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Wednesday, 10 December 2008

Happy Birthday Sweetheart

Right where I always want to be!
Love always to my sweetie!

Monday, 15 September 2008

What a Friend We Have . . .

. . . In Jesus! And if we really love Him, He will bless us with other friends as well; real friends, loving friends, special friends.
A very special friend of mine reminded me that I need to watch my words. You know, going on about that tree like that, some people might think that I am a tree hugger! They might look for bark on my shirt, or green smears on my fingers. Perhaps they may think that this little tree is my way of getting close to my mother (nature). Some might even think that I am either very kinky, or perhaps I just don't have many "real" friends.
But I do have friends; some very special friends. I don't "luv" that tree, I love the One who made it. I don't "luv" my male friends, and I don't "luv" my female friends. I love the One who designed them and created them to be just the people that they are. If you don't love the One who breathed life into them, then you can't love your friends freely, in a way that respects them and gives them room to be who they are.
Funny, as I write this, I remember things that were said about those that love Christ: you love a dead man, your not man (or woman) enough to stand on your own, it's just a myth, you're a nut case.
Thanks for reminding me, M., not that I should watch my words, but for reminding me what real friends are. I'll take your friendship any day.

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

The Tree (continued)

OK, so you ask, what is so special about this tree? I mean it’s not that beautiful, a little scarred up, and it certainly doesn’t provide a lot of shade.

It is the lessons; life lessons. It has to do with people; how they grow and how we interact.

This tree was bought, as we were all bought. A price was paid for us as certainly as I paid for this tree. A fantastic price and we are given all we need to live.

This tree was slow growing. I could have become inpatient. I could have pulled it out and checked to see what was wrong with it, but I would have unwittingly killed it. “Unwittingly?” Everyone knows that if you disturb a plant by pulling it up you may kill it. True and did you know that if we keep judging the faith of young Christians, we may kill their spirit? Sometimes we just need faith in our Father to have His way, with the trees and with young Christians. There is some growth that we will never see. Only the Father, who knows all things, sees.

This tree had awkward branches. They looked unsightly, but I let them stay until the tree had grown past them and I was able to remove them without harming the tree. And young Christians may have “awkward” habits, but it is not up to older Christians to demand changes. They too will grow and those “awkward” habits will be removed by their elder Brother, and there will be no harm.

This tree had a deep scar. It had to be treated and protected. It took years for the healing. There are some young Christians who have deep scars, and some of them we will never fully understand, but they need our love. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, love bears all things (KJV); always protects (NIV) and this is where we apply that. We don’t need to know all of the facets of their scarring, but we need to protect them from further injury, and it can takes years of loving.

I enjoy this tree, but its life has been a struggle. I love young Christians, but their lives do not always go so smoothly. Thankfully, I don’t have to know all of the details, for I am free to just love . . . the way I am loved.

Sunday, 24 August 2008

The Tree

In my yard are several trees. Pine, three kinds of oaks, two kinds of maple, and a few other various kinds. I am glad for all of them for they bring enjoyment and they bring great lessons. I have seen trees that try to dominate other trees by spreading their branches over the smaller trees and blocking the sun from them, and I have seen trees that humbly wait and absorb reflected light.

One maple, although not particularly a beautiful tree, has revealed to me some special secrets to encouraging and helping others. This tree was bought and placed into a hole in the ground by my driveway. It was barely four feet tall. My feelings weren’t for what it was, but for what I hoped it would be. It had one branch that kind of turned down at an awkward angle, but I knew it would grow. But it was very slow to grow. The oak across from it also got a slow start, but then it just seemed to take off on its own.

Maples, at least my maples, are slow to shoot out the leaves in the spring, and then at the first signs of cooling temperatures in the fall they begin to change and then drop their leaves. That means that their growth season is a little shorter than other trees.

And then there was the winter that it was hit by a snow plow; scraped up the side of its trunk, a gaping wound. I had to spray the cut each spring for five or six years until it healed back. Bugs and bacteria just seem to love an open wound. Trunk wounds mean that there is a decrease in the amount of growth that is possible as well, but over the six years the tree continued in its slow growth and finally reached about eight feet in height. I trimmed the tree and even anchored it for a while to help it grow straight.

Now the tree is about fifteen feet tall and it is filling out rather nicely. It isn’t majestic like an oak, but it is doing its part to shade the yard. Some day it may be thirty or forty feet tall, but that will just be a part of the plan.

To be continued . . .

Monday, 14 July 2008

De-Sync!

Summertime! It was always a time to kick back and relax and just kind of let the world go by. I used to lay on my back in the grass and just watch the clouds moving. It was a time to get out of sync with the rest of the year.
Those times don't come the way they used to. The world just has a way of moving-in to every corner of our lives, usurping every calm moment, suddenly demanding action whenever peace seems to be approaching.
What is the news today? Don't you know! Where have you been? You don't like world news? What about Hollywood news? Maybe you like sports news! Whatever, it absorbs us, as we absorb it. Sometimes "it" is our work; a never ending line of requests, demands, and deadlines. So hard to break free.
It's time to De-Sync. Get into a different time zone; change the clock altogether! What, and watch the clouds go by? Yes, that is one thing that you could do.
I learned a lot under the clouds. There are great things going on around me that I never even see, because I am not looking up. As I look up, my mind becomes open to think with a new, enhanced perspective. I become aware of how small and insignificant I am in the universe. I have a need to understand the One who set all of these things in motion.
You may think it was just time wasted, but there are few things that I remember as clearly as those days as a child, watching the clouds float by.
Hint: Feel really small; lay back and look up at the stars!