Monday, April 12, 2010

Spring has Sprung

The weather has warmed and the plants that surround our property are springing to life once again. Five years ago my wife and I set out to convert our yard, which was comprised almost totally in grass, to something more of an oasis for retreat and enjoyment. First came a small rose garden then A small area was converted to a vegetable garden. Slowly we have converted almost half of our lawn into gardens. We enjoy shade from our pear trees and fresh herbs from our herb garden. Last year we had a bumper crop of basil and plenty of rosemary to use over the winter. Our freezer still contains the bounty from a bumper crop of bell and banana peppers.

We recycled Easter Lilies from church a couple of years ago and they continue to multiply and bloom, alas never at Easter. Theresa, our next door neighbor, has shared from her Iris bounty and we have passed them along to others as well. We have a lovely Chinese rose given by friends in Arkansas and we have shipped cuttings of it across the street and across town.

This weekend we (my lovely wife) mowed the grass for the first time and this week I finished painting the porch that now provides shade and a cool refuge from the summer heat.

Yesterday we enjoyed putting out our hummingbird feeder and were delighted to find a tiny "scout" hummingbird enjoying some sweet nectar! Soon the garden will be in full bloom with Tiger and Day Lilies, hydrangeas, roses and so many other flowers that make our back yard a place where we can enjoy God's beauty and share it with others.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Roses & Thorns

Friday I was trimming our rose bushes and at one point a thorn went deep into the flesh of a finger. I gently removed the thorn and went on trimming but the tenderness continued for a couple of days.

I remembered that Jesus had been given a crown of thorns so I looked up the passage (Matthew 27:27-31). When Jesus had been sentenced to death the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They then took a staff and struck him on the head again and again.

Can you imagine the agony of those long thorns piercing his flesh not once but again and again as they were driven deeper by the relentless hammering of the staff.

This was only one of the terrible acts precipitated upon Jesus, the worst, of course was his actual death by crucifixion.

It makes one random thorn in my flesh seem pretty benign.

Thank you Jesus for sacrificing your life to reconcile me to God and enduring what should have been my fate.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Good Friday

Today at church we consumed the reserve sacrament, and at the end of the service the priest blew out the candle that was burning on the altar. At that moment what washed over me was the thought that this was just like the life of Christ being snuffed out on the cross for my sins.

How humbling it is to know that someone loved me so much to die for me and to reconcile me with God!