Ted and I went last Saturday to this thing – a fire – that was presented by the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council of which our son-in-law Andy is part of. Yes, they had an actual fire. It was part of a “Learn and Burn” education day that explained and demonstrated HOW they burn land areas and WHY.

Did you know that fire is very important to the environment? It can clear out old overgrown debris that chokes out new growth. It can minimize the spread of insects and disease while recycling nutrients back into the soil. And with burned areas that offer a flatter surface of new growth – it can provide a stop to potential catastrophic fires that burn out of control. There is much much more about WHY prescribed burns are so beneficial – click here to learn more.

The fire we watched covered an acre – and was indeed controlled.

It made me think.

I love the song “I Will Never Be the Same Again” that I’ve often sung in church. Here it is if you want to listen to it:

I Will Never Be The Same Again Hillsongs w lyrics YouTube – YouTube

The song speaks about how God can and DOES cleanse us – and changes us. We may simply ask for God’s forgiveness and He, with marvelous love and grace, can forgive us of all our sins. And if we are on the wrong track in life, we can call on His strength and power to change us. Sometimes those changes take time – and sometimes those changes can be painful as we perhaps endure unpleasant situations that bring about our change. Think about maybe an unplanned for job change, or financial crisis, or the death of a loved one, or a health issue. The lyrics sing about how we are to “sweep away the darkness, burn away the chaff, and let a flame burn to glorify Your name.”

So what is chaff? Mathew 3:12:  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” In biblical days, when wheat was harvested, they first cut the wheat stalks, then brought them to the threshing floor. “Threshing” is where you separate the wheat from the useless parts of the stalk. The ‘chaff’ was the husk or covering of the wheat grain. By using a winnowing fork, they would toss the threshed wheat into the air so that the wind could blow away the useless (and lighter weight) chaff.

The bible verse from Mathew 3:12 speaks more about how God will, in the final days, take His faithful followers home with him. God knows his people and will take them with Him but those who deny Christ and live in sin will face the unquenchable fire. But I think there is a lesson here for us on another level. As we grow and learn and become more like Christ and as He helps us through trials that make us to be stronger and more faithful Christians, God is in a way cleansing us from our old ways. Our trials are like the threshing and the winnowing is how we give up and/or separate ourselves from past sins and unsavory lifestyles. Just like all the regrowth of plants and trees after a fire, we can ‘burn’ away those old useless bad things in our lives, only to be changed and cleansed. Like scorched and cleared land, we will have room to grow back better and stronger.

just Laurel

Pockets are a lovely thing. I love stuffing my hands into the pockets of my coat when my hands are cold. They are also great for holding a grocery list, or keys, or a spare piece of gum. Pockets have come a long way, so I’ve read and researched. It used to be that people carried their ‘stuff’ in satchels or small drawstring bags. Then they got the idea of sewing those right onto and into men’s trousers and jackets. I specified “men’s” because women got cheated. They had to tie their satchels around their waists and then access them by means of slits in the sides of their skirts to get to what they were holding. Women eventually got REAL pockets like the guys – but we’re still cheated in a way. Some women’s clothes sport lovely flaps where it LOOKS like there is a pocket, but it is merely decoration and the pocket is FAKE. It is quite disappointing. And guys can easily slip a cell phone into their jean pockets. Women cannot. You women reading this know what I mean.

My grandkids clothes all have pockets – many times they are decorative, but sometimes they are functional as well. Little boys are always putting rocks in their pockets – as Henry and Theo have proved to me! Many times I’ve helped the grandkids find their missing gloves by searching jacket pockets. I’ve also tucked a spare piece of wrapped candy in one of their pockets for safe-keeping for a later time.

Think about cargo pants and shorts. Now we are really talking about multiple pockets that are also very large! My husband works at a shipyard and could not do without his many pocketed shorts or pants. His pockets hold his phone, his wallet, as well as all kinds of tools and spare parts that get pocketed away. This also causes a problem when I find curious and various boat parts at the bottom of my washer when the pockets do not get emptied before being laundered. And even worse is when a Chapstick or an ink pen are left in a pocket – only to destroy the rest of the clothes in the load. Oh my …. I’m sure you’ve been there! What a mess!

So why am I talking about pockets?

The other day when I went to watch Harper and Paisley for the day, I was there quite early and the girls had just woken up. We were sitting on the couch with them in their snuggly zippered one-piece sleeper jammies and Harper was telling me all about what was new with their family. She is just a few months more than 3 years old. The stories that 3 year olds tell are fascinating as they try to put into words what they are thinking. I listened with rapt attention when Harper suddenly said, ” … and then Grandma, um, I had all my dreams in my pocket….” and I stopped her and said, “What Harper? You had all of your dreams in your pocket?” And she confirmed, “Yes, Grandma. All of my dreams…. I keep them in my pocket” as she patted the tiny little decorative pocket on her sleeper.

Oh my how precious!

And it made me think (and smile).

We all have dreams – or had dreams – and we all have hopes or plans or desires for things now and in the future. How often have we let go of those dreams when we give up or get tired or feel defeated? It’s kind of sad to consider that things change or don’t happen when dreams don’t come true. BUT – what if we kept our dreams in a pocket? We can try ‘holding’ our dreams – but our hands can get busy and we can drop them along the way. Maybe we could put them in a box? Oh …. but what if we lose the box or forget where we’ve placed it? But a POCKET? Harper – that’s genius because we can keep our dreams safely tucked away – but also keep them close and attached.

Oh sweet Harper – may your pockets always be filled with your dreams! And by your example, I want to keep MY pockets filled as well. Dreams are all our hopes and desires and wishes for tomorrow and when you’ve run out of all those things, you just might run out of tomorrows.

Hold onto your dreams and keep your pockets filled!

just Laurel

In my last post, “… listen up …” I shared with you about the trip Ted and I made to Mackinac Island. We were fortunate to stay two nights at the historic Grand Hotel. Did you know that this hotel, built in 1887, boasts the world’s longest porch, measuring 668 feet long? It is both beautiful and impressive.

All along the edge of the porch are planter boxes filled with red geraniums. They are lovely! (In the photo above, it was still early in the season and although there ARE geraniums on the left side of the porch, the planter boxes on the right had not yet been filled!) A website that spoke of the grand things of The Grand Hotel gave me the stats to share with you: “The Grand’s famous Front Porch flowers include 1,375 geraniums in 147 planting boxes with 12 yards of potting soil. Grand Hotel uses 2,500 geraniums, its trademark flower, in all its flower beds combined.”

Oh my – like – WOW!

As we were sitting on the porch during our getaway with our friends Cherie and Bruce, Cherie told me about how every morning, a gardener at The Grand will walk down the length of the porch and pick every dead leaf and flower petal from the planting boxes. Every day! What a meticulous job! How fabulous to be sure that the flower boxes always look perfect and fresh and lovely.

It made me think 🙂

What if WE could daily rid ourselves of any dead, useless bits in our life? Wait – we can! We might not be as pretty as a geranium or fresh as a daisy, but Jesus tells us that if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins. And – we can ask for forgiveness DAILY!

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What a wonderful gardener our great God is! He helps us grow, and can help us with the weeding!

I hope, as you enjoy the flower or vegetable gardens around you this season, that you keep in mind how God may be pruning you and helping you to grow. He is there to forgive you of your sins – all you need to do is ask!

just Laurel

Ted and I were fortunate to take a mini vacation to Mackinac Island, Michigan. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mackinac Island, it is a lovely little island on Lake Huron, between upper and lower Michigan, just east of the great Mackinac Bridge. Click here if you want to know more about Mackinac Island.

There is much history on Mackinac Island including American Indians, the fur trade, and war history surrounding Fort Mackinac. Mackinac Island has evolved into a wonderful tourist destination with much to see and do. Starting in the late 1800’s, people came to realize that they could escape the hot, congested city in the romantic and peaceful summer place of Mackinac Island.

As we toured and ate and walked and experienced our little island getaway, I realized how everything was a feast for the senses! There is so much to SEE! The Grand Hotel is stunning. Arch Rock is magnificent. And all of the relics of the Fort, as well as the beauty of the flowers everywhere and the various blues of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan were a joy to behold.

There were 2 obvious and prominent SMELLS. By the 1920’s, fudge became Mackinac Island’s number one sweet souvenir. There are fudge shops everywhere and they make sure you can smell it! Ted and I bought and ate our fair share, I think. The other SMELL – horse poop! Cars were banned from the island around 1900 and they use horses to pull everything – tourists and luggage and food supplies and – everything.

TASTE? Of course – we tasted a lot of fudge, but we were delighted by several wonderful meals. And TOUCH or FEEL? I could feel the cool May weather that kept my jacket zipped and me a little shivery. Thankfully, the warm sun burned through the clouds and its’ warmth on my face and back were more than welcome!

But now for the sense of HEARING. That’s an interesting one. Remember, there are no cars or motor vehicles on the island. Click here for a lovely example of all the clomping of the horses on Mackinac Island. There is the sound of the wind in the trees, the chatter of tourists, and the waves of the shore.

I found that I could HEAR all of the sounds better if I closed my eyes… and LISTENED. I think we miss out on a lot when we stay focused on, literally, what we see before us without indulging our sense of hearing. When I closed my eyes and really listened, I could hear so many birds. I could hear the wind rustle the leaves of plants and trees around me. I heard horse hooves clomp-clomp-clomping everywhere. I think we are so over-stimulated by what we SEE that we fail to hear the sounds around us. I mean, you might be aware of the noise around you, but somehow we tune that out. Other senses take over and we don’t satiate our sense of hearing.

It’s only logical that I talk briefly of the fact that we can ALL be better listeners. When words are not heard in an argument, conflict can increase until more communication and understanding are worked out. And how many times have we not followed instructions because we did not listen very well in the first place when directions were given. If you are verbally slapped with an “I told you so!” then you probably weren’t listening!

Think of the days before television. Everyone gathered ’round the radio to listen to the news, to stories read, and to music. Before radio, people had to listen to people! My guess is – we were once upon a time, better listeners!

It made me think. Why do we so often bow our heads and CLOSE OUR EYES when we pray? I think it is so we can close off the incoming visual smorgasbord around us and concentrate. In our desire to speak with God, we have to turn off the scene around us and focus on what we want to say, and what God wants us to HEAR.

Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

I’m going to try to listen more – to nature and to the people around me. I think we have neglected our wonderful sense of hearing. I want to hear the sounds of birds and of the wind. I want to hear and know what the grandchildren really say and mean. And I want to be attentive when God has something to say to me.

Do you hear what I’m saying?

just Laurel

The other day I was leaving the apartment. We live on the second floor, so I have to exit our apartment, go down the curving flight of stairs, then out the main door. As I reached the ground level, went out the door, then turned right towards the garage and car, I almost walked face-first into a spider web with a very juicy large spider in the middle! Gah! It’s a good thing I wasn’t too distracted to keep my eyes open and looking ahead, or I would have had that spider and web right in my face! I’m sorry I didn’t whip out my phone to capture a picture – but here’s a snapshot a few days later – the web was right at face level. Thank goodness I saw it and stopped. The spider has not shown up there again – either someone else got webbed in the face, or the spider smartly found a new territory!

Today, I was taking an early walk at my favorite spot, Mt. Pisgah, when I almost got tree whipped by a branch. This happened the other day – same branch! – and both times I avoided a smack in the face. I wonder how long it will be before someone moves that branch? Here’s a pic:

Three times in recent days, I’ve found myself almost starting the day with a smack in the face!

It made me think! 😀

Today is here and gone. Today is a gift! Today is really the only day we have to be the best we can be. Do we embrace today? Or do we worry about tomorrow? I have started to wake each day with a prayer of thanks that I DID wake up! Tomorrow is not a guarantee. Today my back hurts. Or some days, I wake with a sinus headache. I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t FEEL – so thanks God for another day, even if I hurt a little. That’s life.

If you’re like me, I have lots of questions about the future. We’ve been in our temporary apartment for more than a temporary time now. Where are we going to move? When? And how long will Ted and I enjoy our good health? Our golden years are shining you know. We have family potentially moving out of state – how and when will we get to see them? How long should Ted and I continue working?

Jesus tells us in Mathew 6:34: Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. He also says in Mark 6:11: Give us today our daily bread. Jesus was only focused on what He could do about today.

I’ve decided that it’s okay to wonder, and question, and ponder the future … to think about tomorrow. But then I give it to God in prayer. I hand it over and ask for direction. And then I try to get back to focusing on today. If I find myself all consumed with worry about tomorrow then I miss out on the joys of today. Let me say that to you again:

If you focus on tomorrow, you will miss out on the joys of today.

One of my son-in-laws does not like spiders AT ALL. He loathes them – and his daughters know it and his niece and nephew, Henry and Lena, know it. A few months back, Henry and Lena watched a drawing video to help them draw a spider. They did awesome for a 6 and 4 year old! Then, they decided to put their uncle’s face behind the spider! The result was awesome – and was then gifted to their uncle.

I hope y’all keep your eyes wide open – to look at today and what’s right in front of your face so you won’t be smacked by a branch or a spider! Hmmmm … or maybe I should hope that you DO get smacked in the face with a reminder to keep your eyes on today and to SEE what is in front of you? Either way – focus on today. Today is a gift. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

Psalm 118:24: This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

just Laurel

Please indulge me as I take you again to my favorite hiking spot – Mt. Pisgah. (See my post “… path …” from May 10th) Since I did not have to work today, among my many ‘to-do’s’ on my list was a trip to Mt. Pisgah to climb the stairs. I am drawn to those stairs. It is such a challenge to look up and feel determined to make it to the top. It may sound to you like it would be same-old same-old and boring, but it is different every time! The weather can be warm, hot, cool, clammy, humid, freezing, rainy, snowy, or just plain old nice. The plants come and go with the seasons, as well as the colors of spring to summer and fall with all the different wildflowers I see. I pass different people all the time – from tourists and locals to campers and daily climbers.

These 2 photos are from the same place along the climb up Mt. Pisgah. What a difference a week makes!

I also enjoy the different animal life that I may spot. As I walk, I keep my ears tuned to any ‘rustle’ I may hear. I will stop dead in my tracks if I hear that sound and will look for what is making it. I’ve seen deer, chipmunks, and rabbits! Today, the birds were all chirping like crazy. As you enter the Mt Pisgah area, you take a path away from the street and gradually wind your way to the stairs. As I leave the street and the sounds of the cars behind, the sounds of the birds get louder and clearer.

Are you familiar with how, when you are visited by a red cardinal, that it is supposed to be a visit from a dearly departed loved one? Now when Amanda died, we often felt she was ‘visiting’ every time we saw a lone untethered helium balloon (see my blog ” … a balloon story… ” from 2/5/2015) but a visit from a butterfly also reminds us of her. I know someone who felt that their departed loved one visited when they saw a dragonfly. Now, since my dad, or Pop, passed away, I have occasionally felt his visits came with a cardinal sighting. As I walked today at Mt. Pisgah and heard all the calling birds, I heard from the steps below me, a man clear his throat and it reminded me of my Pop. It sounded like him. I sort of chuckled and thought – alright Pop, I’d love a visit today, so send me a cardinal! No sooner had I reached the top deck of the stairs when I heard a bird calling form the tree above me. Now I don’t know bird calls, but this one was very clear and I turned my eyes towards where I heard the sound and guess what I saw?

Can you see it in the left photo? It’s almost at the top! Oh my – I whipped out my phone and took a picture as fast as I could! I was both smiling and crying as I was visited by this red bird! I said out loud, “Thanks Pop!” It was just so cool.

It was just the other day when I was climbing Mt. Pisgah that I passed a couple of guys with camera lenses a foot long as they were obviously taking photos of birds. I actually stopped a few times so as not to walk and scare away the bird that they were photographing. I asked in passing, ‘What kind of bird are you seeing?’ and they answered … I can’t even remember … but it was this blah blah blah red eyed something something bird. THEY knew what kind of bird it was – and I was clueless. And in my ups and downs of climbing, I actually stopped past them a second time and asked, “Oh what do you see this time?” They answered again with the name of some bird, warbler, or blue black I don’t know bird. I guess I don’t know my birds. But it made me think. There are SO MANY kinds of birds and these photographers knew what they were looking for, AND what the name of the bird was as well. It reminded me of this bible verse:

Luke 12:6-7 Are not 5 sparrows sold for 2 pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Have you ever thought about how special you are to God? Yes, you! Our God, creator of all things, creator of YOU, knows who you are. Just like those bird photographers knew what kind of bird they were taking a picture of – God knows YOU! AND he knows your name! God knows every living thing on this planet – and cares about them all. Even more so, he knows and cares about you. What an amazing God we have. I mean, I couldn’t even imagine learning all the names of all those birds the guys were snapping photos of. God created us, and knows us, and calls every one of us by name.

John 10:3 The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

I surely do not know all the names of the birds, but I know that cardinals are a red bird and as the saying goes, “When cardinals appear, a lost loved one is near”. I believe that. How wonderful for God to make that small miracle for me today! And just as God knows the livelihood of every bird on this earth, he certainly knows of every PERSON on this earth. He knows your name!

I pray your day takes you to many special places <3

just Laurel

It’s Tulip Festival time in Holland, Michigan! Yes, it means crowds of people and crazy traffic for a week, but it is so much fun! How wonderful that the city keeps the Dutch heritage alive with parades and displays and tulips – lots and lots of tulips – and of course, Dutch dancers with their wooden shoes!

My curiosity got the best of me and I had to look up WHY did the Dutch dance in those wooden shoes anyway? Yes – the Dutch wore wooden shoes but mostly by laborers and farmers because the wood was available and affordable and the wood kept your feet dry and warm (with the help of woolen socks and even extra straw for insulation). The Dutch DID have folk dancing in their heritage and because of the wonderful sound that the wooden shoes made on the street (think tap-dancing taken to an extreme) there were dances created around the clogging and clomping wooden shoes. I’m sure that in the old days, after a great season of bountiful harvest, the villagers joyfully celebrated with song, food, and dancing wooden shoes!

Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.

In my previous blog I spoke about life and the path we journey. A Godly life is one where you try to walk a faithful and righteous path – a straight and narrow way. Life many times feels like we are always walking uphill, always climbing those stairs. The way is seldom straight with all the twists and turns that can challenge us. But there are good times, too. Times when the road is easy and the path is clear. And then there are times that we just want to dance!

Yesterday, as we watched the Dutch dancers, I noticed a lone wooden shoe in the street and quickly pointed it out to Ted. (Thanks for taking a picture of it, Teddy!) Well, with all those stomps and kicks, it is natural that a dancer is going to sometimes lose a shoe! Did the dancer stop and retrieve it? NO! The dance went on and the dancer just kept right on dancing!

Aren’t there times when we stumble on our life path? Take a wrong turn? Dance out of step? Stop walking? Pause and sit? Maybe we even kick off a shoe! God doesn’t want us to linger in the past. Life is about moving forward! Our missteps and wrongs and sins – God offers us forgiveness so that we can start each day anew – and keep on going forward!

Philippians 3:13b-14 Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I love the thought of dancing through life. I wish I could dance better than I do! Maybe I could skip or twirl? It doesn’t matter, I’m sure. I just want to dance more – and I hope you do too! There are so many blessings we all are given each day – and for our faults and sins of yesterday? That’s all behind you! …. just keep on dancing and moving forward!

have a marvelous day!

just Laurel

Life is a journey, so they say, as we all walk or travel through childhood, young adulthood, careers, family and ultimately the downhill final sprint to the end.  As a Christian, I try to walk a righteous path.  God talks so much in the bible about our life path.  In the familiar Psalm 23 we read that “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want ……  He guides me in paths of righteousness.”  If you are like me, when I look back, I don’t always see such a straight path that I’ve traveled, but oh my, so many twists and turns.  You too?  I have fallen off the track and away from Christ, only to thankfully find my way back.  I’ve also traveled some rocky roads and difficult paths.  The way has not always been straight or easy. 

I love Proverbs 3:5-6:  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  That sounds so easy!  Trust and acknowledge God – and the path is straight.  Then I came across this in Proverbs 15;19:  “The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns but the path of the upright is a highway.”  SLUGGARD?  I’m thinking that means slug-like, but I had to look it up anyways.  A SLUGGARD is a “habitually lazy person”.  Also synonymous with:  couch potato, deadbeat, do-nothing, drone, idler, and, lazybones.  I don’t want life to be a thorny path ‘cuz I’m lazy … I want to breeze down that highway!

One of the many things we like about living on the west side of the state of Michigan is the many parks and bike paths and places to walk, climb, or ride.  No matter what time of the year it is, you can find people walking, running, or biking and in the winter, skiing and snow-shoeing.  Ted and I have embraced this healthier lifestyle and are always looking for a new place to walk or ride our bikes.  One of my favorite places to walk is at Mt. Pisgah where there is a hike up 239 steps to the top of a sand dune with a great view of the Lake Michigan beach of Holland State Park as well as a view out over Lake Macatawa.  We thought we were doing pretty good on our first climb to the top that we only had to stop 2 or 3 times and we lived to talk about it!  We have observed people running up and down Mt. Pisgah, as well as people climbing up and down and up and down to the count of 12 round trips!  And that’s non-stop!  My first goal, as I kept going back to Mt. Pisgah to climb again, was to make it up and down just one time without any stops.  I did it.  I can now go THREE times without stopping.

This last week when I went I took some photos to share.  Spring is just starting, so I’m afraid my photos are pretty dull but that’s what is so interesting about Mt. Pisgah.  You really get to see the seasons.  I will see different trees and flowers come and go as well as watch the leaves change from light green to lush green to the golden oranges and reds of Fall.  I’ve also seen chipmunks, deer and pileated woodpeckers.  This particular day, I was taken by the path itself.  Just look at those steps from the bottom and looking up.  So many twists and turns!   And you can’t even see where it ends.  It made me think of my life path!  What a climb it’s been.  And I didn’t always see where I was going.  And it’s UPHILL the whole way.  What happened to that straight path? 

In contrast, let me share a picture of the view on the way down.  Oh yes, it still twists and turns but I still can’t always see where it ends.  But I DO KNOW that the journey down is much easier than the climb UP.  I found it all to be such an analogous comparison to life – and even a Christian’s life walk with Christ.  There is a path before me and although it twists and turns, there are handrails and a railing the whole way.  When we struggle with faith and stubbornly challenge God, He is still there to keep us inside the railing and even gives us His outstretched hand, like a handrail, to grab for support.  There are even benches along the way – in case you need to sit and rest.  The same is with life, when we sometimes find ourselves tired and God gives us time to rest in Him and recharge to keep going. 

I walk Mt Pisgah because I can and because I want to stay healthy and strong as long as possible as Ted and I enjoy these mature years.  As we journey on life’s path, Hebrews 12:12 reminds us to, “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees”.  Yeah, yeah, yeah … I hate exercising, but if I can count climbing Mt. Pisgah as exercise, then I can enjoy it.  As I climb its’ twist and turns while watching the seasons change and pass, it reminds me to enjoy and appreciate life’s journey with Christ.   I don’t want to be a sluggard.  And I don’t want the road to end for a while.  Life is a blessing and I’m here to follow the path and run the race.

Hebrews 12: 1a to 2b:  …let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.

just Laurel

I also wanted to share this photo from Mt. Pisgah where I was standing on flat ground – this picture illustrates how steep the slope of the dune is – hence the stair climb to the top. Also – the bud in the foreground is a tease of spring time blossoming – this place will be green very soon!

In western Michigan, we have been waiting for spring for a while.  It was a little over a week ago when we still woke to snow.  It’s been too cold to play outside with the grandkids, and too cold and wet to work on the boat.  And the tulip festival starts next week with hardly a tulip in bloom.  Waiting, waiting waiting.

We don’t like to wait, do we?  But we spend a lot of time waiting in line at the bank, waiting in line at Taco Bell, waiting for our doctor appointment, waiting for next week, or next year, or even just the next moment.

A week ago, I was driving my granddaughters to my house when Paisley burst out (no pun intended) “I have to go potty!”  From the mouth of a 3 year old – that means NOW.  I didn’t want to tell her that she’d have to WAIT 15 more minutes ‘til we got to my place so I distracted her and talked about other things.  The distraction worked, and we made it to my place, literally running up the stairs and straight to the potty.  Later the next day, the girls were busy playing while I was cleaning up lunch dishes when Harper came into the kitchen with an armful of books and sweetly asked, “Will you read these to me, Grandma?”  I told her she’d have to wait a minute while I finished where she replied, “Okay then I’m going over there to the couch and you can come over in a minute.”  I was there in seconds as I didn’t want her to WAIT any longer, knowing how special and important it is to read to little ones.  She listened to every last book and then went and got 6 more!  Then just yesterday, we went to watch grandson Henry play a baseball game when his younger sister Lena said, “Grandma I want you to come watch me at the playground.”  I replied that I had come to watch Henry play ball and it was almost his turn at bat.  Lena didn’t want to WAIT and told me, “I want you to come watch me now.”  FYI, I did make her wait but was able to see her on the climbing bars a little bit later.

One of my favorite stories in the bible is the Healing at the Pool.  In John chapter 5, Jesus is in Jerusalem near a pool that was known to have healing powers when the waters stirred – and you had to be the first one in the water when the water did this to benefit in a healing.  Many sick and lame people were always near the pool, waiting to be the lucky first one in.  There was one lame man who had been there for 38 years!  When he saw Jesus, he asked him to help him get into the pool.  Now I picture Jesus at this point with a smile on his face, trying to restrain himself from bursting out in laughter and joy as he knows he can heal the man.  Jesus tells the lame man, “Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.”  Spoiler alert – that’s just what the lame man did!  Now there is more to the story, if you want to go read it yourself, but I can’t help thinking that Jesus would have loved to have shouted, “What are you waiting for?”

Through the years, I’ve done my share of waiting.  Sometimes things happened too fast, and sometimes it seemed like forever as I waited for something.  But one thing I know is true, that all things seem to have fallen into place in God’s perfect timing.  As I trusted in God and prayed for my husband, my children, for friends, for family, and for all the other facets of life, the timing was always perfect.  God orchestrated the pieces to put together a great outcome. 

Some things are worth the wait.  Some things you can’t wait for.  “I have to go potty!”  And with some things, God is waiting for YOU and he’s saying, “What are you waiting for?” 

Do you know that with only a few days of warmth and sunshine, the tulips are blooming?  Just in time for Tulip Festival!

just Laurel

It’s been a while since I have blogged.  I’d like to think that it’s only been months, but in truth, it’s been years.  I’ve kept the blog “alive” but it’s not been active.  I’ve had opportunities to shut down my blog site/page but God has always nudged me not to.  Here’s hoping that I have embraced God’s pull on me to write again as I feel inspired today.  It’s like riding a bike, right? 

Ted and I moved from Trenton, MI to Holland, MI two years ago in 2020 when we were all in the early months of covid.  More on that later as my stories unfold.  Our first priority was to find a new church home – which was no easy task with all the shut-downs of covid.  Happily, we have found our new home at Ridge Point Community Church in Holland, MI.  This past Sunday, part of Josh’s message hit home with me. 

Josh talked about the game, “I spy” where someone says something like “I spy with my little eye something BLUE!”  and right away, the Reticular Activation Center, or RAC, part of your brain starts looking everywhere for something blue.  Something blue.  Where is it?  Look left, look right.  I must find things that are BLUE!  Josh went on to explain that if we have a mindset of how miserable our lives might be:  “ohhh my aching back, and what naughty kids I have, and what a horrible job I have, and blah blah blah” that the result is, the RAC effect from our brains will continue to look for the negative; on the hunt for more bad.  However, it’s also the same effect when we look for GOOD.  If we take time to see and recognize the good things – the blessings – in our lives, the more our brains hunt down those positives.  Two weekends ago, I experienced something that sucker-punched this concept home with me.  An awakening!

I have always loved rainbows.  I find them beautiful, unbelievable, and just plain a miracle in the sky.  I used to always ‘look for the rainbow”.  (see previous blogs:  8/28/13 …storms… 9/3/15 …a sign… and 2/4/16 …pullin’ up the bootstraps…}  I haven’t been looking for rainbows lately.  Two weekends ago, the family was all together:  Jill and Kristen with their husbands and all 6 of our grandchildren with me and Grandpa Ted.  It was raining on and off all day, but finally the rain stopped enough that we could get the restless house-bound kiddos outside in the fresh rain-washed air.  The air was still damp and there were dark clouds in the sky with the sun trying it’s best to burn through and illuminate things.  In the eastern sky, a rainbow was trying to appear!  We shouted to the kids “Look at the rainbow!  Do you see it?  Look look at the rainbow!”  It wasn’t the brightest one I’ve ever seen, but it was there.  It dawned on me that I hadn’t looked for them lately.  With all my being, I looked at that rainbow and wanted it to shine for the kids to see and enjoy.  It faded quickly.  But it WAS there – my first rainbow in a very long time.

One of the things I love about rainbows is that it was a sign from God to Noah that He would not destroy the world ever again with a flood.  It was a sign of hope and love that the flood was over and that Noah and his family were kept safe by God and could now get off the ark and look forward to living life.  When I see rainbows it reinforces my faith and hope in a loving God that knows the plans he has for my future.  

For Ted and I, we currently have many “unknowns”.  We are still in our temporary living situation – that has now been temporary for 2 years.  One of our daughters and her family have a big move to another state coming up in the near future and Ted and I agonize over family being so far and how will we get to see them.  We worry and pray for our family’s health and safety and their spiritual lives.  We contemplate growing older with the changes of health and lifestyle that we could face.  It was a few days after seeing that rainbow with the family that it hit me  – as that rainbow stretched across the sky like God’s arms enveloping my family it reminded me of how God has always heard my prayers and answered them.  That rainbow felt like a big hug and reminder from God that He KNOWS and CARES and will hear my prayers.  I’ve always known that; I just needed this reminder.  Throughout all the years of raising our family, my prayers included keeping my family safe, helping them through struggles, leading them to good friends and praying for their future spouses.  God has blessed us beyond measure.  Thanks to Josh’s church message last Sunday, I have been reminded to look for my rainbows.  I do enjoy a literal rainbow in the sky – a true artistic miracle designed by the one and only Creator God.  But all the other ‘rainbows’ in my life – the blessings big and small, dim or bright – are there all around – but I must look for them!  C’mon Reticular Activation Center!  Let’s look for those blessings!  I spy with my little eye … a RAINBOW! 

just Laurel

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.