Trillium flexipes |
Toadshade Trillium |
Trillium flexipes |
Toadshade Trillium |
Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as
crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the
middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the
tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No
longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be
in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his
face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more
night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for
the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Behold the beauty.
Have you ever seen something so breathtaking you can’t look
away?
On our walk, through Sycamore Park, the Virginia bluebells
are in full bloom. A day after the solar eclipse, we trekked along the paved
trail where there are signs to stay on the path and not walk in the wooded area.
The park personnel are working to restore the flora and fauna. This particular
day, the sky clouded and light rain fell. In that lighting, the blue of the
bluebells shone in gorgeous contrast to the spring green.
All along the path, I couldn’t stop looking at the beautiful
shade of blue that blanketed many areas in the woods. You just don’t see blue
flowers that often and when they’re in clusters, they are simply stunning.
As in awe as I am of floral beauty, I can’t begin to imagine the splendor of heaven. We catch glimpses of what John saw in his vision in Revelation. A river, a tree filled with fruit, eternal light from God himself, oh the glory. The picture painted in Revelation 22 pours hope into my soul. Nature’s beauty in perfect harmony will surround us in heaven.
I hope as you imagine heaven, you see yourself standing at
the throne and praising God. I want to sit by the river and bask in God’s light
and taste the sweet fruit of His presence.
Take a moment from the chaos of this life, imagine heaven,
and fill up on hope.
Genesis 1:11-13
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and
trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various
kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed
according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according
to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and
there was morning—the third day.
Spring’s first heartbeat honors winter’s last breath. -Angie Weiland Crosby
Tim and I have been walking Rosie at the local park. As we
hike along the trail, I’ve spotted a variety of flowers blooming. The yellow
celandine blankets the forest floor, Dutchman’s breeches wave their miniature
pantaloon shaped petals, and Virginia bluebell leaves are sprouting. Green has
popped all over and the robins are tweeting a welcome to spring.
When I witness the change from winter to warmer weather and
the brown shifting to shades of green, I’m reminded of the creation story. When
God made the world, He added plants. He knew we’d need not only the produce from
the vegetation, but the beauty of the flowers.
As we walked this morning, I considered the Garden of Eden
and the glorious place it must have been. All the amazing plants in God’s
original creation must have looked and smelled incredible. Imagine the perfection.
I’m thankful He blesses me with the beauty of nature in our
little corner. No, we don’t experience a land without scars or blemishes, but
we do have a hint of the place Adam and Eve left behind. The hint of the
possible beauty of heaven fills my heart with hope. As I spy a hyacinth’s fresh
bloom or the brilliant color of a tulip, I’m reminded of how much God loves me.
He cares for the flowers and loves His people even more.
Enjoy spring and appreciate God’s gift of beauty on earth
and the ultimate glory of heaven.
Psalm 27: 13-14
I remain confident of this:
I will
see the goodness of the Lord
in the
land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be
strong and take heart
and wait
for the Lord.
In spring, the goodness of God appears in nature.
The woods awaken the trillium and Lenten rose. The oaks and maples poke their
buds out of the branches, along with red buds and dogwood.
With all the turmoil in our world, I seek the good.
The beauty sooths my soul. When I see the good in people, I rejoice. The child
who helps his friend, the young person who assists the elderly, and the
believer who shares the truth of Jesus all fill me with hope.
Psalm 27 says to be strong, take heart, and wait
for the Lord.
Waiting is hard, but the psalmist tells us the secret. Be
strong—resist the temptation to give up. Take heart—hope. Hope gives me the strength
to keep going, to fill up on God's word and to pray.
The psalmist is confident he will see goodness in life, and
so am I. As long as I keep my eyes on Jesus, and my heart filled with Him, I
can move through life with confidence, and experience the good.
When Rosie was a puppy, she wanted to play with Olive, But
Olive was old and grumpy. She ignored Rosie most of the time. One day, Rosie
had a bone she was gnawing on and Olive laid down beside her. After a few
minutes, Rosie pushed the bone to Olive. I saw goodness through my dogs that
day.
Look for the good and be the good.
Matthew 13: 44-46
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold
all he had and bought that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away
and sold everything he had and bought it.
The columbine had finished blooming.
The other day, I cut back the columbine, an early spring
bloomer, and opened up a spot in the front of my garden. With the spent flowers
gone, the pink and white flox shined and flowered to their fullest, but the
best surprise, hidden under the other plants, was the sweet little pinkish-red
begonia. I had no idea this little guy even existed. He hid under the other
plants, yet his blossom pushed forth.
I admit, my heart did a little flip-flop of excitement when
I spied the tiny thing. I'd thought about buying some begonias and planting
them this year, but never did, so this little one brought me unexpected joy. I
hope it grows and continues to bloom this summer.
Like my hidden treasure in the flower bed, the kingdom of
heaven is a gift to us. I didn't buy it, but Jesus did. He's the one who buys
the field, in the parable, so He can share the treasure with the people who love and believe in Him.
The same with the pearls. Jesus gave everything so that we
could be part of the kingdom of heaven. I can't buy my way into salvation or
heaven, but Jesus can and did. He traded His life for mine because He loves so
much. When I spied the little begonia, I was reminded of Jesus' great love and
His gift of eternal life. His gift is free for anyone who wants it.
Seek Jesus and receive His treasure.
I love this time of year, before the temperature rises beyond eighty,
and the plants sprout from the ground.
My flowers are mostly perennials that reseed and return year after year.
I don't have to do much to the plants,
and before long I'll have a lovely rainbow of blooms.
I think God filled the world with flowers to remind us how much He cares.
"Consider how the wild flowers grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you,
not even Solomon in all his splendor
was dressed like one of these."
-Luke 12:27
When I sit on a rock under Marblehead Lighthouse, my mind stills.
Most days my brain spins a dozen directions, but God has given me
this one place where I can guarantee I will be still.
I also enjoy my flower bed when I water it or sit in my Adirondack chair
and soak in the beauty of the blooms.
Sometimes in our busy lives, sitting silent and
letting the Holy Spirit speak is difficult, yet necessary.
Find a place to be still, and soak in
the love of God and His amazing creation.
It's okay to rest the body and mind and allow yourself to recharge.
Ephesians 2:8-10
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one
can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
My columbine cross-pollinated.
When I first planted columbine in my flower garden, I started with one or two plants. I had grown the old-fashioned ones for years, but when I moved, I failed to take them with me. Eventually, I gathered starts of white and purple from my siblings and added a pretty blue one. With their pops of color and lacey leaves, they add bursts of joy to my plot. As the spring flowers bloom, I'm reminded once again of God's handiwork.
Last year as I perused the early blossoms, I noticed a
change in one of the columbine plants. The white ones generally have a multi-petaled
bloom, while the purple and blue produce more of a bell shape with tiny curls
on the edges. When I focused the camera on one of the white blossoms, I noticed
it had a bell shape, too. The white had cross-pollinated with one of the other
plants and created a delicate white bell with curls.
I'm fascinated by the work of God in nature. Of course this
discovery got me thinking. When I as a human "cross-pollinate" with
the grace God offers, I become a different person. I'm no longer relying on myself.
Instead, I'm a child of God who relies on my heavenly Father, Jesus, and the
Holy Spirit. Through Him my soul reaches a level of beauty I could not imagine
possible.
Just as the white columbine changed and blossomed, so did I when
I surrendered my life to Jesus. He has a good work for me to do and when I mesh
the abilities and desires God has given me with his grace and forgiveness, I'm a
new creation who by what I do, brings glory to my Father. I thank God for His
grace and mercy and for the chance to make a difference.
Praise God for Jesus and for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Book Description:
If any place on God's earth was designed to help one heal, it is Meadowland.
Surely here, at her brother-in-law's Kentucky farm, Rose and her daughters can
recover from the events of the recent past--the loss of her husband during the
1918 influenza epidemic, her struggle with tuberculosis that required a stay at
a sanatorium, and her girls' experience in an orphanage during her illness. At
Meadowland, hope blooms as their past troubles become rich soil in which their
faith can grow.
Dirk Meadows may have opened his home to his late brother's widow and her
girls, but he keeps his heart tightly closed. The roots of his pain run deep,
and the evidence of it is written across his face. Badly scarred by a fire and
abandoned by the woman he loved, Dirk fiercely guards his heart from being hurt
again. But it may be that his visitors will bring light back into his world and
unlock the secret to true healing.
My Thoughts:
I so connected with Rose's daughter Sienna. What a delightful child! I loved
how she saw the wonder in everything. Calla, too. She was so conscientious
and caring. As I read along and found out more about Meadowland, I wanted to
live there. Gabhart took the heartbreak and suffering of Rose and Dirk and created
a beautiful story of healing and hope, spun with a bit of mystery. If you enjoy
a good story driven by strong characters with an amazing setting and a
satisfying ending, you'll want to read Where the Meadow Blooms. I received a
complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are
completely my own.