One afternoon, Amy returned home to find that her ninety-year-old mother with Alzheimer's had instructed the gardener to cut off all of the Mexican sage blossoms that had sprung into a glorious purple sea in her back yard. The bundles lay lifeless on the ground replaced with hacked, barren stocks. Amy’s mother had provided a metaphor for grief, loss, age and wisdom. The image of the purple sage has resonated with Amy since that day and is the name of her Pastoral Counseling workshops.