Fixed in Change

The seasons are changing. I can see it in the changes of the soybean fields from their deep summer green to the almost sunflower yellow that is shown now. Soon, they will look like so many sticks lined up in the fields. The corn’s long leaves of green tapered points are drying into their russet gold. The squirrels seem to be extra busy gathering nuts for the winter, hauling them across the still summer warmed ground to whatever hiding hole they might be using. Somewhere north of here, the eagles are preparing their strength to fly south, marking their seasonal route down the Mississippi that will celebrate the arrival of winter here. Every evening, the constellation of Orion is becoming more and more visible in the sky, arriving earlier to admire as the Big Dipper slips past the horizon sooner.

It seems we all have our opinion on which season is the best. I love the cool crispness of fall and the beautiful colors it brings. Others favor the heat of the summer, the new greenness of spring, or the beautiful snows of winter. Regardless of the favoring of one season over another, they pass in succession. It does not merely remain fall because that is my favorite; just like the summer sun will continue to be farther from the earth, the land will continue to cool into winter. 

As I enjoy this particular season, it is a good reminder to me to seek out the beauty and good in each period of life. There are times of harvest, where what has been so carefully tended is now being enjoyed. There are times of want, when things are lean and difficult decisions are required. There are times when the world is cold. And there are times when you can share the warmth of love with the people around you, basking in the glow of their response. So many more seasons than four pass through our lives, more than the changing of the orbital position of earth. And yet, like the earth, I choose to remain fixed on my center axis, on the Son of God.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Letting Summer Dreams Launch

Walking to work, I have noticed the signs of summer starting. Bicycles, chalk drawings and bubble wands have replaced back packs and times tests for a few months; it is such fun seeing these imaginations set loose. Great empty sidewalk canvases stretch out, ready to be decorated. I hear children calling to each other as they pass by on their way to great adventures in local neighborhoods. A little imagination and a yard or two can turn into great quests, journeys to find hidden treasures and then come home to eat a popsicle or two.

I may just need to go find my own sidewalk chalk and see what imagination can bring forth. 

Summer Flavors – a New Venture in Gardening

I have had a garden before, a spot to raise zucchini and a few tomatoes. This year, my garden dreams were bitten by the spring bug when the Midwestern winter was still deep in snow, expanding the list of plants to include black beans, corn and potatoes. Spring came and plants that had been started and were growing on make-shift tables by windows or were still stored in carefully selected seed packets made it into the back of the car in boxes, traveling with the needed tools to the garden. It was time to plant! A few months later, and voila, plants are growing and there are things ready to be harvested!

Armed with Bug Soother and my hat, I wade into the green beans and breathe their smell deeply. The corn stalks bend and make a whispering sound. I have a conversation with the Gray catbird as it is sitting on the water container and watching me with curiosity. The bird sings and I join in, we sing together - celebrating the feel of the sun and praising the Son.

The grocery sacks fill with the harvest of the week. I am so excited to get home to break the beans and put them away for winter. The colors, smells, and textures – not to mention of courses tastes, are a joyful part of the experience. I do my homework, finding out how to know when onions are ready to be dug up, or when popcorn should be harvested. The feel of the warm dirt and being able to eat, share, and stock the freezer with fresh produce is a wonderful summer thing.

I look forward to the time in winter when I can pull out a bag of fresh green beans and put them on the stove to cook. The smells of summer will come back, drifting through the house, bringing summer’s flavors during wintry days. Toss a few seeds in, try a new recipe and pause to enjoy the flavors of summer. 

 Fresh Pico de Gallo

Pull out a good knife, cutting board, and bowl.  Chop up the ingredients on the list below and mix well. 

• 2 jalapeno peppers, seed and dice  *if you have a cut on your fingers, consider wearing gloves or this will make your hands feel like they are on fire!
• 1 onion (I used a purple onion for its sweet flavor)
• 4 tomatoes dice
• 3 garlic cloves finally diced

Mix everything well.  Slice 1 lime in half and juice.  Add to the mix, straining out any pulp.  Put in an airtight container and let it sit over night.  Enjoy chips or with meals, I particularly love it with a summer salad and a dab of Greek yogurt. Will last about a week. 

Cultivating Joy

On my way into work, I noticed a church had updated their sign.  It cheerfully read, “Enjoy the blessings of summer!”  That thought stayed with me as I continued on my way into work, and I started to count up blessings of summer and the seasons beyond.  I thought about the seasons themselves and the blessings that they hold; the four seasons recognized in our year and the many throughout our lives.

“Enjoy the blessings,” I cannot stop my thoughts from jumping from blessings to joy.  This is joy that goes over and above my own understanding of blessings.  The joy of the Lord, a blessing of fruit that nourishes and sustains when there are difficult times, that is something to be recognized and cultivated!  I thought that Psalm 30 caught this so well, a joy that permeates the seasons.    The words capture the seasons of life, feeling secure, feeling the need of mercy and throughout there is joy. 

This is not a vapid joy, washed out with the fatigues and difficulties of life.  It is a vibrant joy, warming and bright like the sun.  I seek to cultivate this as a strengthening force in my life, bringing God’s joy into my life. Cultivate joy as someone cultivates their garden - with hard work, persistent effort and hope. 

A few of the things that I see joy in...

the voice of a child singing worship songs  - the sound of a friend’s laughter - butterflies on brightly colored zinnias - a hug when it’s needed most - the sustenance of prayer - rainbows from rainstorms -starry skies so clear that you see the spill of the milk in the Milk Way - wild horses with bright eyes and swift feet  - the constancy of God - sweet fuzzy puppies that cuddle close at night - words of truth and kindness - the strength of gentleness - God’s words that give life - the smell of pine needles around the base of the tree after a rain - splashing in puddles - cold and sticky summer popsicles - the warble of the house wren - loving moments of a family, through good and bad times - the feel of a baby’s hand wrapping around my finger - being able to work hard and feeling the reward of a job well done - the pleasure of serving someone else - the excitement in grasping something new about God - reliance upon Jesus - grace

 

Cultivating joy is done through the ups and downs, happy and sad times, helping me grow in my faith and share the Lord’s joy with others.  It is a habit that sees me through unexpected difficulties, and makes good times even better.  It is a habit that I ask God to continue to strengthen in me. It is a habit worth cultivating.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.  Lord my God, I will praise you forever.”

Psalm 30:11-12

Summer Saturday Mornings

I’m not a morning person, really, at all. Bring on the coffee! And yet, most ideal Saturday morning sleeping in times, I am awake and up.  First I enjoy quiet time in the yard with the mandatory coffee cup in hand, and then I head to the garden for some time of weeding and harvesting. 

This last Saturday was no exception.  The beautiful lily blooms welcomed the day with their bright colors.  Industrious butterflies fluttered on the wind like yellow and white wisps. The garden was equally welcoming, the coffee is now in a to-go mug, and I enjoyed the sound of the bees flying from corn tassels to squash flowers to bean flowers.  My hands became dirty, little scratches appear on my arms from moving aside squash leaves, and great excitement builds at finding green beans ready to be picked and bring home.  A few hours later, after removing the pounds of dirt I have picked up from “playing” in the garden, I am ready to really start my weekend. 

Though coffee remains a common factor throughout, it is the quiet time that refreshes my spirit at the start of the weekend.  It is time away from excess noise and wonderful distractions to listen quietly for God’s voice.  The words of the song, Great is Thy Faithfulness, fill my heart.  “‘Great is Thy faithfulness,’ O God my Father,’” sweet words in all seasons and times of day; even in the morning with a cup of coffee in my hand.

Buckets of Refreshing

Overall, this summer has been extremely pleasant for someone who is not a fan of high heat.  Cool days and cooler nights have come to a temporary end as the heat arrived and seems to want to stay.  My plants that seemed refreshed and able to handle the heat this morning were bowed down and droopy by this afternoon.  The soil seemed as if the moisture was evaporated out at such a rate that what was okay this morning was completely dry by evening.  Grabbing the bucket and filling it up multiple times from the garden hose, plants were watered slowly.  Too fast and the water just rolls off.  Slowly, repetitively, water needs to be added, allowing it to sink in.  One time watered, two time watered, and slowly I watched the water sink in.  After an evening and night to soak in the new water, tomorrow the plants will be recharged.  Of course, that is water for one day.  Tomorrow evening, in this heat, water will also be needed again.

I feel like these plants sometimes.  The heat of a busy day arrives and what started out as refreshed ends as drooped and bowed to the sun.  I can feel dried out, over extended and badly in need of refreshing.  In fact, I’ve been feeling that way in the last few months off and on.  Wonderful opportunities to be involved in so many different projects and activities, doing great things to serve – things I want to do.  But, without refreshing I will be as dry as that dirt.  Yet, I have noticed that as refreshing comes from the Lord, and it does come, it comes like the water from the bucket – a little at a time.  It came in watching fawns for some time this afternoon.  It came from an unexpected encounter waving to a friend during an afternoon.  It came from seeing a shooting star, a hummingbird, and a friend’s smile.  A child’s exuberant and unencumbered praise of Christ, the time in prayer, and the words of the Bible all come like cool water and refresh my spirit. 

Yes, I do bow with the heat and the dryness that life can bring, just with the schedule of things I love to do.  And yet, I am continuing to find each day, buckets slowly added to bring refreshing.  

WIP

WIP - a common abbreviation for Work In Progress.

This has been a summer of projects, many involving paint, sand paper and endless possibilities. I have taken over a spot of the garage, where a plank balanced over the rims of the wheelbarrow has made an excellent impromptu holder of paint and other fun tools.

Coming in to clean up after “playing” with a combination of paints on my hands and dust on my feet (projects that occur while barefoot are just so much better); I am excited by seeing ideas take shape. Sometimes, they turned out better than I imagined. At other times, the results were just okay or not quite as expected. That is the fun of and the challenge of WIP. The expected result may not necessarily occur, but the shaping of an idea into a newly finished project, while overcoming challenges and using creative imaginings throughout is great.

This idea struck me in a new way the other day as I looked at my hands, holding a paint brushed and covered in a combination of blue and brown paint flecks. I am also a WIP! I am not even close to declaring myself as a finished product that has met my end goals. Instead, I am in the process of a project shaped over a lifetime. And, not only does this include me, but those around me as well. We are not finished projects, ready for display. But, works in progress, in action, and in practice. The possibilities are indeed endless! I encourage you as a fellow WIP to go, learn, try and create.

Perspectives from Marigolds

Just spent a few minutes dead-heading the marigolds in the yard.  Of all the summer flowers, that is one of my favorites with their little sun spots of color and powerful perfume that the bees and birds love. 

To give the coming and current blooms the most energy from the plant, the dying blooms can be removed in a process called dead-heading.  Just snip the bloom off with your fingers.  I go out and do that every week or so, and that is when you will find my pockets full of marigold flowers as I head back in the house to store my treasure through the rest of the year and into the next spring.  I break up the heads so that the seeds can dry out and be stored.  Then, after the most recent batch has dried, it takes its place in a glass jar to be held until the new spring comes.

Seeing these summer blooms drying up can be kind of a sad thought.  It is a reminder of the opening and closing of life chapters in general.  But, as I look at the pile of seeds ready to dry and be stored, I can’t help but think of the perspective lesson marigolds share.  Life does present us with opening and closings, starts and finishes.  The starts and finishes can be nerve-wracking, happy, grief filled, and joyous.  Needless to say, I can go in fits and starts with openings and closings that do not regularly occur in an all smooth fashion.  New things can make me nervous, even when I’m excited about them.  And, some things I am very glad to see go, while others I miss very much. 

But, marigolds remind me of how these chapter lessons are kind of like these seeds.   The lessons can be dried out and stored for later.  Carefully preserved to be re-planted later, as life seasons change, lessons will come in handy again.  Planted in the next season, they not only re-grow from the seed of that original plant, but produces new seeds as well.  Each season of planting and building, all from one dried up flower head holding marigold seeds.    

Witness to Love in Action

I have been witness these last few weeks to wonderful examples of love in action.  By this, I mean someone taking an action to care for someone else, not for self-gain, but to help someone else gain.  In a time when it is much too easy to hear the news of crimes, agonies, collapsed dreams, wars being waged, and chaos; it is easy to wonder if any act of love by one person can make a difference today.

With that in mind, I wanted to encourage you the way I have been encouraged.  Last week I had the exhausting pleasure of helping at my church’s children’s camp (akin to a VBS).  My opportunity to serve was with the workers’ children who are too young to participate in camp.  There were many hands that went into making this week long camp function, and many chances to witness love in action.  Let me give a few examples… 

Everyone was hungry for snacks or a quick meal by the time the evening camp is about half over.  Each group of kids and leaders are so happy to see a cooler coming loaded with goodies and cold water.  The preparation of the coolers is love in action, taking time and work to plan, prepare, distribute everything, and clean up for the next day.  Food was served, but so was love.

Teenagers serve as big helps during the week, taking on everything from being gophers, extra hands during craft and game times, to members of the worship team.  Not only did I witness these individuals jump in to help, but also do so in such a way that made them examples to point children to, serving with cheerfulness.

“Jesus loves” is one of the games played by the children, as they would roll a ball to each other saying, “Jesus loves…” and then filled in the blank with the name.  Of course there was the glee over getting the ball.  But, there was also each little child trying to decide which friend to send the ball over with the announcement that Jesus loves them.  And, the receiver of the ball would just beam before starting the process again. 

There were many examples, and these comprise just a few, where small acts of love can be impactful in the lives of others.  Children were cared for, adults were encouraged, and a remarkable amount of love was poured into lives with prayers that it spills over in many ways and that these children will have a relationship with Christ – our ultimate source of love.

Keep an eye out – you never know when you might see love in action.

Spring is Coming

   It is unmistakable, the first signs of spring are being shown. I love snow, but it is good to feel the sun and it’s warmth. Soon, the flowers will be blooming and the air will be full of their smell.

   Each season is so different. I love the feel of fresh snow, powdery and deep. I like to really dress in all the snow gear and then head out at night with the dogs. Just sinking down into it, leaning back and watching the stars. It’s beautiful; the intense quiet, and the brightness of the sun on the snow.
   Spring comes in with a passion of storms and a swirl of bright colors. The air itself changes it’s fragrance and becomes full of the smell of earth. The ground soaks in the moisture and the green starts returning to the yard. Tree buds are just a moment away. I know that they open secretly, because I go to bed one night and they are buds. The next morning, there are tiny leaves.
   Summer comes with its heat and the smell of sun block. Summer vacations are planned and the anticipation that has lasted all winter and spring now comes to fruition. The earth is warm under my feet, and I begrudge my time in shoes. Summer rains are something to walk in, to sit on the front porches with porch swings, and enjoy the sound of the rain.
   Fall, every fall I think it’s my favorite. The color, the smell, the “lullaby of the leaves”. Red, yellow, and orange colors are painted onto the leaves by the Great Painter and the world takes on a new due of color. The yellow leaves are my favorite, it seems like sunshine on the top and on the bottom.
  So, I’m saying good-bye to winter and hello to spring. Especially since I have seen a robin and a bug in the yard! It’s a sure sign.

Seasons and Roadmaps II

   The fall wind has been blustery these past few days. The leaves are being blown off the most stalwart of fall leaved trees and creating a staccato dance across the driveway. The windows have creaked and the door shifted in its frame as the air has moved so powerfully. As the temperatures fall below freezing, it is quite evident that fall is in full swing and winter will be arriving soon. There are many here who do not care for the snow and the cold winds of winter, many who would prefer warmer and balmier temperatures.

   But, just consider for a moment a different view, that of a macro-economist. That view would say that the snow and cold temperatures are valuable because it kills of germs in the soil. We have more productive growing seasons than those around the equator because of that cold.
   So, with that in mind, we have seasons in life as well. There are days when things are balmy and warm. The sun just feels perfect and a light breeze is keeping the temperature nice. These are the days when everything is going well, life is a smile. We have summer.
   There are times when the world changes color, we feel a little dryer, a bit shriveled inside and watch as the color we normally don’t present to the world becomes first and foremost. We find ourselves losing our leaves, bare before the world. We have fall.
   There are times when the snow falls, and though it is beautiful, it is also bitter cold and austere. The silence is loud, and our ears hear everything move. We long for the warmth of a friendly comfort, a soft blanket, a roaring fire, or a comfortable sweater. We have winter.
   There are times when everything seems to be growing and moving. We may be experiencing growing pains, but we are seeing results. It takes work and time, effort and sweat equity, but the reward is visible and wonderful to see. We have spring.
   We have all of these seasons in our lives, many times over. But, the beauty is that there is more than one, and we will move through them to provide growth. Remember the economist, the soil is better for the freeze of the winter, the heat of the summer, the cool rains of fall, and the warming sunshine of spring. We are also often better for the hardships, the trials, and the rests of warmth.

Summertime

Summer – the word evokes a flurry of responses in me. I live near an elementary school, and notice that for the children making their way back and forth, they seem to have picked up a new spring in their steps. Summer is freedom; freedom from school and homework, to have time to sleep in or get up way to early and play outside until way too late. Summer time and the living is easy.... the words from George Gershwin float on the too still warm air as I seek out the comfort of shade. Lightning bugs and the sounds of night cricket sonnets fill the air as much as the light from the stars and moon. The sounds of leaves in the wind, they strike me as if they actually are laughing with the pure delight of receiving a cooler breeze than those of us with two feet stuck firmly on the earth. Summer is sun dresses and sandals, sheer silky scarves wrapped around your neck and lawn chairs. Summer is the splash of the garden hose and the smell of fresh sun warmed strawberries. Summer is the bliss of walking into the air conditioning and being able to snuggle under a quilt rather than sweating buckets on top of all sheets while fans are running. Summer is baby birds that don’t fly very well yet, are slightly mottled and now stand next to their momma’s while waiting to be fed rather than waiting in the nest. Summer is the sound of the riverboat horns as they approach each other.

I have a lot of really wonderful summer memories. I have played in sprinklers, mud, and trees. I remember making up plays with neighborhood compatriots who apparently either was willing to share the flare for the story telling or just did what the bossy neighbor girl told them. A white long haired dog named Bo Bo used to stand on our picnic table, and wait for us to come and pet him. He appreciated the attention as one of those good neighborhood dogs. He did not appreciate it when my mother tried to use some flea killer on him. With hurt feelings, he did not come back for a week. I remember summer vacations, especially ones in the back of a big green van. It had a bed in the back and I loved lying on that bed, and having it completely covered with whatever project I was working on at the time. I would let myself roll from side to side as we went around corners and watch other drivers out of the back windows. I remember many summers of band and sweating on the side of a football field. It seemed a great accomplishment to learn a few new steps, a few new notes, which we knew would be needed come fall and competitions. The accomplishment seemed worth the sacrifice of our summer hours, our sweat, blood, and yes – tears. I remember trips to stay with my grandparents. Swimming at the campground with one and all sorts of messy projects with another.
I look at this summer and as it is my first one without either being in school, preparing for school, or completely burned out from school, and I wonder what I should do with myself this summer. There is work of course. But, that is to support life, not life itself. What should I do? Read a few new books? Of course! Three are on order, two Geoffrey of Monmouth books and one biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I have considered lying down on the driveway at night while the pavement is still warm, but figure the neighbors would all think I had gone completely buggy. Oh well, I may do that anyway. There are flowers to picked, pictures to be taken, birds to listen to. Trips to plan, friends to visit, and time to enjoy the antics of the dogs. There is my Bible to read, my time in prayer, and Character Camp at church (like a VBS). This summer is unique. It will never come again. I feel that I need to dig down deep and plant something here that is memorable, that will be recalled someday like my grandmother’s snowball bushes. A lasting memory that comes back to life with a fragrance or sight.