The Copper Sunflower

I bought it about 17 summers ago at a shop in Hagerstown, Maryland.  I hang it on the front door right around this time every year.  Predictably, when I pull out this copper sunflower, each time, I end up a bit reflective and always thankful. Also predictably, the coleus plants are wildly blooming on the front steps, the air is heavy with humidity, and our house is very lived-in at this point in the summer!

In my own little private emotional tradition, I assess what has been since school let out.  Our days have been free, busy, and like one long weekend.  We have been blessed with baseball, swimming, family, and friends.  Some fun trips have come and gone this summer—- Cape May, Kentucky, and Michigan.  The kids have enjoyed their friends and freedom.  And my number on the scale indicates more than a few trips for ice cream!

But now, as August comes scurrying along, I am wishing for more summer nights on the deck and slow mornings to read.  Very likely someday, I will look back and acknowledge summers as some of our very best times as a family.  My career choice as a teacher, has worked out well for us in this matter… I fully realize as I sit pool-side, many moms are putting in long hours elsewhere.

For me, just as there is a bit of melancholy in August and the wrapping up of summer, there is also a new hope.  The long, easy days will once again turn schedule-ridden and rigid, churning us into more productive beings.  The faces of new teachers and the rising of new opportunities will be a welcomed sight.  My 11 year-old and 6 year-old will enter uncharted territories, and with the Lord’s help, will flourish.  And this week, I will enter my classroom, rearranging, planning, and mentally readying myself for what’s to come.

Just as much as we need the new sneakers and backpacks, we also need to savor what’s left of these sweet summer days. For very soon, that copper sunflower will witness “first day of school” pictures and rushed mornings.  

It’s all a blessing, though.  I am incredibly thankful for what has been and what will come.

 Thank you, Lord, for the rest and pause of summer, so that we may be refreshed in new efforts for the fall. Bless each family as they transition into a new school year.  Help us to meet challenges and new schedules as they come.  Give us joy in every season to make both memories and progress… to hone skills and give our best attitude to the days ahead. Amen.

A Prayer of Renewal

 Dear sweet Lord, I come today with a heart of apathy. I can grow hardened to your word, and distracted with the world around me.  I am burdened, tired, and even forgetful to pray. Take away the busy-ness. Remove my need to rush through a devotional. Forgive me for the times that I have glossed over, passed by, or totally ignored Your holiness, wisdom, and sovereignty.

Make my heart stitched to yours. Keep the fruits of the Spirit alive in me as I move through my day.  Help me to be in a constant state of prayer all day, and to acknowledge your presence everywhere!  Keep me in awe of your glorious creation around me. When circumstances, feelings, technology, and responsibility threaten to veer me off course, fill me with your Spirit again to remain mindful of your sweet presence.

Yes, Lord, fill me to the greatest capacity possible. Make me a useful conduit of your love to all I am in contact with. Help me to ward off any dullness or lack of enthusiasm with time spent with you. May I remain devoted, focused, and on-fire for You and Your ways, in spite of the circumstances that surround me, each and every day.

Amen! 🙏

“Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.” ~ Psalm 139:23-24

Forgotten Miracles

 A decade ago, our family learned that my mom had pancreatic cancer. That diagnosis is often accompanied by a very grim outlook, for good reason. We were plenty concerned and as time progressed, she had  numerous treatments, then referrals to Johns Hopkins, and eventually surgery to remove her whole pancreas. Those were uncertain times. We prayed like never before, and were prayed for by so many.  We were given a miracle, and my mom is alive and well today.  God is soooo good!

You know what has happened in those 10 years since? Some days—-even strings of days, have gone by that I neglect to thank God for her recovery. That’s just so HUMAN of me. We go into a crisis, then emerge, forgetting the intensity and urgency of our prayers. Forgetting that Mimi could have been gone long ago. Life moves on, and we allow it to blur the goodness and mercy God has shown us.

She and I were chatting yesterday about the older grandkids getting older and possibly moving onwards from long-held traditions, like her yearly egg hunt.  She said, “When I was very sick, the one thing I prayed for was that I could see my grandkids grow up.  It’s okay that they are.” And yes, it is okay! She is here- hallelujah!

But, if I can tie this conversation in to tomorrow— Easter- let the analogy be clear.

As you and I walk this Christian life, let not the goodness and mercy of God be lost in our very hurried, busied, distracted days. In everyone’s lives, I like to think we will all have a few trials and a few triumphs.  We just need to be sure to revisit the times where God blessed, answered prayers, or even provided a miracle. Perhaps on the days when life is heavy or just mundane, thanking the Lord for his provisions in the past is what can spur you on to tomorrow.

Christ’s crucifixion & resurrection still is the world’s greatest victory, and YOUR ultimate triumph. It was His most loving act of mercy, His most powerful blessing yet. Would you put yourself to death for your neighbor? Your best friend? Your rival?  Jesus did. He knew the depth of our sins, and still wanted us to be with Him for eternity. 

This REAL event, can grow to be undervalued, especially if you have heard it hundreds of times. Just like Mimi’s miracle, it’s worth thinking on over and over. 

Many often quote John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. So that whosoever should believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.”  But the next verse is so precious, and just as monumental…. John 3:17 reads, “For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.“  God sent Jesus because of LOVE, not condemnation.  

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Forget not all the miracles of God.  Celebrate His goodness often! Jesus’ ultimate triumph over death is yours as well. Happy Easter, friends! ✝️

Dear Lord, give us reminders to praise you for your goodness. Your love is evident in so many ways when we stop and remember all you have worked out in our favor.  Give us time to contemplate the risen Christ, our greatest triumph. Amen.