realized that my frustration was doubting the power of God when it came to trusting my work to Him. I felt embarrassed yet not wanting to admit that it was affecting me spiritually. Why?

Every single job that I had received had been led by Him, so as I was walking back from gardening a thought came to me, who is in control? “You are,” I said. And there was silence. All this time, I had not fully addressed that being laid-off had affected me. I cried. On the day that it happened I shed a few tears and really took it as an opportunity to travel. My circumstances had changed, I shared an schedule with friends, and family. So there was no time to address this issue again with God. I didn’t think I needed it, I was very happy just picking up bags and visiting places and people.

Until reality hit, work with clients wasn’t promising. Studying for my license had being delayed and frustration began to fill my heart. I prayed as I walked, “just give me one more no and I’ll stop trying to be self-employed.” That same day I dialed a client with the idea that her “no” was about to change my path very soon. She didn’t say no.

I went hiking that day with the image of a bird staring at me, saying, “what’s wrong with you?” The same pigeon that looked at me a bit confused when I cried asking God, why He had taken me away from my family back in 2018. I laughed, I just couldn’t believe, I have it easy, really! God had blessed me so much and yet I felt discouraged from not having control of my work? I don’t need control, I don’t need control of my life, it is actually very harmful to want to control your life. God knows how to heal me, He never forced me to come to Him with my issues, but as I write this, I understand the need to surrender all aspects of our lives to Him.

There will be days when we feel discouraged and frustrated, and even embarrassed of what we lack. But remember, He says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

God loves each one of us dearly and He wants the best for you. It is my prayer today, that you may come to Him with your struggles, with your lack of faith, and tell Him how frustrated you feel, how sad and how much you miss what you may currently lack. He is greater to take the burden off your shoulders, pick you up, and teach you how to walk with Him again or for the very first time. Amen,

Landscape Architecture, Life, Short Stories, Travel, Work

Pure Michigan I

During the summer of 2016, I received an assistantship to help with research about water conservation. I was happy to stay working at the university. Around that time my advisor had shared with me a contact name of a medical doctor who was also a practicing landscape architect in the state of Michigan. I wrote to her asking if I could shadow her research on therapeutic garden design. She gave me a better offer. On her email, she asked, “would you be interested to help in the design for a hospice therapeutic garden in Marquette, MI?” I went on to respond that it would be a great opportunity and accepted her invitation right away.

Up to the conclusion of the semester in the spring, my dissertation research had been on mental illness. Unfortunately the topic was so broad that I was struggling to narrow it to one mental illness. The year before, a few friends had suffered with seasonal depression so I chose to study the benefits of nature to battle depression. The hospice project was going to be the perfect opportunity to elaborate both research and design methods for patients and caregivers suffering with depression!

On August of 2016, I arrived at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan. I fell in love with the area. The turquoise water, the cherry farms, the hilly roads, and fantastic views were beautiful and full of life. Dr. Westphal picked me up, and brought me to a French restaurant to eat crepes. Later, she drove me around the city and finally to my new home for the next 19 days. We turned into a long dirt road ‘Blue Water Road’, drove through the cherry farms and tall grasses, and pulling up to park, we arrived at one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever lived in. “We got it for free and have remodeled it,” Dr. Westphal explained. A friend phoned us knowing that we had moved a house before. We decided to take it and brought it here. They had turned it into a two story trailer home. “You’ll be staying here, you’re welcome to join us for dinner tonight,” she handed me the keys to the house and also to a Prius. Dr. Westphal’s house is located in the highest point of Traverse City, very close to where I was staying.

That summer I lived heavenly! It was a very beautiful experience. I had the time of my life with the best schedule. I did a lot of reading, drawing, cooking, cleaning, hiking, and plenty of swimming. I also got to jump off of a cliff for the first time, it only took me 45 min? I witnessed my advisor gracefully jump and show me how to get it done. She said, “this is how you do it” and jumped – straight in she went, into Lake Superior’s fresh water. We drove up from Traverse City to Marquette ‘the project site’ twice. We stayed at her friend’s cabin. A beautiful cabin. My mind was so in tune with the area, my imagination just burst, and joy really filled my heart.

So much happened in those 19 days. I met Norma, a wonderful lady from church, whose husband had built a round house. It literally looked like half of a giant white ball sunk on the ground. It was cute, she became my best friend at church, we even performed together, she played the piano very well but never wanted to do it in public. She also enjoyed poetry, and we exchanged a few of our poems with each other. She said, “Melody, friends come and go, you will have friends for a lifetime, you may have some for a few months, and there will even be the one friend that you get for a day, a few hours, it’s a part of life.” This is the hardest thing for me to grasp, I love having friends, the closest ones who you can talk about anything and laugh even when neither is funny, but just out of the joy we bring to each other. Life is too short to let those friends go, but we have to… let our love go in their hearts.

Back to the trailer – I loved the little house! Every morning my view were trees. In one occasion, there were three pileated woodpeckers eating away, they were so beautiful, magnificent. Every morning, I would go for a walk around the cherry farms and soak in the beauty. I worked researching and designing back to back. I would drive to the tip of the peninsula, swim, read some more, and then stop by the grocery store to make a warm meal. A taste of life, a taste of heaven, a taste of God’s love toward us. That was my experience, living on my own for the first time.

We humans really aren’t in need of much aside from God’s love. Everything lines up when we give him control. We may not live in vacation land, but we do have the choice to be happy, to live and love freely. Unfortunately, the world has a monetary system engraved in our minds. We work to live and vice versa. Shelter and food will one day be equal for all, not in our time but in God’s time. I’m a very passionate person but I have to remember to be patient and to trust in God’s time. We don’t stop working but we work trusting in the best for everyone, and believing this way we work harder, happier, and representing God’s image to others.

Let God’s love flow from you, you will be rejected, but don’t be discouraged, we give love without expecting anything in return. Wherever place has marked your heart – don’t stop dreaming about it. Live it out, share this place with others. Go back – maybe – and make new memories, there or somewhere else. Make love happen in your heart and before the eyes of God. Jesus said, freely you have receive, freely give. Live today as if it where the last day of your life!

May you cherish the opportunity to live, praise God from whom all blessings flow!

DACA, Landscape Architecture, Life, Music, Poems, Short Stories, Travel, Work

A Dream Come True

Nineteen years have gone by since I first heard the questions:
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how should they preach, except they be sent?*

At the age of 20, I decided to become a missionary in a third world country, I was willing to go anywhere but because of my immigration status I couldn’t leave the country. At 26, my two friends and I had signed up to go on a mission trip to Florida, everything was ready. Unfortunately, we got a notice telling us that the trip had been cancelled due to lack of participation.

The Mission Preparation

Today at 30, this desire continues and I’ve come to realize that each year is closer to the big dream. Last year, I watched a video of a group of missionaries in Peru and their work there. Maybe I could be one of them soon! But I am still unable to leave the country, so my home in Southern California, is the mission field God has given me.

 It has been six months since my parents and I were re-baptized at a lake. It brought so much joy into our lives. My parents became two of my best friends in adulthood. The day after I told them I was going to get baptized, my dad called and said, I’ve decided to get baptized with you, we both cried. And then an even greater surprise filled our hearts, as my mom walked up to also get baptized on August 17, 2019. So from that day on we share an anniversary / birthday together.

This is part of my pursuit of happiness. I had been wanting to get baptized for the past ten years and to finally do it was a completion and also the beginning of my love for life.

The Big Dream

I dream of an environmental and sustainable school for orphan children. I dream of designing green spaces where they can play and learn in nature. I can see them climbing the trees, and running while holding each others’ hands. I hear their laughter as they run and sit around the fire pit, singing songs and clapping with joy. As the breeze runs through our hair, the pure air nestles each of us to Our Father.

As I write the idea of a dream come true, it makes sense to say that I am dreaming of heaven itself. Not to ruin my earthly expectations but to raise the bar by 100%. We are all orphans in this world – we don’t fully understand the title of being a child of God. And yet we are each called to be dependent missionaries of the kingdom of God – not by choice but through adoption. We were rescued to live for eternity ‘the gift of life’ and dream big. Whether I accomplish to be a part of an orphanage in the future or start a new one, God has greater plans than what I could ever imagine.

The Great Commission

Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”*

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.*

May peace, love, and joy fill your hearts.

Bible verses taken from Romans 10, Matthew 28 and John 15.

Landscape Architecture, Life

A prescription to hospital sitting and hospital garden design, expressing the cultural union between horticulture and medicine

German theorist Christian Cay Lorenz Hirschfeld (1741-1792) wrote :

Hospitals should be situated outside and away from cities, to allow for garden space. Hospitals should be located away from busy urban areas in a healthy and positive and inspiring location, not in valleys … but on sunny, warm hilltops protected from the wind or on southern slopes on dry soil.

A hospital should lie open, not encased by high walls, not fended in by looming trees. The garden should be directly connected to the hospital, or even better, surround it. Because a view from the window onto blooming and happy scenes will invigorate the patient, a nearby garden also invites patients to take a walk.

The plantings, therefore, should wind along dry paths that offer benches and chairs. Clusters of trees are preferred to alleys of trees, which through the years will mature and meet at the top so that air will not circulate….

Sad conifers should not be used but trees with light and colored leaves and flowering and fragrant shrubs and flowers.. A hospital garden should have everything to encourage a positive outlook; everything in it should be serene and happy. No scene of melancholy, no memorial of mortality should be permitted to intrude. The spaces between the three groups could have beautiful lawns and colorful flower beds.

Noisy brooks could run through flowering fields, and merry waterfalls could reach your ear through shady shrubbery. Many plants with fortifying fragrances could be grouped together. Numerous songbirds will be attracted by the shade peace, and freedom. And their songs will rejoice many weak hearts.

As decorations you could… build seats with roof or a gazebo from which the view is magnificent.