A Beautiful Thing

With Memorial Day in mind our minister chose to speak on the subject of how and why we memorialize those we love and admire.  Though he mentioned our servicemen and how deserving they are of our honor for all they do for our country, the main focus of his lesson came from a story from the gospel of Matthew.  You can read here how a woman named Mary showed her love for Jesus by pouring a fragrant perfume on his head.  It was poured from an alabaster jar which speaks to its value.  This wasn't a cheap perfume.  Some of the disciples viewed her action as wasteful yet Jesus said, "Why are you bothering this woman?  She has done a beautiful thing to me." Jesus also said that she would be remembered for her action as this gospel story was told throughout the world.  Towards the end of the lesson, our minister mentioned other "beautiful things" he had observed in our church body where brothers and sisters took care of one another or served someone in the community.

When he got to this point of his lesson, my thoughts began to focus on the sweet family you see pictured here.  They have done a "beautiful thing" in my eyes.  I'm confident our heavenly Father would agree and you will agree when you hear their story.

A few months ago Page and Rob learned that their unborn child would not survive outside the womb due to a major kidney defect.  You can read more details about this very difficult situation in Page's blog at this post. You might ask what is beautiful about that?  The beautiful thing to witness has been the incredible grace and dignity they have shown in this time of trial.  They have shown us what Trust looks like in living color.  Page shares her heart toward the end of this post and in her most recent post just last week.  She expresses the roller coaster of emotions they are on, yet also shared the hope and gratitude in their heart for the way God has ministered to them in their trial.  At a time when they could have stayed closed off with their grief, they have ministered to others with their strong faith.  I see beauty in that, can you? 

Today is Memorial Day, a national holiday set aside to honor those who have given their all in service to our country.  As you remember them, please say some prayers for Page and Rob and their extended family.  Micah Edward Cole was brought into the world this morning and though he did not survive as had been anticipated, his mom and dad got to spend some time with him.  We know their hearts are heavy with loss and grief today and will be for some time, but I'm confident they will also ask for and receive His peace that "transcends all understanding"  (Philippians 4:6-7.)  Now, more than ever is the time for those of us who know them to be strong for them and participate in another beautiful thing for His glory.

This song written and performed by Ginny Owens expresses what beautiful faith looks like better any other song I know.  In case you didn't know or can't tell, Ginny is blind.

Timing is Everything

Timing is everything ... you've heard the phrase.  This year I learned that lesson when it comes to gardening.  I love beautiful flowers in my back yard but definitely don't consider myself to be a gardener. Yet look what is gracing my back porch! Would you believe these exact same bushes only put off 3, yes that's right, 3 measly blooms last year?! I discovered that if you trim bushes at the wrong time you basically kill their bloomability ... that's my new word for the day. (You're welcome to use it if you need it.) You're probably thinking ... duh! Just remember, I told you I'm not a gardener. I actually did seek the advice of a professional as to when to trim the bushes but either I heard her wrong or she gave me bad advice. That was last year! This is this year! I guess you noticed I had my blog designer put blue hydrangeas in my design. After all, they are my favorite flower!  I'm pretty happy to have an "eye-full" of them out my back window these days. If you're wondering, I actually didn't trim them at all this year. I couldn't take a chance that my timing would be off again. I just let them die back and sit there. They were ugly sticks just a few months ago.  I wish I had a picture of that for this post.

I'm thankful that God's timing is always right when it comes to the "pruning" He puts me through from time to time. Trusting Him is the only way I know to navigate this life with all of its disappointments, struggles, and heartbreaks. I'll leave you with a verse that helps me to stay on track in the Trust Department.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5,6