I Need Patience...Quick!

Toward the end of 2011 I placed my poinsettia from Christmas 2010 in the dark basement for fourteen hours every day for ten weeks. I thought it was supposed to produce red petals again at the end of that process. It was as green when I stopped taking it to the cellar as it was when I started, and from January to March it even seemed to have lost its will to live. Then in April tiny new red growth began to appear! I was so glad I hadn't relegated it to the compost heap.

Living things need time to develop and mature. No matter how often Mr. Whiskers and I check on the plants we have growing, it's not possible to hustle them along. Isaiah 61:3 speaks of God's people as "the planting of the Lord", and He is amazingly patient with us. 

I remember a term when two junior grade boys in our library club just could not get along. Gloom settled over the whole group when those two were being miserable to each other. I was tempted to ask them to stop coming...until it occurred to me that it is a good thing God doesn't do that when His children can't get along. How gracious He is giving us time to master each thing He wants us to learn before setting the next lesson before us. The seeds we've planted need time to grow, and the precious seed, God's Word, which He has planted in our hearts also needs time to produce good fruit. Thank you, Father, that You are willing to wait as stalks of patience sprout in my heart. 

Spring on the Fast Track

Our Mom, who lived to celebrate her 100'th birthday, used to say, "We'll be glad when April's here." She was anything but a complainer. Our home is heated with water radiators. On her way into the living room on a cold night Mom would pat the one in the hall and comment that she was so glad we had warm radiators. When the furnace broke down and there was no heat as she checked the rad on her way by, she didn't miss a beat. "I'm so glad we have warm blankets on our beds," was all she said. But she still looked forward to April and warmer days coming.


This year Mom might have been just as pleased with March. Everything was early. Papa goldfinch took his cue from the forsythia and began getting rid of his winter coat much too soon for this corner of the globe. Both were a vibrant yellow before the end of March. The robins had returned from the south. Cardinals and chickadees sang their spring songs, and bluebirds started gathering dry grass for the nesting box.


A few warmer days had coaxed sap up the trunks of the maple trees even in February. Night temperatures in March varied between the freezing ones needed with ones above freezing, and some days were too mild for the quality of sap needed for good syrup. In the southeast corner of the province farmers seeded fields earlier than ever before, not without the concern that a cold snap could cause big trouble.


But we have God's promise, "As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22 NIV) Even with such strange goings-on here in the weather department, Mom's response would most likely be, "It'll be fine. We'll take what comes." That about covers it.

Bonus...

A couple of things happened just as February was ending and March was beginning. Hope it's okay to slip in this extra piece that fits best now.


The other morning I went upstairs to find Mr. Whiskers snuggled up to a lacy white Victorian pillow that was a gift from a special child. For some reason the soft yellow towel on the end of the bed where he usually sleeps had lost its appeal. Any spot that he often curls up on can be identified by a patch of gold. Although I don't have a lot of knowledge about animals, I'm guessing it comes from some oily substance in his ginger hair. I love my house buddy, but not enough to let him wreck the pillow.


Perhaps washing it on delicate cycle with a special soap would remove his mark. However, if he isn't given the opportunity to leave his signature the process won't be necessary.


Another scene contributed to what God was speaking to my heart about Mr. Whiskers and the pillow. The snow had melted during a few milder gray days revealing a rather dingy landscape. Then overnight, temperatures dropped and a fresh snowfall made our world look clean again. I knew it was only a cover-up, that what was underneath hadn't changed, but it still transformed the image and lifted our spirits.


These episodes brought God's forgiving ways to mind. First that He wouldn't declare any clean-up just required too much effort. No matter how ugly a stain I've created with some totally out-of-line words or action, He's willing and able to completely remove it. Plus, He never merely covers over my sin so that everything looks pleasing again. He eradicates every trace of it, blots the charge from the records and forgets it happened. I am so very thankful for His amazing mercy and love.

Following the Recipe

Some folks love to experiment with unusual combinations of ingredients and create special treats. The result may be delicious or it may be something even they are not able to swallow. If we just need to get something baked and don't have time to mess with disaster, a tried-and-true recipe is priceless. Measure the correct portion of each item, follow the directions for putting them together and the amount of time suggested for cooking or baking, and the results usually satisfy. Individual needs and quirks can dictate less sugar, more cheese, no salt... without spoiling the outcome as long as we follow the basic guidelines.

I am so thankful for Father God's recipes for daily living. Just as directions in a good cook book show us how to concoct a meal the family will enjoy, paying attention to the steps God's Word outlines can help us through each day. The Lord Jesus said, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over...(Luke 6:37-38 NIV) The last bit makes me think of flour being measured into a sifter, then falling through into the mixing bowl as the handle is turned. Each ingredient is needed and a cake turns out best if the flour is added first and last, alternately with the liquid.

In life God shows us the best order for each step too. When angry words are spoken, we can resist the urge to defend ourselves and talk back; ask Him to help the one who's upset; forgive, and leave the outcome with Him. Whatever issue we face, our Lord has the best solution and to be able to lie down in peace at the end of the day is as satisfying as the most scrumptious gourmet feast.

Just Do It!!!

If I did not know Mr. Whiskers' humble origin, I might suspect he descended from some royal line whose members had walked on nothing less than a soft carpet of green. He is keen to complete his tour of inspection around the brown barn each day...after I've cleared the snow from the path all the way from the back door to the compost bin behind the barn. When he still hesitates to set out, all I can do is encourage him to get going. Once he ventures forth he's engrossed in the adventure.

I am looking forward to connecting with Isaiah (which could happen before too long in view of world events). Not our Isaiah in Sunday School, who, along with his brothers, could be destined to do great things for God, but the Isaiah who wrote, "What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?" (Isaiah 5:4 NIV) Comparing His people to this vineyard, God says He cleared the stones, dug the ground, planted the best vines, built a watchtower, cut out a winepress... He has done all He can do for His people to produce the best results.

For each of our lives there is an amazing plan. God prepares the way doing exactly what each of us needs to move forward and accomplish it. He sends ones like Barnabas along to encourage us. Our families, pastors, friends lend their support, with an extra nudge at times from folks like the dear couple in British Columbia who contacted an editor on my behalf.

I have never put a toe to Mr. Whiskers' backside to get him moving, but that's about what this reluctant individual has needed more than once. The words on a sign I passed yesterday confirmed what has been happening in my heart recently, "Sometimes the best helping hand is a good firm push."

Nutty Notions

One unusually mild sunny morning I spotted a squirrel stretched out on the crossbar of the clothesline post. His obvious enjoyment soaking up the rays tickled me. Careful not to startle him, I came around the corner from the far side of the house into the back yard, camera ready to catch the moment. Before I was close enough to click my little "point and shoot" he sprang up ready to flee.

This bushy-tailed rodent could not know that I intended no harm to him; that my only wish was to share his pleasure. Maybe his mom taught him before he first ventured from the nest never to trust a human.

When I switch the lens around in my direction, all excuses vanish. We cannot begin to imagine how many times Father God longs to come close to us. Often failing to understand seems to be what we do best. He has done everything possible to show us His incredible love. Yet people believe the enemy's lies and draw back from His approach.

To think our God was willing to come to this earth as a man to reveal to us that His whole desire is to extend His love and mercy and grace to humankind...Nothing in me is remotely willing to become a squirrel so they will trust and return my affection for them. I ask with David, "What is man that You are mindful of Him?" (Psalm 8:4 NKJ) It's one more thing beyond our understanding, but He has deemed us worthy.

I take a look at the dark hole Mr. Nutkin retreats to, his safe place. Then I consider the amazing promises available to everyone who chooses a loving relationship with Father God. Our ability to choose is the key. God could overrule this freedom, but He presented it to us and He won't go back on His Word. I don't want to miss any together-time we can share, running away from what I would choose above all else if I could understand what it is I'm being offered - "unbroken fellowship with Him in Christ Jesus". (Romans 6:11 AMP)

Out of the Darkness

In this part of the world we're past our shortest day. The Christmas lights in the village brighten the dark evenings and now the time between sunrise and sunset increases a bit each day.

On October 1st, I began taking the poinsettia to a dark corner of the basement for fourteen hours of no light. If it has ten weeks of this, the lush green plant that filled a large spot in the garden during the frost-free months is supposed to renew its vibrant colour. In mid December mine was just as green as it was in July. Confession - I completely forgot to put it in the dark on two different nights... and there may have been a tad of light over the rafters on occasion when I was sometimes in another part of the cellar. For whatever reason, my efforts failed. Perhaps it will break forth in a brilliant red at some other time of its own choosing - very unlikely without the conditions it requires for the change.

Dark times do a special work. I love the late tenor, Paul Sandberg's, rendition of Andrae Crouch's "Through It All". He sings, "My trials come to only make me strong." In Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner teaches the value of difficulties. He encourages his readers to regard times of struggle as opportunities to grow in whatever way is necessary to achieve victory and that the challenge is essential for growth. He suggests that our outlook can be the determining factor in causing hardships to become beneficial to us. (Nov. 16 reading)

We can't know the precise date of the darkest time of events in this world, but we do know that brighter days are coming. In the mean time we can refuse to let trials hinder our progress and instead use them, as Sandberg's velvet voice declared, to make us strong.