Today is Tom's birthday. Thanks to so many for bountiful birthday wishes.
I feel very blessed that God gave this man to me as my husband. We recently celebrated 13 years of marriage. Our marriage is not perfect, but I am thankful that it hasn't been too hard. Tom is an easy person to get along with! He has taught me a lot of patience and forgiveness when I have been slow to learn.
Today is also a little bittersweet. In 2001, we lost our first baby due to an ectopic pregnancy. His/her due date was the same day as Tom's birthday, August 26. I sometimes wonder what he/she would have been like, looked like, etc. At the same time, I am so grateful that God gave us 3 healthy girls after that. One thing I do think of is that if that baby was a boy, and if he was anything like his dad, he would have been a blessing to me, just as Tom is.
I thank God for the gift of birthdays today, for life, and for my husband. God is good to me!
August 23, 2011
Gardening
I once asked our gardener, Don Alvaro, "Do you ever get tired of cutting the same grass and weeding the same flower beds? Is it frustrating to get everything looking tidy, and then to see it grow so you have to trim it all again the next week?"
He answered me by saying more or less, "It's a sign that everything is doing well."
I thought of the parallel to the vine and the branches in John 14. Jesus says, "every branch that does bear fruit he [the Father] prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (v.2)
So, it pleases the gardener to see things grow! And, it pleases God to see us grow. The more we grow, the better! And in order to grow even more, and bear more fruit, we need to be pruned. Ouch. Then yummy.
It is also true that if the garden is healthy, everything grows, including the weeds. It's a sign of good soil. It is the same with us. The more we grow and flourish, the more competition we have from weeds. They are those ugly things that compete for our allegiance and our energies. The more we grow spiritually, the more the devil has to fight for our attention. Often the closer we get to Christ, the more we see our need for Him. His light shines into our dark corners (ie. on our weeds) and we need to clean them up.
Often now when I take my walks around our campus, I remember the value in growth. At times the property looks a bit unkempt, but just like my life, when the gardener finishes his work at the end of the day, it all looks a lot tidier, and it has the power, through his pruning and trimming, to grow even stronger, greener, and more fruitful.
So, our math (I mean, Bible) lesson is:
A wise gardener + a regular pruning = much fruit
He answered me by saying more or less, "It's a sign that everything is doing well."
I thought of the parallel to the vine and the branches in John 14. Jesus says, "every branch that does bear fruit he [the Father] prunes so that it will be even more fruitful" (v.2)
So, it pleases the gardener to see things grow! And, it pleases God to see us grow. The more we grow, the better! And in order to grow even more, and bear more fruit, we need to be pruned. Ouch. Then yummy.
It is also true that if the garden is healthy, everything grows, including the weeds. It's a sign of good soil. It is the same with us. The more we grow and flourish, the more competition we have from weeds. They are those ugly things that compete for our allegiance and our energies. The more we grow spiritually, the more the devil has to fight for our attention. Often the closer we get to Christ, the more we see our need for Him. His light shines into our dark corners (ie. on our weeds) and we need to clean them up.
Often now when I take my walks around our campus, I remember the value in growth. At times the property looks a bit unkempt, but just like my life, when the gardener finishes his work at the end of the day, it all looks a lot tidier, and it has the power, through his pruning and trimming, to grow even stronger, greener, and more fruitful.
So, our math (I mean, Bible) lesson is:
A wise gardener + a regular pruning = much fruit
August 9, 2011
Berry Picking
During our holiday in British Columbia in July, we were able to go to a U-Pick farm and pick berries. Strawberry season was finished, and blueberry picking would be in another week. So, we picked raspberries.
I have good memories as a young girl of going to a friend's farm in central Saskatchewan where they had two LOOONG rows of raspberries. We would go out and pick and eat as many berries as we wanted - and fresh rhubarb also!
It was fun to take the girls and have them experience something that I did as a child. They really enjoyed the experience, eating many, many berries along the way. We picked 5 buckets full!
As we walked down the rows I started to realize that the best berries were down below eyesight, hidden within the bushes. If I got on my knees and looked up under the leaves, I could find them, often in big bunches. They were the biggest and plumpest!
Of course there is a parallel to the Christian life, as with many things in nature.
We also grow the best when hidden from view, staying firmly planted near the roots. Free from trying to prove ourselves as "the best" for all to see, yet maintaining a secret and consistent connection with our Father, allows us to receive our sustenance from the vine, not from the praise of others. We don't burn out by trying to please everyone, but in the shadows of God's wings (or leaves) we can grow to maturity. We are not plucked for service before we are ready.
I was so grateful to God for revealing this life lesson to me through the humble raspberry. I thank Him for always teaching me new things about a life lived in Him.
I have good memories as a young girl of going to a friend's farm in central Saskatchewan where they had two LOOONG rows of raspberries. We would go out and pick and eat as many berries as we wanted - and fresh rhubarb also!
It was fun to take the girls and have them experience something that I did as a child. They really enjoyed the experience, eating many, many berries along the way. We picked 5 buckets full!
As we walked down the rows I started to realize that the best berries were down below eyesight, hidden within the bushes. If I got on my knees and looked up under the leaves, I could find them, often in big bunches. They were the biggest and plumpest!
Of course there is a parallel to the Christian life, as with many things in nature.
We also grow the best when hidden from view, staying firmly planted near the roots. Free from trying to prove ourselves as "the best" for all to see, yet maintaining a secret and consistent connection with our Father, allows us to receive our sustenance from the vine, not from the praise of others. We don't burn out by trying to please everyone, but in the shadows of God's wings (or leaves) we can grow to maturity. We are not plucked for service before we are ready.
I was so grateful to God for revealing this life lesson to me through the humble raspberry. I thank Him for always teaching me new things about a life lived in Him.
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