Flowers for Thanksgiving

I struggled yesterday with “blue” Monday-like feelings on what should have been a happy Friday afternoon.

It’s a rare occurrence in my life. I have been gifted with a generous dose of “the oil of gladness”, and generally it’s in overflow mode. But every once in a while, gloom settles in like a thick November fog. I feel drippy and sad instead of joyful. And because it’s such a rare occurrence for me, I struggle more than most on a bad day.

Most shake the mood off with a shrug of the shoulders. “It happens”, they say. And I get that. But it rarely happens to me. So it’s important to have coping methods in place so that the feelings don’t overtake me, and so that one bad day doesn’t turn into a string of the same. I need a refresher course on how to “shake it off”.

First, I remember Whose I am, that I am not alone, but deeply loved by an ever-present God. I make sure I take care of my physical needs, to eat something good for me, foods that feed my body and soul, not my mood. I remind myself to exercise to release the right hormones and serotonin into my system… and to get enough sleep.

More than anything else, however, I need to remember gratitude, and to rehearse my blessings, the gifts of the day. The Jesus Calling devotional instructs me to look for and pluck the flowers God has placed along the pathways of my life… to gather them in a beautiful bouquet of thanksgiving to present to Him at the end of the day.

For years I’ve felt the need to have a floral centerpiece on my Thanksgiving table. I’m especially fond of the ones that have a candle in the middle of the arrangement. I thought I was just bringing a touch of beauty to the place settings. Now I know that God had a purpose behind the practice, a reminder to let each flower represent a grateful thought, and to put together as many as I could as an offering of thanks. I found that the mental practice relit the joy in my life, much as the physical act of striking a match put a flame to the wick on that wax stick… and that my gloomy thoughts simply melted away.

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV) 

A Morning Match

There it was, my morning in a nutshell: a red coffee mug with a spoon placed in it for stirring, set on an orange pumpkin-decorated napkin, and a Folgers coffee pod plopped down nearby. Noting that the red and orange colors on the mug, napkin, and even the coffee pod all matched, I picked them up and headed to the Keurig machine to get my morning wake-me-up to brewing, a smile on my face. When all your colors “match” of a morning, you know you’re in for a wonderful day!

Actually, it’s not the color matching at the start that makes a day terrific, nor even the morning magic inside that cup. Rather, it’s Who I drink it with; I’m starting the day having coffee and a morning conference with God.

He clears my head of sleep-distracted thoughts, and we chat for a few minutes before He lays out the plans for the day. I drink deeply of the deliciousness of the discussion with Him, listening closely, and asking questions. Then I simply rise and live out His plan.

As I sip the brew, I smile at the memory of so many Folgers Coffee commercials I’ve seen in days gone by. Truly “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup”… when you’re drinking it with God!

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

(Proverbs 19:21 NIV)

 

Just the Right Amount of Light

I have plants to pot today.

Cuttings that weeks ago I set in water under a strong light have now grown enough root to be potted and placed near the window to grow and develop on their own, away from a closely controlled environment.

So much of the success of a plant’s life depends on where it’s placed after potting. It needs to receive enough light to enhance the growth process, yet it is totally dependent on me for its placement. Too close to the window and it’s burned; too far away and it doesn’t get the nutrients it needs. The right amount of sunlight is essential if it is to thrive, and finding the optimal location for it is up to me.

How lucky we are that we as Christians can regulate how much “Son” we receive. Once the Holy Spirit has come within us at our salvation, there is a period of careful initial development as our faith sprouts roots and we start to grow and branch out. At some point in our Christian experience we move from the careful discipleship of others and take responsibility for our own spiritual growth. Weekly waterings at church meetings are necessary… but so is the act of “sitting in the Son” (devotional times) in which the Light of God permeates and warms our souls, causing us to flourish and grow in our faith.

It's up to us ow close to the window of Heaven we want to sit. And those in our community can tell just by looking at us If maybe we’ve stayed too far away. The nudges of the Holy Spirit move us closer to the Source of Light and Love and Hope and Joy… to grow in us more of the same. 

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

(photo credit: Unsplash/J.YoungJeong) 

 

Challenge Accepted!

Imagine, if you will, a huge grid laid out upon a wall. On the left-hand side, listed from top to bottom are the months of the year, while the days of the month are written in ascending order from left to right across the bottom. At each space inside the grid is posted a picture of the sunrise on that day of the year. It was a showstopper of a display, filling us with wonder at the results of the photographer’s personal challenge to snap a picture of the sunrise each day. Not just for one year… but for five years, going on six, Bugsy Sailor was ready every morning, camera in hand, to document the moment the sun broke over the horizon.

 He couldn’t always see it. Understandably some days were cloudy, stormy, or foggy at the moment of sunrise. But the point is that he was there and snapped a picture, whether the sun was visible or not.

It was fun to pick a date and locate the photograph for that day and year combo. On the back of each picture he answered three questions: 1) Where was the picture taken? 2)What was the weather like?, and 3) Did the sun rise?

I loved the fact that the answer to Question #3 was always “Yes”. Whether he could see it or not, Bugsy knew that yes, the sun did indeed rise.

I found the discovery of his personal challenge so inspiring that I adopted it myself.

I am not a photographer, and I don’t usually see the physical rising of the sun over the horizon. Rather, I experience the spiritual rise of the Son in my heart during my devotional time at the same hour each morning, and I document the event in my subsequent journal entries.  

And I have discovered the same thing he did – that no matter what I’m facing each day, be it fun and adventure, or uncertainty and difficulty, the Son always rises. Making the effort to rise and be present to meet Him at an early hour of the morning enables me to face the rest of the hours of the day and whatever they contain with peace and joy.

After 1718 consecutive mornings, Bugsy missed the sunrise on Day # 1719. A dead phone battery kept his alarm from going off and he overslept. Can you imagine his despair? I love the fact that he simply got up the next morning and was back at it again.

We, too, being human, will have mornings when we miss our special time with the Lord. The important thing is not that your “streak” remains unbroken, but that you get up to meet Him again the next day and the next and the next.  Life is better when we make the effort to look for the Son.

Bugsy challenges us all to see more sunrises this year than we did last year. He says, “Most importantly, remember no matter how cloudy the day, or the adversity you face, the sun still rises.”

So will you.

 

The Wonder of a Walk in the Woods

The woods are calling.

Perhaps it’s because it’s such a beautiful day – sunny, low humidity, pleasant temperatures – that I was so looking forward to a morning walk.

And then it hit me: the woods!!! I haven’t been there yet in this busy week, and only did a drive-thru last week because of the rain, clouds, heat and humidity. But today… it would be perfect!

Of course, I had other things planned for this day – did I mention that it’s been a busy week? - but not till the afternoon, leaving the morning free.

Funny that today’s “theme” in my journal is “make time”. Was there ever a more clear command? I could do it – just a quick drive out there, walk, and back in time for the other engagements. This is the most beautiful season for the woods, I love it the best and simply can’t let the busyness of summer prevent me from enjoying, engaging in, even bathing in what my soul needs so much more than the other things slated for this day. I must make time for what I need the most!

So off I go… with gratitude for the gift of the urging in my spirit, and the time today to indulge it. I’m grateful, God!

“This is the day which the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

(Psalm 118:24)