Sunrise

The sun is a huge brilliant ball of  yellow,nearly blinding the eyes as it bursts above the horizon.This is a unique experience for me , because I never get up early enough to see this amazing phenomenon, let alone be walking my dog at this uneartlhy hour of the day.

A single raucous “caw” breaks the silence, otherwise it is perfectly still.

Where are all the other birds I wonder?  Did they  sleep in this morning?

It is quite a shock  to the system when one is only half awake, to be greeted by a frigid windchill of -13 degrees. We have been spoiled with all of our summer- like weather. But the sun is warm and gradually begins to subdue the chill, turning it into what promises to be a lovely  day.

I notice that the birds are beginning to tune up  for a salutation to the Dawn, and in place of my initial grumpiness at having to be up so early, a sense of thanksgiving arises in my heart, and I begin to thank God. I thank Him for this new experience and I also thank Him because I am walking without pain. It t is a great day to be alive!

An Unexpected Gift

It seems as if Spring arrived early this year. Mid March blessed us with two weeks of gorgeous double digit temperatures, and old records were toppled nearly every day.

The fields are alive with bird song and great flocks of geese wend their ways northward ,stopping off in the field to feeds and rest every night.The miracle of migration never ceases to fill me with a sense of wonder.

Yellow and purple croci and glistening white snowdrops burst through the rich muddy soil last week and some daffodils and narcissi have joined them this week.

Regardkess of the condition of our world, reeling with wars, famines and floods in various places, , the earth continues to produce her beauty.

I think if people would only take the time in their headlong rush of “busyness” to stop and appreciate all of this beauty ,Planet Earth would be a much  happier place.

Welcome!!

We went out for our walk earlier than usual this morning. It was  GLORIOUS !

A balmy breeze tickled its fingers through my hair, and the sun warmly kissed my cheeks. I simply fell in love with this near perfect day.

Suddenly the  quietness was  broken by a mournful  sound. I looked up to see two Canada geese flapping  overhead. The lead goose continued to cry out at regular intervals. I assumed they were lost and trying to find their flock. Being on their own must be quite frightening.

I had never seen two geese flying alone at this time of year when large flocks were migrating north to their summer camp grounds.

I wondered if they were just too impatient to wait on the rest  of the flock and now found themselves hopelessly lost.

Later that day  on our evening walk I heard the honking sound again. This time I was very surprised to see a lone goose making its way to the farmer’s field where migrating geese usually congregated on their long flights. Seeing a single goose was almost unique since geese usually mated for life.

My l dramatic imagination began to formulate a list of possibilities for these unusual occurrences.

The lone goose might have lost his mate and stayed behind to grieve, hence arriving later than the rest of his flock. Perhaps his honking was indicating his sadness at his loss rather than an attempt to find his way because he had flown directly to the field, unlike the other two who had either bypassed the field or arrived too late to join their flock.

While we were making our way back home I noticed the sun was beginning to set, and it was getting cooler.Then I heard the ritualistic honking noise once again.Suddenly the honking began to increase in volume and speed as the pair of geese began to fly faster, headed straight for the farmer’s field. Then an entire gaggle of geese joined in to create a loud cacaphony of rapid,excited  honking as they greeted the two late comers.

At the risk of sounding unfair to my sex, they sounded like a very large roomful of women at a conference all talking at once; happy, excited and delighted to be together..

I wondered, ” Are we humans really so different in our communication than the sociable geese?”

I smiled at this rather silly thought or was it? It brought to mind the song I used to sing in Sunday School.”God sees the little sparrow fall.It meets His tender view. If God so loves these little things, I KNOW HE LOVES ME TOO.”

This song, based on Matthew 6:26, which says,”Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worrth much more than they ?” God will always meet our needs because of His great love for us. This gentle reminder  warmed my heart as we headed home.

Indeed it had been a perfect day.

Diamonds in the Snow

I am so grateful to my friend Brenda who encouraged me to begin writing a daily blog.

It has been a challenging and inspiring experience.

As I have said, I usually compose my blogs as I walk my dog, Sparky. Instead of just letting my mind go flat or lazily wander at random, I now open it to whatever the Lord might have to show me during this time. I have learned so much already, and am looking forward to new thoughts and teachings He has for me to share with anyone who might happen to stumble upon my blogs.

lt was 12 degrees below zero when we set out for our walk thiis morning .However ,instead of being greeted by a slap of icy wind as I was yesterday , my eyes were thrilled with the sight of millions of scintillating diamonds in the snow .And it was perfectly still. Not a breath of air  stirred the branches of the ice- encrusted  limbs of the trees that reflected the brilliant beams of  sunlight  shining out of  the deep blue sky.

It was almost too much to take in the glorious beauty of this day.It was as if an artist had created a panorama of breath- taking beauty for anyone who dared to venture out in this frigid temperature.

I know many people would consider me slightly “touched in the head”  to feel this way, as they huddle inside their snug houses and soak up the delicious warmth of the flames emanating from their fire places.

But I say they are missing a special  blessing as God touches earth with the beauty offered by  this winter day.

Beauty ,of course , is in the eye of the beholder.And I count myself blessed  to behold  the panorama  of glorious diamonds that God generously tossed out for me to gather into my soul on this winter  day.

 

Goals

Smack !!  It hits me full force in the face, ripping back my hood, stinging my eyes. I turn my back and struggle against the force of the fierce wind in order to pull the door shut behind me.

Why am I venturing out into this maelstrom which is the tail end of several tornadoes that struck in the mid west U.S.A.?  In a word… Sparky.

His   ears are flattened back against his head as he plants his feet firmly  and  leans bravely into the wind tunnel that is whistling ferociously down our street..

As we set out I notice large puddles covered with waves rippling along their surfaces. I have never seen anything quite like this. For a change I don’t complain about my weight. It anchors me in this wild wind.

The fierce snarl of the young  March  Lion challenges the aged Lion of Winter who is fast  losing  his hold on the land.

The trees are waving wildy with some of their branches snapping off and flying through the air. They skitter along the street with various other pieces of debris. A garbage pail rolls down the middle of the road . I will have to be very alert to any objects that could  cause harm to Sparky or to me for that matter. The sooner we can get home the better.

I tie my scarf more tightly around my neck in an efffort to anchor my hood which is constantly whipping off my head. I have to keep wiping the tears out of my stinging eyes.

Sparky faces into the full force of the wind and is fiercely determined to visit every place of interest along the crusty snowbanks..He slips and slides his way from one spot to the next ,occcasionally burying his face right up to his eyeballs  and scratching away the snow as he investigates some extremely enticing scent.. No matter how insistently I try to tug him along a little faster, he simply digs in his heels.  Nothing dissuades him from reaching his goal.

I wish I had his unswerving determination in pursuing the goals God has set up for me regardless of the various obstacles I encounter along my faith walk.

I lower my head against the increased ferocity of the gale in my eagerness to get to the safety of my home as I  finally turn onto my street.

At  that point a familiar verse from the  word of God comes to  mind.

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil.3:13

I am always amazed at the way the Lord uses our everyday experiences to remind us of His continual presence and guidance. He knows the way we take and He calms every stormy wind we encounter as long as we trust in Him.

I push open the front door and Sparky and I gratefully hurry into the welcome warmth  of our home. Leaning against the pressure of the howling wind I manage to shut the door against the  angry elements, and we are safe.

God is  good  ALL  the time. And ALL the time, God is good!