September 2010
The Changing Seasons
The seasons will change. Spring buds will turn to summer blooms, then fall colours and winter sleep. Warm breezes will turn to humid heat, then chilly frost and cold freeze.
There is no stopping the turning of the clock, the shift in weather patterns, the changing of the seasons. It is inevitable. And it is good.
Our children will grow up, they will get taller, smarter and more independent. They will become more confident of themselves and their futures. They will look more and more like the people they were meant to be. This is our hope.
As they grow, we grow. As they change, we change. Our lives are entwined, we will always be part of each other.
There is a strong constant through all the seasons of life—our Heavenly Father. He set the seasons into motion and He saw each one unfold in its time.
"Where Are You?"
She walked. Every day, and sometimes twice, she would saunter through the woods and across the fields, drinking in the presence of nature she felt all around her. She held a bouquet of wildflowers in her hand and swayed them at the beckoning of the wind.
These moments, alone with God, sustained her throughout the endless trials of her days. She felt lonely, but knew she was never really alone. She felt sad, but knew there lived inside of her an everlasting supply of joy. If she could only reach it. How does she reach it?
What stands in the way of her grabbing onto the happiness she knows would follow if only she’d trust? It is many things. It is free will, fear, memories, comfort in the constancy, looming rejection, and confusion. It is uncertainty and a self-consciousness that she’s not sure originated with her.
Communication
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son . ." Hebrews 1: 1-2a (NIV)
I write a weekly column for my hometown newspaper. I only get 300 words. I have to be concise, centered in thought, and creative. I attempt to be provocative, challenging, and sometimes amusing. I'm a wordy person!
I have a friend who is a walker. She is capable of walking away from depressing things. I, like King David, ruminate over things and end up crying, "Why is my soul so downcast?" Like David, I write and I end up seeing the majesty of God as He reveals the answers to my prayers.
I admire my friend. She is capable of leaving the words to God and she goes out into the fresh air and gets healthy exercise.
We each communicate in our way . . . and look to God for the answers.
A Love Letter
"I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life."I John 5:13
Raymond was badly injured when a 100 pound bag of sugar fell on his leg at his place of employment. It was 1930. The Ontario government had just passed legislation the previous year and so the Workman's Compensation Board Act was in place. Raymond was sent to a Toronto hospital . . . a long way from home. One day he wrote a letter to his wife, Edna. In it he expressed his love for her and their five children. He was sorry, he wrote, that Christmas would be sad for everyone. He expressed his longing to be home with them.
Two days later he died.
In 1975, I was visiting my grandmother. She needed an afternoon nap so I suggested she lie down. Grandmother reached over and opened the top drawer of her night stand. She handed me a yellowish envelope and I pulled out a folded letter. It read began: "Dear Edna, I love you."
