the gift of love

Recollections of the last few days swirl through my mind.

Family, the people I am most comfortable with, within hugging reach.

Early morning coffee with a sister on the front porch.

Dad, smiling and thankful. Mom, absorbing the moments.

And then, just like that it is over,

and the people that I love are gone again. Home.

Out of reach, and I regret

that the time was so busy and so soon gone-

because this is my family

and I miss them already.

And then, just like that,

the firstborn grandchild's car spins out of control

and the car is damaged and the spirit is bruised

but our child is okay

and I am scared, and thankful, and angry

and Thankful again-

because the gift of love and

the gift of those we love

can be taken away.

It is one of those mornings when you wake up tired and it is raining and wet and somewhat muggy and it all makes you rather grumpy and then suddenly the sun breaks through and the world becomes altogether glorious and millions of diamonds hang suspended from the branches and your frustrations evaporate as do the vapors that float upwards from the spruce trunks.

And I think about my dad's birthday today, that he turns 75, that he is alive and well, and that my siblings are coming and that it is a wonderful day.

simplicity

It is probably one of my most favourite flowers, the simple daisy.

It graces gardens and it graces the roadsides.

Tommy came running into the house to tell me that "those pink flowers are blooming! Mom, come quick, grab your camera and take a picture!".

colour green

The colour of envy or the colour of peace?

Envy being the beginning of greed and a multitude of other sins

and at the opposite end of the spectrum of contentment.

Green the colour of envy and yet

when I see the colours of the foliage in the sun's first light

I feel contentment.

When I contemplate the blessings around me in light of the Son

I feel thankful.

summer solstice

Light filters early through the web between the lilies on this the longest day of the year.

Beautiful prisms of colors move in the minutest breezes.

I am a seeker of the light as it reflects and illuminates,

and brokenly aim to be a seeker of the Light

whom I need to reflect and as He illuminates me.

pondside

Icecream sundaes and a stroll around the pond at sunset.

How very blessed we are.

Healthy and happy children running back and forth. We are not sick. We are not hungry.

The people we meet smile and nod and are friendly. We are not threatened and not oppressed.

We take notice of creation and are free to talk about the Creator.

When we leave we go back to our very own comfortable home.

Blessed a hundred thousand times over.

morning dew

A hundred thousand diamonds beckoned from the lawn this morning.

yet to be identified

They are bbbzzzing all around the ponds

I can hardly catch one sitting long enough to snap a few photos.

It felt so good to go for a walk around the park today.

Sunday

Marten noticed them first, the swallows darting into their nests in the skeletal tree beside the path.

The rest of us were preoccupied with looking for beavers by the beaver dam across the pond.

It is the natural way of things, the children and I, parents and young.

We walk hand in hand exploring, a lunch basket swung over my shoulder.

Little voices ask when we can stop and eat.

Impatient little birds demand their meal.

The swallows patiently dart back and forth.

Little ones dependent on big ones.

Feeding, nurturing, teaching,

until one day they fly away.

And the parents are left with an empty nest

and then the nest itself is empty

and the parents are gone too.

A friend's father passed away,

4 months after her mother.

It is the natural way of things,

but I have no experience with it,

I don't understand it.

Parents and children and parents and children.

Happiness and grief till God stops time.

Lake St. George

american gold finch

A whole family has moved into our neighbourhood as

they are rather thrilled with the feeder hanging in our front yard.

rain

A blessing for a thirsty earth:

it has rained heavily all afternoon

drenching my flowers and my vegetables

the yellowing lawns

and the farmers' fields.

peonies in full bloom

Nighttime rain gave sparkle and freshness to the blossoms this morning.

The lilacs have finished blooming and the peonies have taken center stage.

How can you not wander past the flowers and be blessed by their beauty?

Thank you Father!