Dear God,
It has been a long, stressful week but it’s almost over. I thank You for giving me the grace and strength to not resort to tantrums several times this week. That’s so unlike me, but very much like You. On behalf of my entire family, I thank You.
In the spirit of Philippians 4:8, I spent some time outside.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
It is a beautiful afternoon. The sky is a very clear, deep blue. The tall pink wildflowers by the wood fence are swaying gently, though the wind is blowing quite hard for summer. The tops of the trees are evidence of that! Wow, look at them blow!
The temperature is in the low 80s. The wind makes the outdoors a pleasant place to be. Except for the green leaves still attached to the trees, it feels very much like fall. It feels like it’s about time to head to the farm for some cider and a mountain of apples. It feels like a should have a headache. Thank You that I don’t!
The rustling leaves in the maples sound very much like the waves on the shore of Lake Michigan in the springtime, drowning out most other sounds. Up in the pine trees, the cicadas are making their noises and a squirrel and a sparrow seem to be having a disagreement about who belongs where.
Ah! A hummingbird has just stopped by to see if there’s anything left for him in the few remaining clusters of blossoms on the trumpet vine. I think the many bees must have hogged most of it because he didn’t stay long. I am glad to have seen him. Mrs. Widowneighbor sees them more often than I do but this is the first hummer I’ve seen here in quite some time. What a treat! Thank You, Lord!
Noah plops onto the thick, lush grass, the grass that wasn’t there a year ago, and rolls over pleasurably, sniffing the air for signs of entertainment. Satisfied that there is none, he nuzzles his head into the tall grass as though it’s a pillow. Thank You, God, for grass instead of mud, and for Fat Dog, the greatest dog alive.
A sparrow or a finch has found its way into the trumpet vine, which seems a bit more like a hedge than a vine. The only evidence of the bird is the movement of an area of the vine that is not uniform with the way the wind is blowing the rest of it. Other than that, if he is still and if he hadn’t flown past my head en route to the hedge, I wouldn’t know he was there.
The smell in the air reminds me of the smell of walking home from the bus stop as a kid. Sun drenched grass and leaves have a fragrance all their own. And they don’t smell anything like the inside of a classroom!
It was with some reluctance that I headed back into the house. It has been such a hectic week and it seems like many little things and some big have gone wrong this week, but I am so thankful for the evidence of Your sovereign hand in it all. I am thankful that the same hand that created the birds, bugs, squirrels and trees that I observed in those few short minutes also created me, cares about me and is in control of everything. Thank You, God, for sending Jesus so that I can have peace and not worry about what the future holds because it is in Your hands.
Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
