Perpetual Spring

As the daffodils fade, the tulips burst open with their vibrant colors.  By the time they are pale and tattered by April winds, irises spread their orchid throats to the bees.  Lilies rise to spread their pollen over daisies and lupines.  They drop their petals as black-eyed Susans follow the sun at its zenith.  Step by step my gardens tell their tale of summer – and of our lives.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.  As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.  Psalm 103:13-16

After visiting with our children and grandchildren, I realize that families follow that same procession of life.  As our generation fades and loses energy, the next generation comes to full bloom lifting up the next beautiful “bloomers” to replace them in due time.

What a joy it is to see our not-so-little boys with their own little ones.  I rejoice knowing our family memories will live beyond us through generation after generation.  Some will be born with a love of gardening.  Others will bake or cook with a passion.  There will be readers and writers and painters.  My straight hair will plague some future great, great granddaughter who needs braces on her teeth!

I was very close to my Grandma and Pap-pap, so I treasure all my memories of them.  Those memories seem to grow clearer to me the older I get.  Because of God’s blessing in my life, I’m able to build memories for grandchildren to treasure long after I am gone.  Of course, I will be gone someday as Moses wrote in the one Psalm attributed to him:

You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning— though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.  Psalm 90:5-6

As I watch the seasons change my garden, the urgency of my limited life span is brought home.  May we all echo the Psalmist’s prayer:

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12

Love as always,  Elaine (deadheading in the garden)

Are You Really Hungry?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

 

In a trip to an Ohio camp meeting, Rich and I had opportunity to stop by one of our favorite state parks at Pymatuning, PA.  This area was the scene of many family camping trips and is filled with fond memories.  We visited the Espyville spillway and bought stale bread to feed to the fish.  If you visit the park, don’t miss this local wonder.

The spillway teems with fish waiting for tourists to throw bread down to them.  Ducks and seagulls float as close as they dare, hoping for handouts.  When bread hits the water, a feeding frenzy breaks out.  Ducks even dance precariously on the backs of the huge carp in order to snatch any stray crumbs.  Imagine being so hungry that you would trample on others to get just a bite of bread!

Wouldn’t it be great if we were that hungry for the Word of God?  To keep watch, eagerly awaiting Bible study and prayer time?  In Psalm 63:1, David writes of his longing for God while running from Saul in the wilderness:

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Psalm 63:1

Now that’s a real hunger!  In his time of exile, David longed to be among the worshippers before the tabernacle in Jerusalem.  How blessed we are to live under the new covenant.  We have the completed Word of God right in our hands!  There are so many in the world still yearning for the Bread and Water that satisfies.  I’ve seen photos of crowds of people reaching up to a missionary handing out Bibles from the back of a truck.  Thanks be to God that the salvation He offers cuts across all cultural and language barriers:

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”  John 6:35

Although you may not know it, there are many around you who are thirsting for that which eternally satisfies.  May you slake your thirst in God’s Word daily in order to share it with others.

Love as always,  Elaine (feasting on the Word)