Post 104 Springing Forward
Hi all,
Thank you for returning like spring blades poking through the dirt to Blooms in the Garden. I have been traveling a bit; to the home state of IL to see my mother, picked up the loan mower in KY, hauled it to the next town over to have the blade sharpened, stayed all night with good friends.
Sometimes we are called to listen to folks, sometimes, it is not our time to speak. When we place ourselves after others and listen, it is surprising what we can hear for ourselves and from that small still voice on the inside. I had that opportunity while I was on the trip and was reminded how much growth we have when we hear from God to simply be silent and listen.
There will be one more installment on the Maui trip about Haleakala Crater; the extinct valcano that is open for touring and looks a little like I imagine Mars to be like if we could visit there. It was a great trip and these shots have bridged the gap between the brown of winter to early spring here in Eastern Tennessee.
Miss Willow Tree has put on her lime green coat of very early leaves, the daffodils are waving their yellow and orange heads in the early warm breeze. The peeper frog chorus in the woods and down by the pond has started and runs incessantly but is music to fall to sleep by.
I have cleared a path to the pontoon dock down at the pond. When we roll down the hill, we scare up either a blue heron or white tail deer on the dam. Today, I transplanted woodland fern, cousin and I planted "store-bought" saplings of forsythia, butterfly bushes; pink and white, hydrangea that will be blue of the bluest blue. I discovered half-buried raised beds under some walnut trees a few weeks back so today, that is where Miss Hydrangea sunk her roots. Fern went in front of that, then a smattering of calla lilies. When the leaves come, it will be a nice focal point with colors in the shade. I will fill in with caladmium or a shot of coleus and a chartreuse potato vine spilling down the hillside.
For now, enjoy the final scenes from the road back from Hana to the cove at Paia, Maui. Many surfers gather there and families who dot the hillside park watching the surfers.
The purple bougainvillea with the sunlight permeating the leaves is outstanding.
So also was a visit to my family. There are not enough days to be with my Mom but we enjoyed every moment. We went shopping and she bought a digital piano which has keys weighted like a piano and the tone of one, but has an oh-so-quiet adjustable volume for an apartment. She can also wear headsets and totally rock out if she wants! She was already playing from memory the same day we brought it home. Folks, she is 88 and wanted to renew her love of music through her own hands. I think that is awesome.
So also is great joy from friends who make you laugh and gain merriment just from being together. Early spring brings so much hope, so much renewal in the earth. I love visiting and being with people, renewing friendships, lives and fellowship.
Let it be so with us! Let us aside those things in our past or those things that try to weigh us down in our current living so that we do not receive the daily mercies of God and enjoy that which is around us. Let us be renewed, daily. Maybe we even need to ask what things those are, but when we identify them, put stop to those things that keep us from receiving wonderful things, every day.
We should take it one step further and ask God what it is we could be doing in our life for him. What is the joy before us that illuminates our pathway to get our job done? It is not enough just to recognize God's beauty and his mercy and grace, but let the flashlight of those two characteristics of God point out that path we need to be on.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path: Psalms 119:105
Let us ratchet up our thinking a notch beyond the Feel Good phase and get to the meat of Where do I need to be right now?
Let us think on down the path as well. Where is it you want me to go and unlike the road to Hana below; which is very obscure and hidden in the native vegitation, we want our forward motion to be very clear and not full of obstructions.
I believe we are called to be the best we can be, challenged to believe more, do more, every opportunity we can. Why should we?
You will find that in First Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12. God wants us to grow up in Christ. Grow up in our walk with him. He is waiting for us to get to the place where we can absorb more, hear His still quiet voice more, receive more.
If there is squabbling and division in the church, fellowship group or in our home, we are being spiritual babies. In the common venacular, God tells us to knock it off. Do what it takes to rise up to the meat God implores us is there for the taking.
It's a walk, that's all I know. Some days, I feel I am growing well, other days, I struggle. Over all though, in the path of our life, do we not want more than less?
Do what it takes to be calm, to be ready to receive and then move forward with what you know. As you take steps, the next step, the next piece of information will come.
For me, this still centers around God's words; written and otherwise, and in the beauty around us. Being outside and looking at the flowers, birds and trees around me is the quickest way for me to regain my spiritual composure.
What works for you?
Please enjoy these scenes of Maui. Even in very low light and not in the best of focus, the beauty is just amazing.
Until next time, stay faithful and you will hear and see more.
