The Gift of Clouds
This is one of the first cool mornings in…forever! No bright scorching sun. A thick marine layer, like a cushion on a hard chair, protects the earth from a hard glaring sun…a very welcome change following the relentless unforgiving heat that has chased us morning and night for a long time.
While this may not be a lasting change – after all, it’s the middle of summer – I will be grateful for the blessing it brings for today. It is a gift and a reminder that God is faithful to all that He has promised…
Psalm 121: 5 – 6
“The LORD watches over you –
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.”
It Was A Lovely Day
Yesterday was such a lovely day. I unplugged myself from my phone – no emails, no internet, no Facebook. After my Bible study I took little Daisy kitty in my arms and wandered through the garden. I was amazed at the explosion of leaves and flowers on plants that just a week or two ago were quite bare. Our Lady Banks climbing rose is fuller than I’ve ever seen her. We both stopped to watch one of our little squirrels as he limped on a bum foot. Poor little guy! I heard crows cawing in our large ash tree, flying in and out with twigs and moss as they made a nest. Then we passed by a mama hummingbird sitting on the same nest that just had babies fledge from it two weeks ago! An absolutely lovely day…
The wind began to kick up, which made Daisy a bit nervous, so I took her back inside the house. Then I went out front to get a better look at the nest the crows were making. By this time the wind was really blowing and that big old nest, which had to be 12 – 18 inches across, was rocking back and forth like a pendulum on a clock. Twigs from the nest kept falling to the ground and onto the roof of our house. I really hoped that the mom hadn’t laid her eggs already because I had no idea how they’d stay in there through that roller coaster ride!
I went back in the house to sit down and write about the blessings of this wonderful day. And then I turned on my computer…
The first thing I saw was a prayer request for my friends serving for a couple of weeks with Containers of Hope, taking backpacks filled with school supplies to children in Liberia…who were at the airport in Brussels when the terrorist’s bombs went off…
…and another prayer request for my friends serving on Lesvos Island, Greece helping refugees fleeing the atrocities of the Middle East. I will only say that the crisis there is much more intense than our media has portrayed it to be…the suffering so much greater…
…and suddenly the loveliness and blessings of my day and the drama of the wind blowing a crow’s nest or a squirrel limping on a bum foot seemed trite and very much out of touch with the great suffering of so many in this world…
…so many in need of One who understands their pain and anguish, who cares more for them than anyone ever could, who loves them to death…and died to give them life…then rose from death to give them life eternal.
As I contemplate the timing of these events I cannot help but think that THIS week of all weeks in the year was perfectly chosen to share the hope and good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose death and resurrection we celebrate this week.
So, if the world seems dark right now, if hope seems out of reach, if your heart is broken and life seems to be falling apart like that crow’s nest blowing in the wind…hold on! An explosion of new life in Jesus Christ is available that will make your heart feel as vibrant as those flowers in my garden!
Easter Sunday…now that was truly a lovely day! In fact, Best…Day…Ever!
Lord Jesus, You know how broken we are and in need of a savior. Thank You for laying down Your life to pay for the sin of the whole world and for rising from the dead just as You said You would. I’m so grateful that Your amazing gift of eternal life is available for all who believe in You. Please lead many to follow you today.
In the Bleak Midwinter
As I looked out on my garden Thursday morning it was a peaceful scene: while birds fed at bird feeders and on the ground, fog hovered in the air, causing leaves to drip…drip…drip with the heavy moisture. All was calm, serene.
Suddenly, the stillness was broken! A black cat with white socks jumped out of the bushes trying to snatch an unsuspecting bird for a morning snack, causing all of them to fly away to safety. Unsuccessful, he sauntered away in the direction of his home. As he left, birds once again landed on the grass and feeders. All was calm, serene.
A few moments later, Socks jumped out of the bushes AGAIN, trying to snatch a bird unaware that he had snuck back into that peaceful place. Again, all the birds went flying for safety, leaving the unsuccessful hunter to saunter away in the direction of his home.
Again, birds landed on the grass and feeders in relative peace. But I realized they were more aware of their enemy’s tactics than I was as I stood in my house. They live their lives in battle mode – always keeping a wary eye out for sneaky cats that try to fool them by “leaving” only to return from another direction.
Sure enough, very soon he was there again, jumping out of the bushes seeking to ensnare someone that wasn’t watching out for him. All that appeared calm and serene wasn’t going to stay that way! Again, all the birds flew away to safety and soon Socks sauntered away in the direction of home in defeat…this time staying there!
Do you ever feel like those birds? I know I do! Thinking all is calm and serene I’m suddenly blindsided by an attack that comes from out of nowhere! I don’t know what yours are, but my recent “attacks” include financial concerns; health issues (my own and two friends in the same day with possible cancer); family health issues (my sister needed a kidney transplant after an autoimmune disease destroyed hers); while at the hospital in Loma Linda, the San Bernardino mass shootings took place only three miles away; and then the hospital received a bomb threat! That was followed by hearing from yet another friend whose heart was deeply wounded by a broken relationship.
One after another – it was just like that black cat with white socks relentlessly jumping out of the bushes trying to ensnare me.
But I was not taken out…my enemy was not successful and these issues did not ensnare me!
Why? Because of a Baby born in a manger 2000 years ago. The One born into our world of despair, disease, drought, death. The One who knew there was no other way to redeem all those whom God loves from this damaged and broken life, which without him is no life at all. With Him even the very things meant to destroy us will work for good, according to His purpose and plan. With Him we have strength to stand firm when faced with such things.
But sometimes I need a reminder that the difficulties I see going on around me will not last forever.
Listen to what awaits those of us who choose to accept His redeeming love into our hearts – our lives:
Isaiah 35 (Joy of the Redeemed)
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy…they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
“Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, (I especially love that!) and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
“The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
“And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; (nor any black cat with white socks!) they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return.
“They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
All this because that Baby, Son of God and Son of man, grew up to be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; offering His perfect, sinless life in place of our imperfect lives, to pay the penalty we could not pay on our own; conquering sin; overcoming death…offering us eternal life with Him through His redeeming blood!
“And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore! And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore! Unto us a child is born, the King of kings and Lord of lords! And He shall reign forevermore, forevermore!”*
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into this world to bring us life. Please help us to stand firm in you no matter what attacks may come our way, and remember that you shall reign forevermore. Amen
*Chris Tomlin, “He Shall Reign Forevermore”