Honoring Your Neighbor

Keep on loving each other as brothers in Christ.

Hebrews 13:1

Hurricane Irene was very unkind to my corner of Virginia.  The area east and southeast of Richmond was hit hard – probably by twisters as well as the winds and rain.  Trees are down everywhere, many of them 100-year-old oaks.  In a neighborhood close to me, what is left of the majestic foliage lies across automobiles or sliced into homes.  Getting electricity back is a bit of a joke.  Not happening today – probably won’t happen tomorrow.

A huge tree has fallen across the parking lot of Sherbourne United Methodist Church – a building that houses a church, a food pantry and a medical clinic for the poor.  The branches are blocking the church entrances.  The church is small, elderly and very poor.   Who will help them?  There is a vacant home in my neighborhood that lost a giant tree alongside the house and into the street.  The police cut off the portion that blocked the road, but otherwise the debris just lays there.  I’ve been looking for neighbors coming out with chainsaws to rise to the occasion, but the houses surrounding it are very quiet.

At the end of another street, a portion of a tree came down in the backyard of a family who are out of town.  As I drove by yesterday, I discovered another of my neighbors in the back yard with loppers and chain saw, cutting up the debris and neatly stacking it.  He said, “My friend is out of town, so I’m going to get this cleaned up.”  I said, “Bless your heart!”  Tomorrow morning another neighbor and I are going over to load up the branches in my truck and take them to the dump.

In a time of adversity, we all need our friends, our families, and our neighbors to help us navigate safe passage.  God is very clear that our purpose here is to help others and spread His love throughout our sphere of influence.  We need each other, in bad times as well as good ones.  God calls us to love Him with our entire being, and equal to that, love those around us as we love our own lives.      

After the Storm

Fear thou not, for I am with thee,

be not dismayed, for I am thy God.

I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee,

yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.

Isaiah 41:10

Last week was an unbelievable week for me.  I experienced my first earthquake, then went through my second hurricane.  I was living here in Virginia when Hurricane Isabel came through in 2003, and now I have been visited by Hurricane Irene.  I wish the stormy ladies would find another area to vacation in.

I am still without power at home, but electrical service was restored this morning at work, so I am able to come here and bask in the air conditioning and utilize the internet.  My poor cats are still trying to understand what in the world is different about home, but hopefully the power will come back on before they overtax their brains.  It has been wonderfully cool at nights, so sleeping has not been a problem.  I lost everything in the fridge/freezer, so have eaten out a lot.  However, with the power on at the church, I can start using the microwave, etc., there.

I know that we have blogged together previously about the Isaiah 41 verse, but it has been a go-to verse for me since my teenage years.  God is very specific here:  I AM WITH YOU - regardless of circumstance, regardless of danger, regardless of anything - God is with us.  He is our God.  He is our Savior, Redeemer, Protector, Providor - our Lord.  I trust in the One who gave His life for me.  Alleluia!

Hurricane Irene

Well, it's hurricane season again, and the east coast just got slammed by Hurricane Irene. In her fury, she ripped trees out of the ground, dashed boats against their pylons, destroyed piers, and downed power lines all over the east coast. One of the areas hit particularly hard by the winds was the area in which my mother, your faithful daily blogger, resides. She is completely without power and has been given every indication that she may remain so for up to two weeks. Let us all pray that this is not the case. As the power outage continues, I will be updating you on the situation as she relays it to me.

Today's Prayer Needs

1.2 million homes without power in Virginia and North Carolina

Families and friends of those who have passed away during the storm

Waiting

“…in this hope we were saved. 

But hope that is seen is no hope at all.

Who hopes for what they already have?

But if we hope for what we do not yet have,

we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:24-25

This week has been full of new experiences for me.  I experienced my first earthquake – a 5.9 tremor that centered in Mineral, Virginia, and now I am waiting to experience my first hurricane.  Although she is only a Category 1 at this point, Irene is still dangerous enough to cause plenty of destruction as she slowly climbs the East Coast.

The large trees in my backyard are already dancing and swaying. Currently the winds are only 15-20 mph, but are forecast to go much high this afternoon.  Irene has already taken out a pier in North Carolina, and many trees and utility poles will fall victim to her fury.  This afternoon at 5:00pm, there is a memorial service scheduled for the son of one of my church friends, who died of a seizure this last week. The service is all the way cross town.  I have no clue if I will be able to attend - I believe Irene will decisively dictate my schedule today.

And so I wait.  Wait for the storm and the fury.  Wait for my children to arrive who are traveling from Maryland to attend the memorial service.  Wait in uncertainty for what is to come.  As I wait, however, there is one thing I am sure and certain of:  God will be with me, whatever happens this afternoon.  I have asked him to be with me, to be with my traveling children, to be with my friends and colleagues scattered all across metropolitan Richmond, for the family trying to say goodbye to their son, and for my daughter in New York – directly in the storm’s path.  I wait with hope, with peace, with the assurance that God has heard my prayers.  I trust my life and the lives of those I love into His hands.

Today's Prayer Needs

Dulcie & family as they say goodbye to their son

All those in the path of Hurricane Irene

Judy in recovery

Joel at college 

Putting It Out There

But let your words be simply, Yes or No:

and whatever is more than these is of the Evil One.

Matthew 5:37

At one point in the Facebook discussion with my daughter’s friends and contemporaries, the more aggressive of the young men accused me of “judging” him.  I quickly re-read all of my few entries to see if I was, in fact, sitting in judgment of his character, or motive, or any other aspect of the man’s life.  I stated that I had no desire to “judge” him, and asked him why he thought I was doing so.  His answer surprised me.

He stated that I was in judgment of his inner thoughts, believing that I thought I could gauge them and decide his motive.  At that point, I took stock of the long online conversation and decided not to reply, and ended my participation.  I was not trying to read his thoughts. I didn't need to.  I was, in fact, reading his exact words - pages of them – posted on Facebook for all to see.  As for the on-going conversation, it had become decidedly vicious, directly attacking individuals who were sharing their beliefs or defending their faith.  Paul told Titus to …avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless [Titus 3:9].

The young man made the statement that Facebook gave him anonymity which allowed him to say anything he pleased.  I couldn’t disagree more. His Facebook identification is his full name. Every one of his 900+ friends can read his “thoughts,” and any one of the friends of those 900+ friends can also peruse them at will.  A wise man once shared with me the fact that information posted on the Internet never goes away.  It is, therefore, totally possible for something you have written to come back to haunt you.  Jesus said, Keep it simple.  Yes, and No are good, but beyond that is the Devil’s playground.  Thanks for the reminder, Lord!

Today's Prayer Needs

Unknown Young Woman just arrested in front of my home 

for a hit-and-run accident

Judy for recovery

Joel for wisdom.

Dulcie and family for comfort

The Entire East Coast in anticipation of Hurricane Irene 

Christians

…the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Acts 11:26b

It seems to me that everyone in the world under the age of thirty lives on Facebook.  That’s probably an exaggeration, but for twenty-somethings, it appears to be universally true.  Someone will post a status comment, someone else will chime in, and the horses are off and running.  My middle daughter appears to have endless friends who love to debate, so the threads on her wall can be really entertaining.

I stumbled onto one such yesterday, when my daughter commented about the individuals on Facebook who were linking the Rapture to the earthquake we experienced on the East Coast on Tuesday.  The discussion was pretty calm at first, until two young men joined the fray and blew up the conversation into a diatribe against Christianity.  “The Bible is plagiarized…” “Myths and fables…”  “Modern Christians are not followers of Jesus,” and on and on and on.  I finally succumbed to making a comment regarding throwing the baby out with the bath water, and immediately became the focal point of the attack.

After a particularly wordy comment, I wrote back one word “Semantics.”  The reply was swift:  “Oh now, isn’t that a classic Christian comment.”  No, it isn’t.  It is a classic Sherrie comment.  I am a person – Sherrie – who has a mind of her own that thinks and evaluates and decides.  I am not just a caricature in a painted box marked “Christian.”  I have a face, I have a character, I have a brain as well as a name. 

I can only assume that this young man has experienced something in his life – betrayal, lies, unkindness, cruelty – at the hands of someone(s) who designated themselves as a Christian.  It really does matter what we do and say when we clothe ourselves in the mantle of God’s name.  If you hold the title, you really need to live the life.  To do otherwise is to deny the very One by whom we are called.

Today's Prayer Needs:

Dulcie and family in the loss of Aaron

Judy for rapid recovery from surgery

Joel for success in freshman orientation

Laci - a book that is needed for grad school on Monday has not arrived. 

Death

 

He will swallow up death in victory,

And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…

Isaiah 25:8a

Yesterday, Richmond experienced an earthquake – a 5.9 magnitude tremor that shook from the North Carolina all the way up to New York, New Jersey and beyond.  The East Coast has not seen a quake of that strength since 1897.  The Internet was flooded with comments and conjectures, people were evacuated from their buildings, and the topic of conversation for the rest of the day was, “What did it feel like where you were?”

The media reported that there were no deaths or injuries associated with the quake, for which we all were thankful.  That did not, however, stop Death from tracing his cold hand through the city.  At some point yesterday afternoon amidst all the after-quake hullabaloo, a good friend of mine lost her precious son to a seizure: the knock at the door, the policewoman on the porch, the overwhelming shock and grief – all so unexpected, so overwhelming.  Death does not care for the niceties of time or place, and never plays fair.

There is a chorus in The Messiah that has always been one of my favorites:

Since by man came death,

by Man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die,

even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

These words are the Hope of every human being who has lost someone precious to the darkness of the grave.  Through His own death, Christ destroyed Death’s hold on his prey.  In Christ we all have the promise of the resurrection and of life eternal.  This truth is what will encompass my friend and her family, enabling them to face the next few days with courage and hope. 

Prayer Needs for Today

Dulcie, Michael & Chelsea in the death of Aaron 

Judy for recovery after surgery

Joel for his first days of college life

A Teacher

…Thou art a Teacher come from God…

John 3:2

I think that I was born a teacher.  Whenever I have had the opportunity to take a Spiritual Gifts inventory or test to see what my gifts might be, I score off the charts on teacher.  I’m not sure why God gave me this particular gift, but I am glad that He did.  I love to teach.  I love to help kids find their own gifts and talents.  I love to watch the light turn on in their eyes and in their brains.

Three years ago, I started teaching in the music specialty center at a local high school.  I met a young Hispanic boy in the sophomore class: a little sullen, wholly unmotivated, and vastly talented.  He has a voice that brings tears to your eyes - a talent that comes along for a teacher once or twice in their career.  I taught him at school that first year, then as a private voice student for the next two years.  Today he is traveling to a first-rate college as a scholarship student, scheduled to begin vocal studies with an outstanding American baritone with vast concert and recording credentials.  I could not be prouder if he were my own son.

Jesus was the Messiah, Emmanuel, God on earth, and yet chose to primarily function as a teacher – the greatest Teacher to ever walk upon this earth.  With gentle hands and piercing insights, He used common, everyday life to teach heavenly lessons.  His stories and word pictures have guided generation upon generation in the truths of the Kingdom of God.   Those seeds of wisdom are available to us through His Word – the Bible.  I hope you will have a chance today to sit at His feet and absorb His love.

Prayer Needs for Today:

For Judy, who is having back surgery today

For Joel, who is leaving home for college today. 

Rose of Sharon

Argue your case with your neighbor, and do not reveal the secret of another, or he who hears it will reproach you, and the evil report about you will not pass away.

Proverbs 25:9-10

The summer after my second grade year, our family moved to a new home in the Encanto North District of Phoenix.  It was a little brick rancher – too small for our family of five, but with a huge corner lot that allowed my father to promptly add on a new kitchen, family room, bedroom and another bath.  We thought our new home was perfect.  Our neighbor to the south apparently didn’t think so, for he quickly sued us for property line infringement. 

My father quietly went about contacting the lawyer and a family friend who was a judge.  Mama was a completely different story.  She was a talker with few inhibitions on subjects for discussion, and she made the whole affair a family project:  recording the comings and goings of our neighbor, taking clandestine photos of his own property line problems, and rallying our neighbors against our accuser.  The suit was eventually thrown out of court, much to my father’s relief and Mom’s satisfaction.

Learning to keep my mouth shut has been a life-long process.  I vowed that I would never use gossip about friends and neighbors to teach “life lessons” to my kids as my mother used to do, but it sometimes happened anyway.  Gossip has such a sweet flavor because it makes us feel so much better about ourselves.  It takes a while for us to learn the bitter lesson that those who will gossip with us will also gossip about us.    

Solomon, the wisest man ever known, advised:  Keep any argument between you and your adversary.  My father, the wisest man I’ve ever known, advised: Learn to zip your lip.

Zinnia

"I have been driven many times to my knees by the
overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. 
My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed
insufficient for the day."
Abraham Lincoln

Morning Glory

 

All of a man’s ways seem innocent to him,

But motives are weighed by the Lord.

Proverbs 16:2

I must confess that I never watch the news on television, and I do not receive the newspaper.  I listen to the news on National Public Radio (NPR) when I am driving, and I read the news on the Internet.  World news is awash with politics and war, national news reeks with partisan politics and good-ole-boy ploys, local news combines politics and crime, and “human interest” stories feature what your favorite celebrity did yesterday, the day before, or what they are planning to do tomorrow.

So much of what I read automatically begs the question, “Why would anyone do something like that?” or, “What in the world were they thinking?”  Crimes committed, decisions rendered, and actions taken leave me shaking my head, wondering what could possibly have been the motive for such a choice.  For there is always a motive, whether we have thought it through or not.  The man in Norway who made the decision to descend on a youth camp with guns blazing believed that his actions were justified by his higher purpose.  The parents of eighty-five youth mowed down in the conflagration would beg to differ.

Solomon reminds us that we tend to look at our lives through rose-colored glasses, believing that everything we do is for the good of all concerned.  The prophet Jeremiah declared that, “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked – who can know it?”  We may think that our plans spring from good intentions, but only God can truly see what our motives are.  Perhaps before you and I make decisions today that could have eternal consequences, we should lay those plans before the Lord.  He alone knows what truly drives our choices.

Prayer Need for Today:

For Judy, who is facing intricate back surgery on Tuesday

Petunias

By wisdom a house is built,

and through understanding it is established

through knowledge its rooms are filled

with rare and beautiful treasures.

Proverbs 24:3-4

I love country music; I was raised on it, and have never lost my affection for the genre. Miranda Lambert was an artist new to me when I heard her sing Gunpowder & Lead, and loved the message of fighting back against an abuser, rough as that message was.  When she recorded, The House that Built Me, she won my heart and loyalty as a fan. 

There are those who say you can’t go home, but I believe that you have to go home in order to understand who you really are.  Pictures are wonderful, but seeing the real thing again, after all the intervening years, floods your mind with images remembered and those half-forgotten.  There is nothing quite like home…

I know they say you can’t go home again
I just had to come back one last time
Ma’am I know you don’t know me from Adam
But these handprints on the front steps are mine

Up those stairs in that little back bedroom
Is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar
I bet you didn’t know under that live oak
My favorite dog is buried in the yard

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

Mama cut out pictures of houses for years
From Better Homes and Gardens magazine
Plans were drawn and concrete poured
Nail by nail and board by board
Daddy gave life to mama’s dream

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

You leave home and you move on

and you do the best you can
I got lost in this old world and forgot who I am

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself

If I could walk around I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me

Unknown Flowers

I have no idea what flowers are picture in either of today's photos,

taken at a botanical garden in South Carolina.

God sets the lonely in families…

Psalm 68:6a

Are you acquainted with Groupon’s?  Those outside the United States may have no knowledge of the word, but here in the U.S., “getting your Groupon” means getting a great deal.  Groupon is a company that offers a great bargain every single day in areas all around the country.  Usually the item or service is 50% or much more off the retail price, and if you want it, you buy it within the twenty-four hours it is offered.  It really helps to stretch your budget to include little “luxuries” you otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

Recently I purchased three Groupon’s for an online photo digitalization service.  All together, these three coupons will enable me to have 1000 photographs placed on CD.  Every week I have been going through the boxes and boxes of pictures that I have collected over the years – choosing the good/great/cannot be replaced photos, and shredding those that should have been tossed years ago.  I am breaking things down into three catagories:  my children, my parents/grandparents, and me.  I have discovered pictures I didn’t even know existed, and reunited with old favorites:  my costumed father with a bull snake in his mouth, participating in the snake dance at the Smokii’s; school photos of my mother with her little first grade students; my three little girls playing dress-up – vamping for the camera in their outlandish costumes, usually wrapped in “dead Ed and dead Fred”, a genuine fur neckpiece with heads still attached!    

What would we do without our families?   The joy and sorrow, the tears and laughter they bring to our lives is priceless.  There were days when at least one of my three girls was a real pain-in-the-neck, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything life might have to offer.  Family gives us identity, security, love, acceptance – the list goes on and on.  We can never truly be lonely if we are surrounded by a devoted family.  They are a gift from our loving Creator. 

 

Anthurium

Honor your father and your mother…

Exodus 20:12

I recently finished reading Caledonia: An Ancient Strife by Michael Phillips.  It is the sequel to the Legend of the Celtic Stone, which I am now reading.  This fiction based in fact series chronicles the ancient strife between England and Scotland, and the issue of Scottish independence which refused to die.  I was fascinated by Caledonia, because I believe that I am of Scottish descent.  You might think: “Um…you believe you are of Scottish descent? Why don’t you know?”   A simple answer - because I am adopted.

I was born in the spring of 1948 [in the boom years after World War II], at the Eva M. Harris Maternity & Rest Home in Phoenix, Arizona. [The rates at the home were $3.50 and $5.00 per day, no extra for the baby.]  Two days later, I was adopted by a young couple for whom I was their third adopted child and only daughter.  From my earliest remembrances, I have known that I was adopted, but my mother was reluctant to talk about my birth parents.  In fact, I knew nothing about the circumstances of my adoption until I was twenty-seven years old.  At that time, my complex allergies were really giving me a run for my money, and my husband thought it might be helpful to contact my birth parents and get a medical history.  One evening when we were sitting around the kitchen table at my parents’ home, he asked about them.

My mother melted into a heap of wailing misery.  To her, that simple question meant that  I was rejecting my adoptive parents.  She and I had never been close; my protestations of affection and love fell on deaf ears.  Finally my father made her go get the little box in which she kept the adoption materials.  When she returned, the first words out of her mouth were: birth parents giving up a child for adoption never give their correct names, so don’t think you will find out anything from the names on that piece of paper in your hand.  I barely heard her.  Instead, I stared at two names:  Ross and Corbett. 

Ross, or Rose, from the word ros, is a Highland clan dating from 1160 under King Malcolm.  Corbett or Corbet are surnames of the Clan Ross.  If I am the child of a Ross and a Corbett, I am, indeed, of Scottish descent.

Hippeastrum (Say What?)

 

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,

for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.

Exodus 20:7

One of my favorite catalogs – particularly at the Christmas season, comes from Harry & David, the premiere fruit purveyors from Oregon. Whoever their catalog stylist is should be making big bucks – you can hardly put the advertisement booklet down.  During the Christmas season, one of their star sellers is a beautiful Amaryllis plant.  Guaranteed to produce a massively gorgeous bloom in the dead of winter, these plants make a striking addition to the home during the cold season.  Imagine my surprise to recently discover that these plants are not Amaryllis at all [an African genus in the same family], but Hippeastrum [native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas].

I can understand perfectly that the name “Hippeastrum” doesn’t exactly have shelf appeal.  I’m not even sure how to pronounce it.  “Amaryllis” is much more attractive, and hey – the plant doesn’t know the difference, so who cares, right?  Hmmm… I don’t know; it actually kind of bothers me.  Is this the only plant in the world that has the wrong name, or are there other favorites of mine that aren’t actually what they seem?  Is a daisy a daisy, or is it a mum in disguise?  What about a zinnia?  It might just be a closet dahlia. 

Names are a source of our identity.  I am Sherrie.  I am not Susan, or Sandra or Shelly.  It does matter what you call me.  My father used to say, “Call a spade a spade,” and I completely agree. As believers, we take the name of Christ and call ourselves “Christians.”  To be a Christian is to believe in Christ, follow Christ, and be like Christ.  If we sling the mantle of Christianity over our shoulders and then live our lives for ourselves, the world eventually gets the picture that we aren’t really what we seem.

I want to uphold every day the name of Him who gave His life to ransom mine.  And I think I’ll buy a Hippeastrum this year for Christmas!  

Datura Inoxia

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites!  You are like whitewashed tombs

which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside

are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.

Matthew 23:27

Datura are leafy annuals (or short-lived perennials) that can grow up to seven feet tall.  The erect, trumpet shaped flowers vary in color from white to yellow, pink and pale purple.  The spiny seed capsule splits open when ripe, releasing numerous seeds.  Most parts of the plant contain toxic hallucinogens, and it has a long history of use for causing delirium and death.  Datura belong to the classic “witches weeds” [an essential ingredient for witches’ brews], along with deadly nightshade, herbane and mandrake.

I currently have this plant growing all along the walkway to my house, and to say they are spectacular is a complete understatement.  The flowers rise through upright pods, coming to full bloom at dusk, but dying by early afternoon the following day.  A single plant will produce 10-12 blooms at the same time.  They are absolutely gorgeous, but completely deadly.

Jesus found the Pharisees to be very similar to my lethal flowers.  In their flowing robes and mitered headdress, they were beautiful on the exterior.  They appeared to be perfect human beings who kept every law ever written.  But inside, they were grasping, devious, power hungry, vain, amoral men.  Society rewards the exterior beauty, brains and brawn of their chosen celebrities.  God cares only for the condition of the heart.

I have met stunningly beautiful people who were vain, rude and self-absorbed.  Some of my closest friends will never grace the runways of this world’s fashion palaces, but their kindness, compassion, love and joy pour forth to me from their beautiful hearts.  Lord, help me today to have true, inner beauty – pure and clean through Your grace. Amen.

Daffodils

There will be showers of blessings…

Ezekiel 34:26

My oldest daughter called last night to chat.  She had taken a taxi to Soho to meet up with some friends at a restaurant.  As we talked, it began to rain, and she realized that she had left her umbrella in the taxi.  She quickly ended the conversation and scooted into the cafe, out of the wet.  About thirty minutes later, my middle daughter called from southern Maryland.  She was driving in a downpour and having a hard time seeing the road in the dark.  She indicated that it was supposed to rain all night, all day today, and all day Monday.

Here in Richmond?  Dry as a bone.  We were forecast to have a 50% chance of showers yesterday.  It rained for 5 minutes and pfft, it was gone! When I went to bed last night, we were forecast to have an 80% chance of showers through the night and all day today.  How often in the last two weeks have we had notification of a chance (usually 30%) of precipitation, only to have it turn sunny, hot and dry. The ground desperately needs moisture, and the lake levels need replenishing.  When I got up this morning?  Nothing. (sigh) Here we go again.

My thoughts turned last night to a favorite hymn of mine that I have loved since childhood.  We need showers of blessing – both spiritually and physically.  I pray that today we will receive both.

There shall be showers of blessings – this is the promise of love.

There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above.

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need;

Mercy drops `round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing, precious reviving again,

Over the hills and the valleys – sound of abundance of rain.

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need;

Mercy drops `round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.

Gerbera Daisy

Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.

Another word for fear, or fright, is intimidation, and I will readily admit that Gerbera daisies intimidate the gardener in me.  I have never had much luck with them.  I buy one in bloom at the nursery, take it home, and plant it according to all the instructions.  The blooms eventually fade, and then the plant just sits there… and sits there… and sits there!  So frustrating.  This year, however, I threw one in a container, and the flower pictured above is from its third blooming.

Yesterday I took two friends to the West End to show them some stores and areas that they had not yet visited.  One woman is new to this area, having just moved here from Missouri, the other has been like a  sister and mentor to me for several years.  Neither of them has spent much if any time on the west side of Richmond. I knew they would never venture out there themselves. A trip across town is just a fun jaunt for me; for many people on the south side, it looms like a trip to the moon. 

When we reached the Short Pump area, we began our explorations at Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market.  This market is housed in a building rather than out-of-doors, but has the old-time country look and feel, including the corny farm animal band up high on the back wall that breaks into song occasionally.  The produce is always excellent and the prices are right down my alley [cheap].  The Whole Foods Market was next – a huge, gorgeous place that is a mix of high-end grocer and even higher-end health food store [expensive].  It was such fun to watch them wandering around with their jaws on the ground!  Our last stop was Trader Joe’s – my favorite market in Richmond.  I didn’t watch them here – I had too much to find for myself!  I did see them noshing on arugula pizza and TJ coffee samples, so I think they were fine.  I hope they will not let fear of the trip keep them from going back - soon!

Intimidation is the enemy of adventure and joy.  Fear of what might be often stops anything from happening at all.  Being naturally prone to it, I now fight back every time it raises its ugly head and reaches out to brush me with its cold hand.  God gives new possibilities every day of our lives.  I, for one, want to reach out and grab them with both hands!    

Shasta Daisy

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad…

Psalm 32:11

My middle daughter went for a doctor’s appointment yesterday, and was advised to have a new vaccination that is appropriate for women her age.  It was free, so she had the shot.  Within the hour, she was beginning to have trouble swallowing, and then shortness of breath.  She went to the nearest clinic, where they gave her shots of epinephrine and Benedryl, as well as some prednisone tablets.  The symptoms abated and we breathed a sigh of relief.  Six hours later, her symptoms appeared to be returning, and we ended up last night in the emergency room.  A much stronger steroid shot took care of the symptoms, and she finally was able to go home and get some rest.

While I was sitting in the waiting room, I observed a constant influx of people who were not feeling well.  Not a single person came through the door with a smile on their face.  Pain, misery and agony were all around me.  It reminded me of another emergency room, likewise filled with patients in various degrees of suffering.  Suddenly a visitor walked into the room carrying a bouquet of daisies.  Without exception, every head swiveled to follow the path of those gorgeous flowers.  It was like a ray of sunshine that slowly waltzed through the room.  For just a fleeting moment, misery was lifted in the presence of those white and yellow drops of joy.

I do not know what you are facing this weekend – a relaxed family time, days of being alone, or a time of discomfort and pain.  Whatever your outlook, the Lord longs to draw near and gladden your heart.  May the joy of His presence be yours today.