I planted the first beds of the year, Amish heirloom radishes and the first batch of lettuce of the year. Before the week is out, I will get my seeds planted in the little greenhouses for the plants that I will put out later. The tomatoes, peppers, okra, cucumbers, pickles and maybe even a few beans.
At first I was a bit hesitant to book the event, it's on Easter Sunday. The more I prayed on it, the more convinced I was that it was a perfect opportunity to celebrate the precious gift of life that we all received on that day. I am often more connected to God when I am in nature, soaking up his beauty and grace. I am definitely looking forward to those four days. It's Hubs birthday weekend, so we are going to spend it camping, our favorite pastime! We might even find some nice area's to hike in.
It won't be the first trip of the season, that one will be to Hannibal, it's our tradition. Hard to believe that trip is only two weeks away. I have to admit the excitement level is growing by the day. It's been too long. In fact I am working on completing my first full sized quilt on "the Beast", it is for the bed in the camper.
By the time we head out Hubs will have completed cataract surgery on both eyes. Tomorrow wraps it up. The improvement in his vision is unbelievable already. And I have to say he looks awfully adorable without glasses. Those blue eyes sure do sparkle. Mostly I am enjoying the wonder he is experiencing his new found ability to see clearly and without haze. I semi-understand the wait until they are unbelievably bad before they do the surgery, because it is a one and done. Unlike a knee or hip that can be repeated. It just makes me so sad that so many folks have to deal with the fuzzy, hazy insanity first. It feels like there should be solutions readily available at this point. It feels like all medical care is about money making, not quality of life and cures. Frustrating.
I also found time yesterday to hang out with one of my best friends, we did a bit of canning, a bit of chatting, a bit of planning and daydreaming. The soul needs those moments. She's working on an incredible upcycled raised garden that I am a touch envious her's is coming to life, mine is lingering in planning stages as I figure out how to make this hillside I live on a viable garden. I definitely need to get on it.
I was listening to one of the channels I follow this morning while ironing. Let me tell you, I am not a fan of ironing, it's boring. I save up channels to listen to while I work my way through the pile. I usually allow it to stack up for a bit before tackling it, that is how much I loathe it, today for the first time in forever I actually ironed as I took it from the laundry. I was completely lost in the channel.
It was talking about faith and forgiveness. It was talking about having faith in God, in his son Jesus and how we live our lives. Are we living our daily lives connected to past hurts and events, refusing to forgive and move forward? I was completely engrossed. At church on Sunday the pastor was speaking about almost the same thing. If that doesn't make you feel like God is trying to get your attention, I don't know what to think.
Sometimes in life we have people or events that damage us in some way. And they were both pointing out how we carry that damage forward. In fact the Roots and Refuge devotion that I was referring to last week was pointing in that same direction. Because if we are carrying that damage forward, we are simply transferring to the next encounter with someone or something that reminds us of the past.
How many times do we simply put distance between ourselves and whatever caused the hurt? A church hurt, a person hurt, a school hurt, a work hurt, an event hurt... most of us are experts at building walls, walking away, and ignoring what caused the damage. What we aren't experts in is forgiving that damage.
We often allow ourselves to be drawn back in, over and over. Almost like we are waiting for that next hurt. I mean have you ever heard yourself or someone else make the comment they are "waiting for the next shoe to drop"?
I understand that not everyone is a Christian, I understand that some people have no faith at all. I pray that each of us has something to rest our worries on, a rock to anchor ourselves.
Ephesians 4:32 "Be Kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." That verse was the anchor to the sermon on Sunday. It gave me goosebumps. As the pastor spoke so many things from my own life washed over me. I am far from perfect, I have made mistakes, I have hurt folks, I have been hurt. I can't magically make that go away, but I can ask for forgiveness and then rest it with Jesus. It won't make things disappear overnight. I won't wake up tomorrow and feel they never happened. But it does allow me to be aware, and then it allows me to have grace and work towards letting those things go.
Well, I'm not so sure that folks are reading this for a bible study, actually I'm not sure why folks read this at all. I know I write it because I feel moved to, because sometimes thoughts and emotions get too big to contain inside this brain of mine and they spill out. So much is going on in this crazy world right now. And who knows, someone might feel a strong need for that verse right now? I know it was a salve to my weary spirit.
Well, it's time to get busy, I have much to work on and idle hands are the devil's playground. Not today Satan, not today...
Much love and prayers...
Good one! 381+
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