- Alumna makes a world of difference (8/3/2017)
- A rose blossoms in Israel (8/11/2017)
- Transforming the world, one friendship at a time (8/19/2017)
- Silent No More: Kubly Works to Lift the Stigma of Depression (11/17/2017)
- New Food Science Program Bears First Fruit (6/5/2018)
- Consider three fresh strategies for giving without affecting your cash flow (6/5/2018)
- As mentor relationship matures, the learning goes both ways (7/3/2018)
- Sisters come together to create the Luxem legacy (11/16/2018)
- Downtown Designers: Mount Mary’s alumnae set the vision for the city’s newest spaces (11/16/2018)
- Giving Thanks to the Keeper of the Bell (4/10/2019)
- From calling to career (4/10/2019)
- Art Show Volunteers Celebrate Milestone Year (11/28/2019)
- For this alum, pizza and research pair well together (4/23/2020)
- Alumnae Spotlight: History Alum Pays it Forward (11/20/2020)
- Alumnae rise to the challenge of designing dresses for the inauguration (4/20/2023)
- Tradition of change inspires forward-facing vision for our alumnae (4/24/2023)
Alumnae
A rose blossoms in Israel
For anything to grow in the desert, it must be watered. But the irrigation system at the 55-acre Tamar Biblical Park always seems to be in need of repair.
Posted on August 11, 2017
For anything to grow in the desert, it must be watered. But the irrigation system at the 55-acre Tamar Biblical Park always seems to be in need of repair.
The upkeep in this place – an active archaeological site that is open to visitors and volunteers – is as constant as the crushing heat. Today it is 113 degrees and the irrigation is leaking.
Pat DeGroot, ’64, is the onsite administrator of the park, a three-month position that she took on during the hottest months of the year. As a former elementary school principal and teacher, Pat is no stranger to an administrator’s role of organizing and then pitching right in.
“The wilderness and the dry land will be glad. The desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.”
Isaiah 35:1
Pat sends her husband, Jim Crumley, out to the lower park in a dune buggy known as a Mule to check the irrigation. In the meantime, Pat goes to the residence complex to paint some of the new beds Jim has assembled for the dormitory.
Jim has fixed the problem; the olive trees, date palms and mango trees will continue to thrive until next time. Along the way, he discovers sparkling bits of color in the sand, small bits of Roman glass.
Pat describes these fragments of glass in her journal:
The glass is usually a light aqua in color, very thin and with a patina of stunning iridescence. It is a minor miracle that it has been preserved for 2000 years!
At the end of Pat’s day there is beauty and glittering evidence of minor miracles.
See the most recent posts: