September 5 2014

September 6 2014 Greetings My Friend, I love watching life open up in the spring. There is something about the green of spring that is not the same as the green as summer. I love watching a plant breakthrough the earth so tender and it’s first response is to look upward to the sun/Son. As spring gives way to summer the beauty continues to unfold. The tender shoots are now glorious blooms. The leaves on the trees are out fully and so green and beautiful. The sun’s warmth warms us and seems to bring us back to life. Our whole being, the universe really seems to be clapping with joy. The summer grows warmer and hotter and humid and I find it to be trying. The bright sunshine is sometimes a bit too much. My body reacts to the extreme heat much like it does in the midst of a cold and bitter winter with a desire to shut down. For me the green, the beauty of flowers and life is worth weathering the heat. It seems to fill me even in my distress of the heat. By late summer I marvel that God’s creation is as ripe and beautiful as ever. Then fall comes, slowly at first. We see cool nights and pleasantly warm days. By late fall we begin to feel winter’s grasp on the land. Fall is a time I tend to go “inward”. My nesting instincts come out in full force. I am cooking trying to fill the house with delicious smells and warmth. My thoughts are more reflective and contemplative. Even the first dustings of snow are accepted with thanks giving. By January I’m ready for spring again and it is still a few months away. Winter white grows weary on me. I long for color again. I long to be able to go outside without a coat on. I long for the easy comfort of a summer day where I take life as it rolls along. I marvel I can pull all of these thoughts with each season. I marvel at God’s grand design in giving us seasons. As I look at the seasons of the year I tend to see season’s of life as well. The newness of a newborn is awesome. I love the toothless giggle of a baby and the innocence of a toddler. As children continue to grow I watch them and marvel. The toothless seven year old is about as precious as it gets and watching the new teeth come in and look so big in their little mouths warms my heart. The teenage years are full of excitement and filled with agony at the same time. They are launching into adulthood so quickly and a parent’s prayer is “have we given them what they need to handle adulthood?” So the season’s of life go. All of a sudden we are in our final season and we become reflective, we want to share our journey so we can help another generation and often times they are more interested in discovering all of life from their own experiences only to find out too late that they wished they’d listened a bit more. For me the best season of life began when I understood giving God all of my heart and holding nothing back….even though I learned to give it to Him in steps. At one point I was so low and unable to cope and deal with day to day life that I finally surrendered my hurts to God. Now as I look back I see that even in this journey I see seasons of growth of moments where I fell off the trail and times where God picked me up again and sent me on my way. I marvel at the lessons that wait to unfold in God’s design. Sometimes a lesson is learned as I look at the seasons of the year. Sometimes I understand God’s all encompassing love by the way I fall in love with a child, a fur child, a husband and the list goes on. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet