If one looks up
If one sets aside the work
If one pays attention to something other than details
If one puts down the ‘device’
If one raises one’s eyes to see something else
If one looks out the window once in awhile
One might see something
… unexpected
… kinda cool
… sorta comical
… graceful in a goofy sort of way
… maybe beautiful
… maybe not
… but interesting
… And delightful nonetheless
If one just looks up.
Unexpected Delight… Today’s Gift
Here’s what I’ve been thinking about today…
As I walked around today, it has become more and more evident that winter has been pushed aside and spring is nudging its way forward. Spring greenery, flowers all around and welcome warmth provide the evidence. A welcome transition, indeed.
This morning brought another transition of sorts for me. It started with an invitation from my grandson to run an errand with him to the hardware store. He needed a part for something on his bike. “OK. Sounds good.”
So we piled in the van, him in the driver’s seat and me riding shotgun. At the store we found the part and he paid for it. At the gas station, he pumped and bought the gas and I sat and waited.
Not so long ago I would have been the driver, gas pumper and purchaser. Things have changed. My young grandson is moving from childhood into adulthood. A welcome transition, for sure.
Today was the funeral for my best high school friend. After a long illness the Lord took Tom to be with him and he is now with Jesus. His soul and Parkinson’s plagued body are made whole. Through it all, in his life and now in death, he belongs to his faithful Savior, Jesus.
For me, today has been a day to think about transitions. One season changing to the next. A grandson no longer a child but moving on into adulthood. A dear friend passing from a time of struggle and disease to eternal life. Blessings, indeed.
Today’s gift
I went out looking for spring. Here’s what I found.
Wildlife.
Well, not so wild, since the chickens were cooped up and the horse stared at me from behind a fence.
Flowers.
There we go. Spring signs. Very nice.
Foliage.
Actually, I think this is an all-seasons shrub, colorful year round in these parts.
Green.
Green and spring. Spring and green. They just go together.
Rain.
Nothing says spring like a gentle shower.
Spring, wherever you are, may it be…
Today's gift.
Some might curse the springtime snow
Others…
Play!!
Unexpected delight
Today’s gift
Days… Past…
Days… Today…
Days… To Come
The day’s gifts…
There have been some nose-running, cold mornings this winter. In spite of that, I’ve taken my camera out, along with my (still learning how to use them) close-up rings to see if I could come up with at least five frosty photos good enough to post. Here’s what I have…
This is my Father’s world.
Today’s gift
Unexpected delight…
When grandkids live half a continent away, it’s a treat to get an unsolicited note.
My middle school age grandson’s simple message was, “Look what I did today.” It was followed by a few dozen photos taken on a day off from school after an overnight ice storm.
As a proud Grampa, I thought I’d share. Here are a few of his shots.
Today’s gift
Icy blast
Winter wind
Drifting snow
Winter Storm
Slipping treads
Shoveling, plowing
Aching back
Spring ahead?
It’s January …
Enjoy the beauty
Have some fun
Today’s gift
Sunrise… It happens everywhere.
I remember back then
when walking along the swamp path
I remember seeing lavender, pink and orange
Hugging the horizon
A rich palette of color
Leaking through skeletal trees
Announcing the arrival of the sun
To light the day.
I remember walking not so long ago
Same path, same sky, same everything
Yet a gray shroud laid across the sky holding back
A flood of color trying in vain to influence the day
Amidst steel wool clouds rolling out an even darker gray
All making me wonder, why bother
If there is no sunrise
To light the day
Then I remembered something
As I walked along the swamp path
I remembered some wisdom from a friend who said
Even though the kaleidoscope of morning beauty
Is hidden and all seems lost, grim, hopeless
Unseen on the other side of the gray
There’s always a sunrise
To light the day
Sunrise, today’s gift
Walk as Children of Light 