Goodness Weekly 8.31.26
"A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself."
—May Sarton
WHAT’S GOOD
Thrift Pop-Up Benefitting Nuevos Vecinos
The Nuevos Vecinos Thrift Pop-Up is back at One Another Coffee—and this time, the goal is to make it a monthly occurrence! Join us on Saturday, September 26th from 9 AM - 1 PM for a highly curated thrift event raising money for Nuevos Vecinos. All are welcome. Interested in volunteering? Sign up here.
The Things That Take Root
Elizabeth Stephens, Managing Director, Sunset Ridge Church & Collective
I have always been in awe of the way things take root in the South Texas ground. With the hard limestone layer and high pH of the soil, it is not always hospitable. But when something is compatible with this place, boy, does it stake its claim.
Introducing Turk’s Cap Red, aka a “Texas Superstar.”
What makes this perennial a superstar? For starters, it blooms in summer. Yes, it BLOOMS in the 100+ degree, surface-of-the-sun heat. It tolerates drought. It adapts to all kinds of soil. And did I mention that it grows and spreads rapidly? Now that I’ve given you a brief plant history, it would probably be a good time to tell you that we have a Turk’s Cap Red bush in our yard. A giant one. It has been a constant since we moved in more than 10 years ago, growing a little more every year.
But this Texas Superstar and I have not always had the best relationship.
In 2015, I lost my second child, a son, after a months-long battle with a complex illness. I came home one afternoon, in the throes of grief, and had a standoff with the Turk’s cap. How dare it just take over my yard without asking? How dare it demand more space, more presence, moving into places whenever it wanted?
I did the only thing 2015 Elizabeth knew to do. I grabbed a shovel and went to war. I was determined to eradicate this monstrous plant from my yard.
Spoiler alert: the shovel did not get the job done. It barely put a dent in it. So, I did what any logical person would do: I went straight for a pickaxe. Had I ever used a pickaxe? No. Did my husband glance into the backyard and see me feverishly hacking away at a seemingly innocent native plant like a psychopath? Maybe.
I spent five hours taking that thing out. Five. Hours.
And in the moment, I felt victorious. I needed a win. I needed to be able to change something. Remove something. Control something. And somehow, this counted. A few months later, I was watering plants when I looked over and saw what I can only describe as a miracle. That plant had resurrected. A few new branches were pushing their way out of the ground in sheer defiance.
And I started to…laugh.
That Turk’s cap is now back in FULL force in our backyard. It has spread and taken over despite my grief, my rage, and my pickaxe. And I let it. Partly because, after all that, it deserved to be there. But mostly because it came to represent something I desperately needed to know during a time when life felt deeply sad and completely beyond my control.
There are things that take root so deeply that even devastation cannot remove them.
The soil can be hard, the heat can be relentless, and the conditions can be inhospitable. You can cut something all the way back until there is no visible evidence that life was ever there. And still, somewhere beneath the surface, the roots remain.
I think grief is like that. Every summer, when that Turk’s cap blooms defiantly in the brutal Texas heat, I am reminded that something does not have to remain the way it once was to remain with us. Sometimes it returns differently. A memory. A story. A laugh you weren’t expecting. A sprout coming up out of the ground when you thought you had won the war.
So, these days, I give the Turk’s cap all the space it wants. It has earned its place here. And so has everything I carry that still insists on blooming.
Coming Up…
Daily, NYX Yoga & Fitness
Daily, One Another Coffee
Wednesdays, 11 AM - 1:30 PM, Open Studio Painting
Wednesdays, Mission Compost Pick Up
Wednesdays-Sundays, Scott’s Pizza, Charis Park
Saturdays, 9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Sundays, Worship at 9 AM and 11 AM, Sunset Ridge Church
September 5, 9 AM - 1 PM, Threads of Blessing Pop-Up, Charis Park
September 5, 9 AM - 1PM, Art in the Park, Charis Park
Wednesdays, September 16 - November 18, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Joyful Noise, Students in 5th - 8th grade will discover how music deepens worship, strengthens faith, and helps build meaningful friendships. Registration required.
Friday, September 25, 7 - 9:30PM, Full Moon Friday, Charis Park
Saturday, September 26, 9 AM - 1 PM, Nuevos Vecinos Thrift Pop-Up
Event Rentals - Interested in hosting your event at Charis Park or in our facilities? Please email rentals@sunset-ridge.org
Community Partners: For updated schedules and events please follow One Another Coffee, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, NYX Wellness, Scott’s Pizza, Mission Compost, Sprouts School, Good Acres, and Community First Food Pantry.
