Last week, I introduced a series of blog posts recounting some ways God is revealing Himself to me in the month of May. This is the second installment of that series.
Day Eight:
I went to Vienna (Ontario, not Austria, of course!) with Ken for the day. With the orchards in full bloom this time of year, the beauty was outstanding - to the point of overwhelm, even. Using Ken's Kia work vehicle and a four-wheeler as our means of transportation, we bumped over rutted orchard lanes and down some grassy aisles between the apple trees, viewing row upon row of gorgeous white and pink blossoms.
I thought about all the potential in that place. If every blossom became an apple, which it has the capacity to do, what an abundance of fruit would be the result! But beyond quantity, apple growers strive for quality in their crop. While delighting in the sight of their orchards blossoming thick with promise, they don't sit around simply admiring the view and taking in the sweet scent. They get to work pruning, thinning, spraying, irrigating, and fertilizing the trees. All with a bountiful, profitable harvest in mind. Fruit farmers are bunch of hopeful people, I decided.
Today, among apple orchards full of blooms, I caught a glimpse of God .
He scatters abundant seeds of hope.
Day Nine:
At the end of the day, some new friends of ours dropped in unexpectedly. It was lovely to connect with them again and when we heard of their housing crisis, I inwardly bemoaned the high cost of living in this region and wished we could help our friends find a reasonable place to rent, immediately. During our visit, I served tea, along with the options of sugar and cream for add-ins. While pouring Ken's tea, I asked if he wanted sugar in his cup, and he made some remark about the fact that I should know he always takes honey. Something in me knew I should regard his comment as teasing, which is the way he meant it, but something else in me felt it was a put down, like I wasn't measuring up to his expectations of me as a competent hostess, let alone a wife intuitive of his preferences. I allowed my sensitivity of the latter to trump my sensibility of the former (and then I heaped shame on myself besides - for feeling like I did!)
After the guests left for home, I listened to a voice message an elderly friend had left on my phone. Her plea for me to touch base with her at a certain time the next day seemed demanding and manipulative. I know we're supposed to be the hands and feet of Jesus, I told myself, but she also needs to know I am not God! How can I discern whether I'm being selfish or simply putting up some healthy boundaries in my interactions with her?
I slumped over my phone for a bit, but then I went and sagged onto the couch. Feeling utterly undone, I sat there while slow tears slipped down my cheeks. Talking things out with Ken afterward was the honey in my cup of outlook.
Today, when inadequacy and overwhelm stacked up against me, I caught a glimpse of God .
He is Enough.
Day Ten:
One of Ken's orchard workers in Vienna messaged him this morning, wondering if Ken is coming by today. And if so, could he bring two maple syrups from Martin's store, clear kind. Ken asked me what I thought clear meant in this case...maybe golden, the lightest color of syrup there is? That's what immediately came to my mind. "What size?" was Ken's next question for clarification and the worker replied with one word: big. This required more messaging, to sort through the options. Finally, they got it worked out. Clear meant glass-bottled, not the most see-through amber liquid on the shelf, like Ken and I had thought, and big meant pint-sized as opposed to half pint and not nearly big as a gallon, like Ken had interpreted the word.
Is this how God views His communication with me? I don't always understand His messages, but I wonder if He's pleased when I feel free to tell Him that I'm puzzled, and I need further clarification. I'm sure He is happy to carry the conversation further, not for what He can get out of me, but for the depth it can bring to our relationship. And maybe He thinks the most important question of the whole exchange is "Are you coming by today?"
Today, while chuckling with Ken over a WhatsApp series of messages, I caught a glimpse of God .
He loves to connect with His children.
Day Eleven: (Two for today. I couldn't decide which, so I included them both. His goodness multiplies.)
Brilliant photos of northern lights inundated my social media feeds today. It's nice we got to see the aurora borealis show in that manner, since we didn't get to see it in real life. Last evening Ken and I were playing a game at home when I got a message from Kerra (who was at an event in another location) asking if we were watching the northern lights. Immediately, we dropped our game to go out and peer into the sky. All we could see was a faint whitish streak that we took to be a northern light. Evidently, we weren't in the right area to get the full effect...perhaps we get too much light pollution living this close to Waterloo. I guess we should've driven out of the city into the country to get a better view, like the folks whose vehicles Kerra saw while she was traveling home. She noticed many cars were parked along the back roads, where the occupants had pulled off and stopped to get out and view the heavens. It made me happy to hear that people cared that much about seeing the phenomenon.
Today, when I saw pics and heard reports of the northern lights sightings, I caught a glimpse of God .
His creation calls.
Quinn started walking! His triplet siblings set an example for him weeks (even months!) ago, but until now he had been too unwilling to let go and take more than one step on his own. I guess today he discovered he can actually take multiple steps, and keep going without falling! Joy wanted to share news of his big accomplishment with the Kenites, so she posted a video on our family WhatsApp chat. What fun to watch Quinn walking, grinning proudly as he toddled a number of steps in their kitchen. We responded with congratulations, mostly by way of applause and heart emojis, and hearty phrases like Go Quinn! and Way to do it!
Today, when I saw a video of our grandson walking for the first time, I caught another glimpse of God.
He supports His children and encourages their efforts.
Day Twelve:
I took two boxes of homemade cookies to church this morning. After the service, I set them on some chairs outside the front entry door along with a sign that said "Help yourself to a treat on Mother's Day ~ from the oldest mom at Oasis". The result was surprise and gratitude by children and adults alike, as they exited the church building. While I was arranging the treat, a first-grade boy edged up to me, looking longingly at the cookies while wistfully voicing his assumption that the cookies were only for the mothers. His face broke into delight when I said they're for everyone. Later, his dad passed me on his way back to the church entry from the parking lot where the first-grader's family was in their vehicle ready to go home. "Your cookies must have really revived my son," he said to me. "During the service, he begged to go home because he was starving hungry, and now he doesn't want to leave church!"
That's kind of how I felt about my Mother's Day blessings. The lovely cards and affirming messages (and even a favorite song stanza on shrink art) from my children and their father. The tasty meals and the waving away of my offer to help with clean-up afterward. The huge and beautiful hanging basket of flowering plants. The picnic by the river. The walk to see the trilliums in bloom. The promises of a writing time at Rumbletum tea shop, and a new picnic table at some point this summer. Undeserving, I stammer incredulously, "Really, God? Your goodness is for me, too?"
Today, when I took cookies to church for Mother's Day, I caught a glimpse of God .
He loves to share - with everyone.
Day Thirteen:
Sometimes on Mondays, I intentionally ponder messages I've received from songs, Sunday School, or the sermon at church the day before. One thought that especially stood out to me from yesterday's sermon on The Deity of Christ was introduced as a question, "What happens when God empties Himself?" The background passage from Philippians words it this way: "...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of servant, being born in the likeness of men." For some reason, I just found it so touching when the minister answered the question about God emptying Himself. What did He become when He emptied Himself? A God-husk? No, a man! What? Mankind, like us?
Today, when I heard a message from John 5, I caught a glimpse of God .
He willingly took on humanity.
Day Fourteen:
This morning I made the 4.5-hr trip to Guys Mills, PA. I got to come and babysit Eleanor and Eva while both Kayleen and Carlin were gone for about 24 hours. (having wrap-up-the-term gatherings with their Faith Builders mentoring groups) I kept comparing the details of my stay this time with how things were in this household a year ago...our twin granddaughters have come so far since those days when their health was more fragile, and their caregivers had the seemingly constant warming and washing of bottles, the checking of oxygen monitors beeping an alarm, the exercising of extreme vigilance in keeping the girls' environments as germ-free as possible... Now the twins are healthy, adorable 16-month-olds who are very near to walking on their own, who are "begging" for stories, chowing down foods (especially fruit - yay says the fruit farmer!) with gusto, repeating sounds, and endearing the recipients of their grins and expressions of delight.
Today, when I watched the twins reach out to hold hands with each other while they sat in their high chairs, I caught a glimpse of God.
He grows and develops little people.
