Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin yet Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.So said Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, as he spoke about anxiety.
Last week was crazy busy, the unpredictable reality of ministry. Early in the week there was a funeral, then visits to two hospitals, one to see the patient in the psych ward and the other with a man who was dying. So there was a second funeral, and an additional service at the nearby senior's community, and meetings, meetings, meetings. After worship yesterday I was inclined to crash, but we decided to go for a walk at Long Sault Conservation area instead. Sometimes the hardest part of a walk on an iffy day is getting out the door.
We wore the right gear and went to see the trilliums which come and go so quickly. Of course the various signs of Spring, including several colts on a farm close to the road, lifted our spirits. The natural world convinces me that God is good even in the midst of sadness and the pressures of work.
Do you share that experience? What signs are you seeing amidst the raindrops. Hey, our two rainbarrels are full!
Nancy and I had our 'trillium therapy' on Friday on Murphy Road not to far from Long Sault. The songbirds and the red and white trilliums on Murphy Road were a visible vision! The other spring delights that touch me include: the birds zipping and singing, the tulip and magnolia trees blooming, the greening of all the trees, the waving colorful banners of tulips and pansies, the smell of freshly mown grass, mucking and digging in the flowerbeds and potting up flowering and eating plants, the first taste of the season - rhubarb and aparagus, and the longer days. Joy for all senses - did I miss any? :)
ReplyDeleteEven our own neighbourhood these days slows me down to observe spring's glory. The blossoms are magnificent and the grass greener than green. I do find comfort in the changing seasons.
ReplyDeleteI received two rain barrels for Mother's Day, alas not to be delivered til the end of the month though (ordered through a charitable fundraiser)...an ark might be more in order this week, given the forecast.
On my ride to work every day I take a country road, last week the joy of seeing the trilliums in the woods was a true sign of spring! Every day there is something more to look at.
ReplyDeleteWe spent much of the day yesterday (rainy, cool day) watching the many birds at our feeder, watching them build nests and mate, all signs that life is all around us.
We too just purchased a rain barrel to arrive the end of the month. Too bad we can't ship the water west to Slave Lake where the forest fires are...
Fire and water, both so awesome and yet both so destructive!
Thanks for these responses. Lovely all.
ReplyDeleteI will have to find Murphy Road.
Speaking of roads, your comments, Nancy, remind us to be aware of the beauty around us, even during the commute to work.
Well done, Nancy and Laura, with the rain barrels, although it seems that all the world is a rain barrel at the moment.
It is ironic and so sad that a community has been ravaged by fire in these rainy times.