Lessons from my garden: Growth

What do you see in this photo? I see a fabulous Mother's Day present. It took me a couple of years in this house before I realized that my crab apple tree was near full bloom every year on Mother's Day. We actually have four of them, but the one in front is by far the biggest, and I can hardly get enough of it in the short time it's blooming. It's a nice enough tree anytime, but for about a week each spring, it is GLORIOUS!!

I'm thankful for the eternal God who has been around long enough to see the big picture. He sees us and our circumstances from the perspective of completion. I'm so glad that where I see my own immaturities, he knows his plans to nurture and enable me to grow. "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Lessons from my garden: Hope

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:1-6

This is one of my favorite weeks of the year. This past weekend there was little or no sign of life on the trees. Now some of them have little tufts of leaves, and others are filling in. By this coming weekend there will be color everywhere. Each day brings major change. I love how the brown gives way to a faint green, which brightens and fills in, and then gradually mellows into the deep, cool shades of summer.

Every year at this time, I find myself thinking of hope. Those lifeless branches of winter have actually been nourishing the life that would erupt at just the right time into the beauty of spring. They always do. While God's love is unchanging, he created seasons for us to remind us that after winter comes spring. Our lives are ever-changing, but even suffering leads to hope.

Transformed!

I love Easter. I love how Easter morning changes everything. Jesus said, "It is finished" on the cross. But it wasn't until Sunday that there was proof positive for his weary and confused followers.

We had fun celebrating this year. The kids really took it all in. From the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, to the somber Passover meal on Maundy Thursday, to resurrection morning. We used a book entitled "Benjamin's Box" to trace the path of Jesus's last week through the eyes of a child, and gathered artifacts for a box of our own along the way. And of course we decorated Easter eggs. The delight on Ben and Bethany's faces as they crafted their masterpieces reminds me of the delight our Savior takes in transforming us. Our Redeemer lives!

Murphy's Law of Cleanup Time

I don't know why it always amazes me. It happens over and over again. When I tell my kids they need to clean up, they get the biggest creative streak. (Hmmm...where do they get that?) Today when I issued the decree, they headed straight for Bethany's room, started taking out the dressup clothes, and voila! Instant stuffed fairytale. They even started writing the story to go with it. Then we had to take a lunch break, and Ben's friend Andrew showed up at the door. I told Ben Andrew could come in, but they needed to work on his room before they started playing. Luckily Andrew likes to clean. I haven't looked under the bed yet. Well, I better go...there's some cleaning I need to do. :-)