MASTER GARDENER

The blessing of home ownership comes with responsibilities.  My master gardener friend dropped by last week and noticed I had disease on some of my trees.  I spent the weekend working on only one bed which not only has diseased trees, but also plants, and even perennials.  This necessitated cutting back of badly diseased parts, and a great deal of spraying to try and save the landscaping.  Frankly the disease had spread so badly I am concerned I may loose a tree, the perennials, and a couple of shrubs.  It had been allowed to spread to the point that the damage is extensive and even amputation and treatment may not be enough to save it.  

As I worked on the damage, I began to think over what had caused it.  These beds have become over grown.  The thick overgrowth has kept the sunshine from reaching the plants, and the sprinkler system has been deterred from casting the water much farther than the bed.  This has created a damp and dark area--perfect for the growth of scale and fungus.  The plants are suffering from the lack of sunshine and damp conditions.  Unless corrected, the beds will soon die.

From a distance, the beds are beautiful, it is not until you get a close look that you realize what is going on behind the scenes.  It is one of those cases, when you will walk outside one day and notice you have a bed of dead bushes without ever realizing the insidious disease was eating away at the plants.

As I pondered this, I thought of the many I have known with cancer.  In many cases, there was no outward sign of the disease.  Only after some symptom or some test did the insidious disease rear its ugly head.  The cancer had been hiding behind healthy tissue eating away at the very life force of the body.  One would never know from the outside what is going on inside.  Left untreated there the cancer will spread and take over the vital systems of the body.  The end is then not far behind.

So it is with sin.  I am not apt to get on social media and give you a blow by blow account of the sin in my life.  Those secret sins hidden behind the mask of false righteousness.  Very seldom do I publicly admit to my private  feelings of jealousy, coveting, anger, pride, and narcissism.  Instead I allow my secret sin to eat away and slowly destroy my witness.  Sin is a cancer--and there is only one cure--the righteous blood of Jesus poured on the  very source of the disease.  We need to cut the sin out and cover the wound with the balm of Gilead as we allow the Son to shine upon us.  Once again we can stand healthy and whole in the soil of grace and mercy, if we allow the healing which comes with confession and turning from our sin.  The Master Gardener stands ready to make us once again whole--If Only--

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I John 1:9

BROKEN CHAINS

I

AM

A CHILD

 OF GOD

BLESSED SABBATH,

DEAR FRIENDS

AWAY FROM THE HOOD

I WAS HERE

THEN HERE

THEN HERE

THEN HERE

AND HERE

BACK TO HERE

SIDE TRIP HERE

RE-TRACING MY STEPS

AND FINALLY
BACK IN THE NEW (OLD) HOOD

I DESERVE
THE JET LAG
I AM 
FEELING!

LESSONS FROM HERO

Hero, The Wonder Dog, never ceases to amaze me.  I recently looked out in the back yard and noticed he was in his guarding stance.  He is quite ferocious about protecting the castle---IN THE FENCED BACK YARD!  Especially brave when enclosed behind the protection of a six foot fence, no bird or lizard dares to invade when Hero is on duty.  

He also likes to sit and stare out the front window (the warm sunshine in the air conditioned house might be a slight incentive).  He faithfully barks, growls and spits at every canine who dares to walk down the street in front of his house.  

The three a day walks continue---I trained him so well in Fort Worth to relieve himself when out for a leashed walk that he refuses to use the back yard.  As long as I am behind him with the leash pulled tight, he boldly goes for every dog or cat in sight.  Hero does not realize he is a dog and considers all four legged creatures enemy invaders on his turf.  He is quite brave in the confines of his home or with me standing behind him.  What would happen----if he were to escape from the protection of home and master?  Would he survive in the big bad world?

We all have similar tendencies  to be brave and outspoken within familiar territory.  As long as we are certain the fences surround us and others have our back, we are quick to growl, bark and spit.  Social media is a great example of the fences we place hide behind.  As long as we are on this side of the keyboard, we let it fly without regard for our safety and protection and hold those who disagree in great disdain.  The WWW encourages loose tongues and indiscriminate courage.  We often jump quickly and without thought when we feel our territory has been invaded by someone we disagree with.  With the protection of being behind the screen of our computers, we feel the false sense of safety and lose any inhibitions.  We bravely stand up for our beliefs--and often say far more than we EVER would if we were face to face with those who intrude upon  our values.  Good or bad--social media has released the inner guard dog in many of us.  We have lost the tolerance to even listen to another philosophy.  What have we unleashed with social media?  

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Hebrews 10:24

ANOTHER FACE OF BULLYING

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon and the school bell ending the day produced hordes of children pouring out the double doors keeping them contained.  Shouts of glee, peals of laughter, and shrieks of joy announced the beginning of the weekend.  From a distance all seemed right with the world.  Up close though, one observes a knot of eight pre-teens clustered together whispering and giggling.  From out of seemingly nowhere a limousine pulls up and the eight are ceremoniously escorted into the long stretch by a uniformed chauffeur.  It was no secret that these privileged eight were off for a fabulous night of cruising in style, dining in elegance, and a rock concert every preteen for miles around dreamed of attending.  It all seems perfect--idyllic--Utopia--until you notice the four girls from the same class left behind.  They stood alone--not even as a united front--heads down--shoulders slumped--and egos damaged by the slight of not being invited.  How devastating to know--have it overtly thrown in your face--that you are not in the "Chosen Group."  All because your skin is the wrong color, you act a little different, your parents don't run with the "In Crowd", or whatever else might make you different.  Your company is not desired in the night's outing.  You are not invited.

Think I am exaggerating?  I just heard this story and it happened very recently.  NOW--I totally understand when the expense prohibits inviting everyone to a party.  What I don't understand is why you would make a big deal of making sure everyone at school knows you are celebrating, but not everyone is invited.  Why would you create a public disply of being certain others know of their exclusion?  Why would a preteen cause this much pain for her classmate?

Daughters learn from their mothers how to act.  Sadly--if the mother encourages this type of bullying---IT IS BULLYING--then the daughter grows up thinking this behavior is acceptable and normal.  IT IS NEITHER!

The pecking order is alive and well.  It was around when I was growing up.  I can't put my finger on when I realized I did not fit in with the "In Crowd", but at some point in my early teen years I understood I was not "In".  Never totally out--but never truly in either.  One of the nicest things about maturing (nice way to say getting old) is one day you wake up and realize you do not care anymore.  Though being on the inside of the socially elite is important to some--most of us came to realize a long time ago who our true friends were. 

Sadly when you are 13, your psyche is just beginning to develop its social side.  This kind of bullying and snubbing is unacceptable.  A kind and sensitive heart is far more desirable than a slot in the socially elite.  What are we teaching our children?  What does this say about the value of another human being?  All of this type of behavior has been around a LONG time.  Protecting fragile young hearts is extremely important.  Hooray for the mother in this story who declined the invitation for her daughter to be a part of this and instead invited those left out for a night out.  I am thankful for those who see beyond the surface and stand up for what is right.  GOOD for the mom who fights against bullying--whatever it may look like.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

DASHED DREAMS

How we envision our lives and how they often play out are sometimes polar opposites and in most cases, at a minimum, not the dream we planned on living.  I loved keeping a welcoming and serene home for my family to call home base.  Dinner on the table, everything in its place, and an atmosphere conducive to relaxation and regrouping were important to keeping the family healthy and happy.  My dream was to always be the wife who made home a welcoming sight.  My style of love is that of service--be it family or stranger, I show love by taking care of those in my path.  My dream was to live in a happy home until death do us part.  That dream disappeared.

Many women and men who find themselves alone mount a desperate search for another spouse.  Most of us are happiest in a relationship, but be wary of any living body to fill that void.  As I have thought this over, I came to realize re-creating what it took a lifetime to achieve is not obtainable.  There simply is not enough time left.  It takes years to grow a deep and meaningful relationship-years I do not have.  So when the dream is dashed---and the realization of re-creating it is impossible--what do we do with dashed dreams?  Where does our hope lie?

As I thought this over, it has occurred to me I should be thankful for that which is right in front of my face.  My children, my grands, and my wonderful friends. Who is to say that dreams cannot be re-channeled?  The love for a spouse cannot be replaced, BUT our love, time and energy can be directed toward others.  Lately I find God placing those who are alone on my heart and mind a great deal.  Though many of my friends are married, many are not, and those who are alone seem to feel the same void.  We seem to be missing the boat by focusing on our past and not looking toward our future.  The world is filled with need and opportunity for service.  Why not re-direct our time and energy into impacting those God places in our path?  Re-channel our energy and time toward the needs directly in our path and leave the past in the past.

Life on this earth is short--and a wasted day can not be re-lived.  SO--I have my eyes open and my heart prepared to bloom where I am planted.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Collisions 3:23

THE PATH TO THE SUMMIT

Somehow the trip to see the turning of the Aspen leaves turned into a hiking trip up to the top of Pike's Peak.  Why would I be surprised when I travel with this crew?

I will quickly tell you there is no comparison to the views  when hiking to those you see by other means of reaching the point of attraction.  It is incredible the views you see when off the beaten path.  Since Pike's Peak summit is WAY above the tree line, the trek to the top had little to do with seeing golden aspen leaves and a lot to do with getting to the summit on foot.  

It does not take a genius to realize you are in no shape to climb 14,000 feet.  Even after the hike was changed from one day to two with a camping stop over, I knew I would never make it.  Moving has not allowed any time for training. My failure to prepare came with a steep cost.   SO I dropped the Three Amigos off bright and early on day one of their two day hike, with the understanding I would stay around town until I heard they had made the camp site.  Our cabin was 45 minutes out of town on winding mountain roads, so coming back if there was trouble was not a hop, skip and jump.  

By 2:00 they had made their camp, but surprise---I have made the decision to ride the Cog to the top of Pike's Peak.  The three hour round trip took you through the glorious terrain of the mountain and---I got to see the sight of the mountain top.  It seemed much smarter to ride the train than to drive---keeping your eyes on the road to the top of the peak is a MUST!

Beautiful as the train ride was--I missed the glory which is only associated with climbing the mountain slowly and relishing every step of enjoying God's majestic creation.  The summit of the mountain was breath-taking (literally at 14,115 ft)  The girls who made the hike experienced the whole enchilada and did not miss a moment of all there was to savor.  We all reached the summit, but their trek allowed them to enjoy so much more than I possibly could on a train ride.

As I thought through this experience, I realized how closely it resembles walking our trek through life.  We have the opportunity to choose the route we traverse.  We can walk with Jesus by our side, and experience the glory of His perfect path for us, or we can walk by the side of man and miss the fullness and beauty of experiencing God's perfect path.  Who we walk by is entirely up to us, but the price we pay when we wander from His side is missing the wonder of His perfection.  What a price we pay when we stray from the path!

So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

Deuteronomy 8:6