Sabbath Day Scribblings - Afflictions

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all."  —Psalms 34:19

Nothing is Permanent

I have got to love a good Charlie Chaplin quote.  Especially this one.  Nothing is permanent, even though it feels that way.  I know that sometimes things are just hard.  We struggle, we search, we wonder, we ask, we seek, we ache, we cry, we hope, we love.  All things in their won seasons and at their own times.  But I try and remember this when I am overwhelmed with adversity.  

We find friends in the strangest places.  People we never knew were going through the same things are we are.  We find hope in their courage and convictions.  I know that I have felt so filled with sorrow and pain, that I couldn't bear to face it anymore.  It just felt too hopeless.  I retreat inside myself and try and center.  I go to counseling, I go to church, I talk to friends, I keep trying, even though inside, I am so very broken.  

Funny thing is, just when I feel as if I can't walk another step or bear another burden, something happens that gives me the courage to continue on.  This morning, I discovered someone who has been through many of the heart aches that I have.  This person's strength and testimony brought me hope in my own journey.  I felt the spirit fill my heart with peace and I know that at this time, in this moment, all is well. 

You never know what those around you might be going through.  We profess to try and be Christ-like in our lives, but how many judge one another as "bad" or "good"?  How many gossip and talk about someone behind their backs.  How many mean things do we say in the course of our daily existence.  

I have learned, it doesn't matter if you can trace your roots all the way back to Adam, or if you don't know the name of your maternal Grandfather, we are all Children of God.  We are all charged to "love one another."  

My prayer today is that we will remember the Saviors wisdom when he said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone".  And the accusers left one by one and did not stay.  Then the Savior said to "Go thy way and sin no more".  My prayer is that we will stop throwing stones at one another.  Stones of anger, hate, unkindness and words.  They do destroy.  They do cause damage.  They destroy hearts and hope and courage.  We damage each other so much by the words we choose to speak, by the names we choose to call.  

We can also heal the aching by sharing a part of ourselves with others.  We can heal by being kind, by showing compassion and love.  We can heal the breaking hearts by sharing our own.  We can build each other up.  

Absolutely nothing is permanent, but I think we can choose to make kindness permanent.  We can choose to give a smile, or share a tear.  We can choose to help one another.  

Give God Your Weakness

Easy to say, not so easy to do.  I see my own weaknesses.  They seem huge to me and so very overwhelming.  They are not something that I want to keep, and yet I seem to hold tight to them like they are priceless heirlooms.  Why is it so hard to let go of those things about myself that I don't even like?  In my mind, I don't want to keep them.  I want to turn them loose and let them go.  I want to turn the over to Him. 

Yet, I think there must be a part of me that clings to the old because they are familiar and even comfortable seeming.  They are like well worn shoes.  Not fashionable at all, but familiar and easy to wear.  Maybe it is better the weakness that I know than to risk appearing even weaker with something that I have never tried. 

All I know for sure is that it is so very hard to give them up to Him.  I wonder if I own weakness like it is a part of my very self.  I think I want to let it go.  I think I am ready, but then, I am like a child and try and hide the weakness behind my back and hope He doesn't see. 

Silly of me, He sees everything, but He leaves me to it and waits for me to let it go.  I am learning that part of letting go is to put my trust in Him.  To be willing to turn something loose, for something else that I can't see yet.  It is to be ashamed, and be willing to not hide it anymore.  I have a hard time with things that I am ashamed of.  They haunt me like yesterdays that I can't quit having nightmares about. 

Shame is something that is hard for all of us.  It gets inside and doesn't let us go.  We keep reliving and yearning for something that we never knew.  But, the thing is, He already suffered for our shame.  He already forgave us of the sins that we committed.  He already knows all the reasons that we feel the shame.  He knows, and He loves us anyway.

I haven't figured out why it is so hard to turn over my weaknesses.  I know that He loves me, I know that He already knows all my secrets.  I guess, I just don't want to see the disappointment in His eyes, or feel it in His actions.  Heaven knows, I feel it all the time. 

Part of this life is in learning to trust, to believe His words, to find the faith to go forward instead of back.  It is to know that He will give you strength.

One of my favorite scriptures on the subject is found in the Book of Mormon. 

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).

His grace is sufficient.  What a marvelous promise to us.  His grace.  I can let go of weakness for His grace.  I can let go of fear and shame.  I can find my strengths through His grace.  I can do all things through Him.  It is enough and more.  I am never alone. 

Sabbath Day Scribblings - You are Worth It!

What I Learned - A child's guiding gift

At times we may all feel as if we are drowning. Life can be heavy. We live in “a noisy and busy world. … If we are not careful, the things of this world can [drown] out the things of the Spirit.”

I am continuing my conference talk series.  My councilor challenged me to read one talk a day.  Since I am writing this once a week, I think I will end up reading them a lot more times.  The interesting thing about that is simply that I end up getting so much more from them that way.  This was one of my favorite talks of the conference.  It really resonated with me on a personal level. 

It can be hard in my own life to recognize the spirit.  It can be hard to know if a prompting is really a prompting, or just something you want to do.  I loved how she spoke about teaching our children to recognize the spirit in their own lives.  Sometimes, the only way to know what a prompting feels like is to see what happens when we follow it. 

I believe that all of us have promptings to do what is right.  It can be to visit someone, or call someone, or even send a letter or a note.  It can be simple, or complex.  But a prompting always helps others or even ourselves. 

I have had so many promptings in my life, and the way that I learned to follow them is by the consequences that happened when I didn't!  There were times when I didn't heed the prompting to help and found out later how much someone needed me.  There were times I didn't heed and something happened to one of my children. 

When I have heeded the promptings, I am always blessed.  The knowledge that comes is always that I am loved and that Heavenly Father is mindful of each one of us.  He knows exactly who we are, what we need and He knows our names and circumstances. 

The best way to teach our children to follow promptings is to recognize them in our own lives and follow them ourselves.  Our children will be blessed to learn to hear the voice of the spirit in their own lives also. 

It will be as Elder Richard G. Scott said: “As you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.”

Sabbath Day Scribblings - Despite out Pleas

Giving up

Giving up your goal

because of one setback,

is like slashing the other three tires

because of one flat.

 

Have you ever felt like giving up?  I have.  I have wanted to crawl into bed and stay there.  I have wanted to never move again.  I have wanted to avoid all people and all situations that make me uncomfortable.  I suspect I can be rather like and ostrich and wish that I could hide my head in the sand and just not have to deal with it all. 

I am learning to do the hard things in life.  I am learning not to give up completely, no matter what kind of curves live throws.  I am learning that not all people are good.  Some of them are pretty bad.  Some are so willing to hurt others and to make false accusations and to spread lies and gossip in their wake. 

Even those people deserve forgiveness.  Not for themselves mind you, but because I can not participate in the hate and anger.  It affects me way too much and hurts my spirit. 

As I seek to become more Christ-like in all my dealings with my fellow men, I find myself more willing to forgive.  Trusting might be a little harder, but the forgiveness takes the burden off of me and places it squarely back on the person who is responsible. 

I think that too often, we are willing to give something up because it is hard.  It is easier to give in and let go, than to fight to keep it.  I am trying to remember that just because one of the tires in my life is flat, does not mean they all are.  It just means that I have one setback, one moment of tragedy, one short time of grief.  It means that I can still move on and I can still survive.  

I am trying to learn to trust He who has promised me that all will be well.  I am seeing that miracle come to past.  It might not ever happen in my time, but it does happen in His.      

 

Sabbath Day Scribblings - The Final Outcome

I love this one, it reminds me that He knows what is needed. 

He Lives.  That is the truth.  The outcome is assured. 

He conquered death, He rose again, He Lives. 

And because He lives, we can have hope in the future. 

And I believe, the future will be glorious!

Faith Always Triumphs

I have lived through bad days.  So have you.  In life I have discovered that bad days do end.  Sometimes it takes a day, sometimes a week, sometimes even years, but they really do end.  I have felt exhausted and wrung out.  I have been betrayed and accused.  I am in good company.  It is amazing to me how people can be so cruel, and yet believe they are so right.  If we could spend us much time helping and building each other up, as we do in tearing each other down, the world would truly be an amazing place.  Maybe even fit for a king. 

I have seen how Heavenly Father always keeps His promises.  He has given me so many.  They might not be as soon as I would like, but they are kept in His time.  And I have learned that they always come at the right time in my life.  I believe that faith always triumphs in the end.  That it is essential to our development and our life.  Having faith makes me a better person.  It gives me hope.  Hope in His promises, hope in eternal life, hope for tomorrow. 

Faith gives me the strength to hang on when I want so much to let go.  Faith keeps me going.  It gets me through the hard times because I know they will end.  I know that I will find peace. 

And I am content.  He really is in control. 

Faith in God

To those who have strayed:
I know that life is hard.  I know that sometimes people we love make wrong choices.  I know that sometimes people we respect behave badly.  But I also know that people are not God.  They are not perfect.  They are simply doing the best they can at this moment to try and hold it all together.  Sometimes that means that we are really falling apart. 
We can all say that we know someone who is unworthy, or even hypocritical.  That person can also be ourselves.  I found a long time ago, that I am the one responsible for my own testimony and faith.  If I am doing the things that are right, what someone else believes or saysdoes not influence me.  I love it when people share the positive.  I dislike it when I am always on the defense with those I care about because my beliefs are different, but all the arguing in the world does not change my faith, my hope or my own belief.  Even when I can't defend those beliefs, it just makes me study harder so that I can be more prepared next time. 
I have learned that none of us have the power to convince someone to believe when their eyes are not opened and their hearts are far from Him.  Then I resort to the scriptures.  I especially love the one that says,
Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like unto it; Love thy neighbor as thyself. 
I don't see anything there about only loving those who believe the same as me, or who are easy to love.  I only see that we are supposed to love each other. 
People in the church can hurt you.  I have had that happen to me in very hard ways.  But you should know that God always loves you.  Why in the world do we let others who might not even like us, determine our own relationship to our Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally? 
He is my anchor.  People are nice to have around, but I worship always to get closer to Him. 

Patience to Wait

Since I haven't been writing until just recently, I decided it might help to explain some things.  When I first started writing on this blog, I wanted it to be all positive.  I wanted to write things that would help people to see the blessings of the Lord in their own lives each and every day.  As I have had pretty much some of the worst years of my life, I have grown to understand that my writing isn't always supposed to be positive, and neither am I.  Sometimes, the very best we can do for each other is to let others know that we struggle, that we question, that we cry, that we despair.  Only when we share those paths that are such an integral part of ourselves, do we help others on their own journeys. 

As I admit to my own failings, I start to understand myself.  I start to receive the answers that I was looking for.  They are not necessarily in my own time, but they do come.  I love the quote above because it is about patience.  The patience to wait.  The patience to ponder.  It is about being willing to accept, even when it is hard.  And believe me, I have learned that it can be so very hard.  Patience is not my strength!

It is kind of like the winter.  I love the snow.  It is beautiful.  But after a few months, especially when the snow gets dirty and muddy and just plain ugly, and when I am tired of all the cold and the wind and the forgetting my coat, I really, really want it to be spring.  I know that spring will come, but sometimes it takes so much longer than I want it to.  I know that the plants will turn green, and the flowers will bloom.  I know that spring on the mountain is just around the corner, but all the knowing in the world does not satisfy my wanting of it to be right now. 

I have to wait.  All things happen in their own time, and in God's time, not mine. 

So, for the past few years, I have had to struggle and learn that waiting is hard work.  It can feel like forever.  Dealing with unfairness and pain is not what I wanted to do at this time in my life, but it is what I must do.  All the wanting in the world does not change the mind and heart of others, only God can do that. 

So for today, I will strive just a little harder for patience in adversity.  Today, I will wait and see. 

Gratitude for Hope in my Heart

Hope

Is the only thing

Stronger than

Fear.

Isn't that tree beautiful?  Look how it continues to grow in spite of being struck by lightening and having branches broken in the high winds that whip through the mountains.  It continues to flourish in spite of the difficulties that surround it.  It reminds me that there is always hope.  Where one might see only pain, yet life goes on and the green comes.  Home cometh in the morning.  

There have been so many things in my life that I am afraid of.  I have always been afraid of heights, I am afraid of the dark (really, the outside kind that doesn't have street lights).  I am afraid of bad things happening to those that I love.  I am so afraid of not being good enough to live in Heaven.  I am afraid of disappointing others.  My fears are many and vast.  I have had a lifetime to put them together.

But, in spite of all the fears, I find that I still have hope.  Hope that this life is not the end.  Hope in a better tomorrow.  Hope that somehow, things will work out for the best.  Hope that my children will choose the right.  Hope that we will know happiness.  So much hope even in the fear.

We all have things in life that we are afraid of.  Things that make us shiver in the night (or even the day).  The only thing that gets us through the fears is to find hope somewhere deep within.  Hope will get us through the night until the light burns bright again.  Hope will endure.  

Becoming Like Him - Day 29 - Unite

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him. My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

The Prompt today is:

UNITE

START

How hard is it to unite our hearts?  I have a rather large family.  We blended two families together and had a few more children to form a large blended family.  It was not an easy journey.  Sometimes, my children thought that they should be loved best, and sometimes his did.  One of the hardest things to teach them was that they are all our children.  They are each loved individually for themselves.  They are needed and wanted and each a blessing in our lives.  
Uniting together is one of the best things we have ever done.  It was a rough journey at times with a lot of potholes along the way.  Yet, it has been so rewarding and I would not change it for the world.  
Uniting our hearts together to God is not easy either.  There are so many things that would interfere with our relationship.  The world would have us believe that the Sabbath is just another part of the weekend.  It is a time to have fun and forget about everything else.  I know that the sabbath is a day of worship.  As I used to tell my children, Heavenly Father has given us everything and right now He is only asking for a little bit of your time.  
Uniting ourselves for His purpose is such a blessing.  Gathering together helps each of us to strengthen our own testimonies as well as the testimonies of others.  It helps us to find ways to remain strong and faithful.  For me, going to church, fulfills a need that is deep inside my heart.  A need to be more like Him.  It is a chance to teach, learn, listen and love. It is a choice that places my feet in the right direction for the rest of the week.  
Uniting my heart in His glory.  
I can't think of a better place to be.

STOP

Becoming Like Him - Day 21 - Second

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him. My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

Sometimes, we don't realize our own strength,

until we come face to face

with our greatest weakness.

Today the prompt is:  SECOND

START

What a beautiful weekend we had.  We were able to go down to Phoenix and tour the open house for the new Phoenix Temple.  It was a beautiful opportunity to share with others the strength and love of our beliefs.  

As I traveled, I thought about what I wanted to share for today and I was so excited when I realized the prompt was second.  

You see, I believe in a Heavenly Father who gives second chances.  One who knows that we would not possibly be able to accomplish perfection, and so He provided a way where we could return to Him.  He gave us His Son.  

He not only gives us second chances, but sometimes thirds, fourths or even fiftieth.  He gives us what we need until we finally get it right and move on to the next.  He is there to guide us.  He will lift us up and help us to move on, if we will only come to Him.  

In His house, there is always room for second chances.  There is room for prodigal sons and daughters.  There is room for you and me.  In His house, there is love, forgiveness, compassion and mercy.  Every single one of us are imperfect and flawed.  He knows that, yet He loves us in spite of our worst selves.  He wants us anyway.  

In my quest to become like Him, I am trying to forgive others who have wronged me.  I figure that I He gives second chances, who am I to deny someone else that blessing.

STOP

Five Minute Friday - Ready

Today is Friday.  You have another wonderful chance to join us over at Kate's Place which is called Heading Home, and write about the weekly prompt.  Don't forget, this is the time when you get to write for five minutes flat; no editing, no erasing.  Just write without worrying about whether it is just right or not.  Then link over at Kate's and join the rest of us.  Make sure to comment on a few other posts and let them know you care!  I can't wait to hear what you write on today's prompt.  It is:

READY

: prepared to do something

: properly prepared or finished and available for use

: almost about to do something

START

Ready, set, go!  How many times in life have I heard those words?  The first time you  jumped off the high dive, and my heart hammered in my chest as I wondered if you could really swim good enough.  The first time you tried to compete in a race, tripped over the hurdle and came in last place, limping across the finish line with skinned knees and elbows.  The first time you went climbing and repelling and got stuck on the cliff, clinging for dear life until I could go up and get you.   

In my life, I have been told that if I waited until I was ready, I would never manage to do anything.  There has always been a lot of truth in that.  I was not ready at 17 to get married.  I was not ready to have a baby at 18.  I was not ready to have more than one, or two, or three.  I was not ready to make decisions, live alone, raise children by myself.  I was not ready to start over again.

I have come to find, that we are never really ready for the challenges and even blessings that life hands to us.  How can we be?  Being ready just might entail knowing what is in store.  It would mean knowing the ending as well as the beginning and the middle.  When we are going through tough times, we don’t even understand what might be waiting around the next corner.  We just have to hope and pray and trust in Him.  We just have to take a deep breath and move forward, one step at a time.  We just need to reach out for His hand and know that He will be there to catch us when we fall.  Learning to be ready, means learning to trust in Him, even (or especially) when you know, that you can’t trust in yourself.  

Life is all about how you handle plan “B”. 

STOP

Now it is your turn.  What can you be ready for in just five minutes?  Don't forget to link back over at Heading Home and join the rest of us.  

Don't Waste It Whining

Life is too beautiful

to waste it whining.

Sometimes, life can throw us a few curve balls that really test us to our limits.  Perhaps it is your children, or a friend or a speeding ticket.  Maybe it is someone who gossips about you or puts you down.  Maybe it is even someone in your church or your school.  It can even be that three mile hike that turned out to be more like 6 miles and felt like 20!

My point is that we all have problems.  We all have adversities in out lives.  We all have reasons to whine.  It is not that we have reasons, it is simply what we are going to do about it.  I am not a fan of whining.  I have found that it makes me more unhappy and the journey seems so much longer than I thought it would be.  

My sweet daughter was with me on our "forever" hike that we all felt was never going to end.  She helped me over the rocks and through the rough spots.  She smiled and laughed and sang and just about when I was going to give up she said, "look mom, isn't that tree great?  It even has a seat.  I love the way it twists.  Can you take my picture?"  

So, here is her picture on a tree that twists in the middle of a miserable hike.  Don't you just love her smile?  She remember how much I love to take pictures on interesting things.  She knew how much I really do love nature.  She reminded me of all that with a smile and a seat upon a tree.

I have always said to my children, "If you are going to do it anyway, do it with class."  I love that line.  We know when we have to do hard things.  We even know that we might not like them.  But we really don't have to whine about them or complain or do our best to make sure every one else has just as bad of a time.  Sometimes, the best way to handle a situation is with a little class and a smile, or maybe just pointing out are really cool tree.

Life really is beautiful and no misfortune is so bad that whining about won't make it worse!

We should honor the Savior’s declaration to “be of good cheer.   (Indeed, it seems to me we may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!) Speak hopefully. Speak encouragingly, including about yourself. Try not to complain and moan incessantly. As someone once said, “Even in the golden age of civilization someone undoubtedly grumbled that everything looked too yellow.”  Jeffrey R. Holland, The Tongue of Angels.

LIGHT AND DARK

Light and Dark

By Patricia A Pitterle

The sun is waking up.

We see small

Fingers of light

Reaching into the darkness,

Stretching ever upward

As the sun peeks quietly

Over the horizon.

Brightening the world

Around us with

One thin finger,

One spiraling strand,

One magnificent breath, 

Of color and light. 

Soon, the trees

Stand in shadows of twilight

As the sun chases 

The dark away.

The morning glow 

Clothed in beauty 

Becomes a promise 

That the darkness

Will not last forever,

And that the sun 

Cometh in the morning.

Life can be just like

The dawn reminds us of 

The darkest of nights,

As we struggle with trials 

And temptations.

We lose our hopes,

Not seeing past the dark

To the possibility of light;  

Not knowing that rescue is just 

Beyond the horizon.

We are in darkness

For our own moments

Before the dawn.

The Savior sends

Small miracles that become

Light in our lives.

We open our eyes to see,

Our minds to recognize,

And our hearts to bask 

In the light of His love.  

The darkness 

Will not last forever,

And we are promised that joy

Cometh in the morning.  

He Never Fails

If what's ahead scares you,

And what's behind hurts you,

Just look above;

He never fails to help you.  

It is so easy to be overwhelmed in this life.  We are surrounded with business.  We work, we volunteer, we keep trying.  Our kids are busy too.  They are in sports, music, activities and school.  There are so many good things, that it is easy to be worried about whether or not we are doing the best that we can.  The future is the great unknown.  It could be better or it could be so much worse.  There are wars and rumors of wars.  There are gangs and violence.  There are evil and wicked people in the world today, as well as the righteous.  It is easy to look ahead and be scared.

Sometime, the past can be even worse.  We know what is hiding in our memories.  We know the demons that await us in the night.  We all have a past.  We all have things that have hurt us.  Sometimes it is people, sometimes it is events, sometimes it is our own mistakes.  Whatever it might be, the past can have tremendous hold upon us until we learn to let it go.  Until we learn that it does not have any more power today than we give it.  

So, in spite of our past or our future, we have to remember to look up.  He really is willing to hear our hearts and our prayers.  He is willing to be the difference in our lives, if we will only let Him.  My each of us remember to look up!

This is one of my favorite stories from General Conference a few years ago.  

At the end of a particularly tiring day toward the end of my first week as a General Authority, my briefcase was overloaded and my mind was preoccupied with the question “How can I possibly do this?” I left the office of the Seventy and entered the elevator of the Church Administration Building. As the elevator descended, my head was down and I stared blankly at the floor.

The door opened and someone entered, but I didn’t look up. As the door closed, I heard someone ask, “What are you looking at down there?” I recognized that voice—it was President Thomas S. Monson.

I quickly looked up and responded, “Oh, nothing.” (I’m sure that clever response inspired confidence in my abilities!)

But he had seen my subdued countenance and my heavy briefcase. He smiled and lovingly suggested, while pointing heavenward, “It is better to look up!” As we traveled down one more level, he cheerfully explained that he was on his way to the temple. When he bid me farewell, his parting glance spoke again to my heart, “Now, remember, it is better to look up.” 
Carl B. Cook  General Conference October 2011

Another Letter To God

"The soul is healed by being with children."

This letter was harder for me to answer.  Probably because I worry too much.  I worry about things that have happened, mistakes I have made, and I worry about the future with all it's possibilities.  I know that many of the things I worry about never come to pass, but still, I worry.  I worry about being worthy to enter Heaven.  I worry about making the right choices and giving enough love to others.  

"Worry is like a rocking chair, 

it gives you something to do, 

but doesn't get you anywhere."  

Erma Bombeck

 

Here is a child who is not worried about the normal, childish things.  They just want to go to Heaven and see God.  What a beautiful wish.  What a pure heart.  And what a sweet reminder to me about what is most important after all.  I will remember this letter for a very long time. 

Dear Child,

Thank you so much for your letter.  I am so happy that you want to live with me in Heaven.  That is what I want too.  Right now, I need you on earth with your family, learning and growing and becoming the person that I need you to be. 

When you have faith, it leads you back to me.  It helps you to make good decisions and it helps you to keep my commandments. 

I am never far away.  You can talk to me in your prayers anytime that you would like.  I will always take time to listen.  I am aware of the good things you are doing.  I know who you are.  No matter what happens or what troubles you face, you will never be separated from my love.

Romans 8:38-39  

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You always have my love and I am with you here.

Love,

God

Gardening for the Future

"A garden is a great teacher.  

It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; 

it teaches industry and thrift; 

above all it teaches entire trust."  

~Gertrude Jekyll~

The very first garden that I ever tried to grow, did not survive my endeavors.  I managed to kill everything except the radishes and weeds.  I used to have a seemingly green thumb when I lived in Washington state.  I could grow nearly anything, inside or outside the house.  I loved plants, and loved growing things and nurturing the ground with my own hands.  

Then I moved to Arizona and the heat along with the clay soil was another problem entirely.  Some people manage to grow gardens even in the desert.  They manage to have tomatoes and peppers and carrots and onions and so many other amazing things.
I plowed my yard and planted, hoping to get fresh vegetables to supplement our food supply.  After a season of trying and failing, I ended up with plenty of weeds and radishes, too hot to eat.  I can't manage to garden at all since.  

My husband has more talents in this area than I do.  He built a greenhouse in our mountain home and grows the plants inside where the frost can't get to them.  This year, we have beets, spinach and corn as well as pumpkins, rhubarb and tomatoes.  He knows how to convince the plants to grow.  He has much more patience than I do and doesn't mind waiting for the needed time to harvest.  

For Father's Day, we enjoyed a beet greens and spinach salad with a hot bacon vinaigrette.  It was amazing.  

The girls are learning to garden.  To labor and wait and trust.  They are learning that what they sow, they will reap.  They are learning the goodness that comes from patience and time.  

They are learning the goodness of the garden and the possibilities of the future.  

“It was such a pleasure to sink one's hands 

into the warm earth, 

to feel at one's fingertips 

the possibilities of the new season.”   

~Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden~