To See the Beauty...

strawberry lemonade after a
morning of gardening

Scripture tells us that God gives us richly all things to enjoy. I was thinking the other day that there is so much crazy nonsense and brokenness in this old, sinful world and it can quickly take me down into a black pit of anger and sorrow if I am not careful. As a child of God, I must weep over the brokenness but I dare not let it control me. GOD is bigger than the brokenness. And if God gives me things to enjoy, then by all means, I commit myself to releasing the sorrows to God and enjoying them.

A number of years ago, it seemed the theme of my life was GRATITUDE. Inspired in part by the famous Ann Voskamp's 1,000 Gifts, I learned to be purposefully thankful and to see God's hand in the changing scenes of life. I think that is when I really, really learned to walk in the rock solid faith that as a child of God, He ordains the details of each day He gives me and that it is up to me to simply trust His heart and watch what His hand is doing, following the Son with delight in knowing Him. It's an exercise that brings only good things into a personal experience, for sure! Try gratitude on purpose, in the sunny days and in the raging wind storms. You will find your life open up to you in a way like never before.

And now I come to another aspect of life...seeing the beauty among the brokenness... It is not easy for me. I care deeply and feel a sorrow that will always be with me because once you have tasted the sweet presence of Jesus in the desert and in the sunny glades, you see with startling clarity what matters and what doesn't...you see the horrible effects of sin as it touches the innocent children, and you see the prison people live in who do not know the Jesus that you know. BUT...I think God wants us to stop and drink deeply of beauty. There are pieces of beauty everywhere...from the smile of my husband as he shares a smoothie with me on a hot summer afternoon to flowers blooming by the way.

There's beauty in the way a young man smiles at his bride-to-be

There's beauty in foods grown in a garden

Smiles on my children's faces are beauty straight from heaven.

Two beautiful women of God,
Marie and Vickie...

One of them young
and one of them
older...

The older one poured her
heart into sharing
truths for a new bride
to the younger one...

And my heart rejoiced
to see God's design at
work...
'the older woman teaching
the younger'.

It was beautiful and
amazing.

(Vickie,
when I grow up,
I want to be just like
you)

There's beauty in simple decorations used for a bridal shower...

and there's beauty in sisterhood...especially when you have raised them from babies on up

through to adulthood and watched them learn to use their diversity to compliment each other

There's beauty in sunsets...and in love that has mellowed and grown

richer over the years that God has given to us.

There's beauty in kombucha,

cold and fizzy in goblets,

shared with your 

one, true love one the front porch

in the evening sunshine.

All around us are little things like that 

and I am planning to be more

purposeful in noticing and

acknowledging to my God

that I saw it.

How rude of me not to.

And because I have lots more 

beautiful moments recorded

in pictures,

let me just share a few more

here with you.

How beautiful when the older take interest in the younger,

and visa versa. Thank you, Morrie. I appreciated that 

you played so many games of Carom with my son.

Beautiful moment right here...

a big sis helping to relieve her brother's

 boredom on a recent road trip.

Marie, my spiritual daughter in the faith...it is my delight to share in the

beautiful things that lead up to your wedding.

There's something beautiful about listening to a group of young ladies

visiting together...people who grew from childhood in a flash before your very eyes.

Beautiful Lake Ontario, as seen thru the grasses on the embankment of 

Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY...on a recent field trip with our church family

The light was gorgeous one evening, streaming over my front lawn.

There's beauty in this man's amazing train barn...the detail he put into it...

and then he told my husband and I his story and my heart ached with the 

amazingness of it...I'll blog that another day but say today that he took his

sorrowful life's experiences and turned them into something to make people smile.

There's beauty in a child's innocence and smile...

And even tho I do not have many flowers this years because I'm busy 'growing' a wedding,

I am intentionally appreciating the ones that I do have!

And even in a dusty barn, I found a beautiful moment...

my hardworking Farmer...what an amazing man.

I even got to help him a little tiny bit. That is beauty to me.

It is beautiful to me that I have a sweet Kristina

to clean my ceiling fans and be all kinds of capable

things for me. To see her embracing her gifts for the glory of God

is beautiful to me.

Family camp fires are beautiful things...even tho farewells happened for one of us the next day.

Young people help to keep me from drowning in the sorrows of brokenness...

It is a beautiful thing to me to have them in my life.

Life has many beautiful moments in it...especially if you are a child of God.

One way to be a witness that Jesus lives is by appreciating that beauty.

It is attractive to others...much, much more than being glum and gloomy.

We will have trouble in this world.

That brings sorrow.

But Jesus has overcome the world,

so we do not need to take it upon ourselves 

to bear the weight of gloom and sorrow

on our shoulders but give it to Jesus.