Fading

Today I went out to water my flowers.

Maybe it was the cooler temperature that prompted me to notice

they're starting to fade.

That's just the way it goes.

So, I decided to take some inside and really savor them today.

It was a day for looking and appreciating up close

what I know will be gone tomorrow,

and turning that appreciation to worshiping the Giver of every good gift.

I know a few people who are in the middle of major medical challenges right now,
whose faith is being tested.  They have to decide moment by moment
to focus on what they can see, or trust in God, who they can't see.
So this morning as I examined what I can't normally see, I prayed for them.

Right there in the middle of the zinnias.

I asked God to give them healing and wholeness.
Remember how Jesus would never stop at healing the physical, but also address the heart?
So often we are hurt when God allows us to endure unexplainable trials.
He doesn't stop at healing the medical hurts.

I love the little crowns in the centers of the zinnias.  They're so regal.

But they remind me of the crown of thorns Jesus wore for us, too.  He identifies with our agony.

And that was my little photography/worship retreat today.