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
But now, this is what the Lord says—… “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass throught the waters, I will be with you…” Isaiah 43
The other day While I was away I walked alone
Until on the street
Me on one side Him on the other I met John
“Hi,” he said “Good morning,” I said. Together for just a moment
On we walked Alone and alone. But not really
The other day A different one While I was away I walked alone again
Until on the street
Me on one side Him on the other I met John
“Good morning,” I said. “Hi,” said John Together again, but this time More than a moment.
John wanted to talk.
We did We talked about this, that and the other Comfortable things, easy things
Except this Why John walks alone
In only a few words He told the simple sad truth A year ago, a profound loss A spouse, a walking partner gone
And again on we walked
Alone and alone
But not really
The other day I as walked alone I thought about John and me walking Accompanied by the risen Son It dawned on me... John and me, and you too
Never alone, never alone
Some might curse the springtime snow
Others…
Play!!
Unexpected delight
Today’s gift
Walking on the road…
I met Bob.
Lives just up the road
Last house on the right
I’m just visiting
Over there around the corner
First house on the left
He’s from Ohio
Forty years ago
… from Ohio
I’m from Michigan
All my life ago
… from Michigan
We chatted
About the weather
About Detroit, Toledo
… and other things
Here’s the sticky part
Bob wore an Ohio State hat
Buckeyes!
I wore plain clothes
Hiding my college loyalty
Go Blue!
Bob smiled
I grinned
We talked some more.
Ohio State fan
U of Michigan fan
Rivals, bitter
And, in spite of the differences
Bob from just up the road
And me, just visiting
Shook hands
Wished each other well
Went on our way
***
Walk as children of Light
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
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
Simple…
A – B – C
It’s yellow and black
Zipping forward… Buzzing…
Finding flowers
Mining them for nectar
Picking up pollen
Flitting backward… Zzubing…
It’s black and yellow
A Bee! See?
Simple…
Some think,
“Um, pine trees?”
Yep, they are pine trees.
Some think,
“Wow, tall.”
For sure, they are tall
Some think,
“Magnificent.”
Magnificent. No doubt.
And some think,
“Cathedral.”
A place for worship.
Indeed, a cathedral to worship
the Creator of magnificent, tall pine trees
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Today’s Gift
*I was weeding the flowerbeds the other day. I took along my camera. Here’s a ‘square inch’ of God’s creation that I found.
*****
One day I spied … a creature
Exploring a rocky corner
Not one day
Not two days
But many days of exploring
… Searching for what?
Searching the rocks for
A bite to eat?
A place to live?
A mate?
… All the while darting all around? How?
This creature has wings
Four wings
Amber wings
Four, big Amber wings
… What about the rest of it?
This creature’s body
Has three sections - head, thorax, abdomen
It’s two inches long, black, yellow, red
With one wicked looking stinger
… Anything else?
Only the female
Lays eggs
Digs the burrow
Has a stinger to paralyze prey
… Prey, what prey? Pray tell?
Ah, the prey!
Here’s where we get the clue
It will help us name this very interesting insect
This large, flying wasp of a creature
In search of a
… cicada …
To nourish newly hatched eggs
Its name?
Cicada Killer
Doing what it was created to do
Today’s gift
*I was out weeding the flowers the other day. I took along my camera. Here are some ‘square inches’ of God’s creation that I found.
*****
Food (i)
We see leafy, green
We wonder what’s within
We have food for thought
Food (ii)
Carbon dioxide
Water, chlorophyll, sunlight
Photosynthesis
Food (iii)
Table of Plenty
Photosynthesis provides
Food for all
Take a Breath
Green, leafy gateway
C - Oh - two IN, Oh - two OUT
Needed breath of life
Water
Suspended, sparkling
Jewels dancing, delighting
Watering the earth
Today’s gifts
Walk as Children of Light 