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Flowers

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

            Flowers are in bloom everywhere here in Basking Ridge this week!

            Lilies, Geraniums, Black-eyed Susans – they’re strikingly beautiful!  My neighbor brought me some of her Hydrangeas last night, with petals of sky blue, tinged purple at the ends.  I’ve read somewhere that the color of hydrangea flowers depends on the pH of the soil in which they grow.  That’s amazing! 

            Have you stopped to ‘smell the roses’ this week?  This is THE week to do it – sun in the bright blue sky, warm outside but not too hot.  Don’t let this week pass you by!

            On my deck I have not one but two containers of marigolds.  They’re such bright, cheerful flowers, probably my all-time favorites.  They smell nice too, don’t they?

            From a distance, marigolds of the same variety all look the same.  But if you stop and look more closely at each flower individually, and compare one to another, you will see subtle differences in the shape of the petals, in the pattern of colors…

            Don’t stop reading!

            I’m not going where you think I’m going with this thought (flowers unique, people unique, God is good,…)!  I’m going somewhere else entirely with this (even though God IS in fact good).

            Let me ask you this, what do you see when you look closely at the minute details in one little flower “which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire” (Matthew 6:30)?  What do you see?

            Do you see God? 

            Look closely, do you see The Creator of all?  What do you see about Him?  Do you see His passion for creation, infused into each and every detail of each and every flower?

            What else do you see?

            Do you see His great compassion, His love for you and me?  Do you see Him near, oh so near – as near as the flower before you?  Do you see Him desperately wanting you to stop and look and see?

            I’ve been missing Him in the rush of life, have you?  It’s just now, just this week, that I see Him so clearly once more.  The awareness of God, so near, has burst forth in me again, like a flower that has burst into bloom.  It’s amazing!

            Oh, I hope – and I’m praying right now – that this week you will stop and look and see Him too…

Posted in Joy, Life, Meditation, Nature, Peace, Priorities | No Responses »
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A Course in Trust

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

            It’s summer!

            I really thought that my daughters would sleep in this morning, what with this being their very first day of summer vacation.  But they were up at 6:30 and ready to start the day!

            They weren’t counting on the fog and rain though.  Swimming had been on the agenda for today.  We went for a walk instead, and got wet – well, damp.  Funny how getting wet in one instance is considered fun and in another is considered quite the opposite!

            Always a disappointment, isn’t it, when life doesn’t cooperate with your plans?

            Maybe the happiest people are the ones who don’t have an agenda.  They take what comes and go with it.  Life is an adventure! 

            Sometimes I wish I was one of those people.  But I’m not, I like to have an agenda – always.  Plans make me feel secure.  I like to know where I’m going and what is coming next. 

            Looking back over the school year though, I’m realizing that life was rather uncooperative with my plans – more so than in other years.  It’s left me feeling, well, disappointed.

            On the other hand, I was forced to reach out for God’s Hand quite a bit more this year, to steady, reassure and guide me. 

            And when I reached out for Him, He was there every time. (Thank You Lord for your constant Presence!)

            Trust was on God’s agenda for me this year, I guess.  I’m getting the distinct sense that He is working trust into me.  He’ll probably have to work a lot of other things out of me in the process.  It will take time and effort, and a great deal of faith.  And I think I’ve only just begun.  There’s sure to be many levels (like with Math): Trust I, Trust II, Living Life as an Adventure, Trust III…

            Well, at least I’ve some idea of what to expect in September!

Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Life, Trust | No Responses »
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Bond

Friday, May 13th, 2011

My daughter experienced Early American life hands-on at her school’s “Colonial Day” a couple of weeks ago.  Months before, Rachel had insisted that I volunteer to help at the event.  I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to be a part of something so special to her.  Besides, it was my big chance to dress up like a Colonial American, and I was signing up to help in the ‘Apothecary’ center – how cool is that!

The only problem was, I had to leave the event for awhile to attend a funeral.  Rachel and I were both worried that we would miss each other, and sure enough her group of students came through my center right after I left the school.

Oh, how it hurts when circumstances beyond your control keep you from someone you love!

Rachel and I had a backup plan though, that we would look for each other in the cafeteria later on that day.  So after the funeral I leapt across the centuries once more, and made it back to the school just in time for lunch.

Finding that most-special-of-all 4th grader in a sea of 100 other students was a challenge.  The Colonial dresses and aprons all looked the same!  But then I spotted it, Rachel’s bright orange hair spilling out from under her mob cap.  She spotted me too, and when our eyes met it was like everyone else, and even the room around us, just faded away.

For a moment it was just the two of us there, silently communicating the bond of love that exists between us – a bond that has grown up out of all our shared experiences over the years, like Colonial Day!

Our time apart had only served to illuminate and solidify that bond.

You know, it’s like that with our Lord Jesus Christ.  Circumstances beyond my control have at times kept me from drawing near to him in worship, prayer and His Word.  Sometimes, when things go wrong, it feels as if He is far, far away.  It hurts, and I find myself longing only to be with Him again, communicating the bond that has grown up between us over the years of shared experiences.

But in the moment that I find Him again and rediscover the bond we share, I realize that this bond is illuminated and solidified both by our moments together and our moments apart!

In fact, though we may not always be with Him, our Savior Jesus is always with us – He will never leave us!  And that’s a really amazing thing, isn’t it?

Posted in Life, Love, Worship | No Responses »
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