-- Numbers 9:8 (NASB)

Waiting

It's probably the hardest thing to do.  Wait!  The season plays tricks on you.  One day the sun comes out and warms you through and through.  The next, rain falls.  More rain and more rain.

Then it turns colder.  You look into the sky and something hits you in the eye.  Flakes of snow.  Oh, no! And I was planning on doing some more tilling in the garden.

So, you walk around the house and see the irises starting to grow, four, five, six inches.  They're ready, too.  Maybe it's cabin fever.  But, one thing I realize.  You don't rush ahead of God.  Moses told the people to  wait, while he went upon the mountain to hear what God had to say.

Well, I suppose what God is saying now is "Not yet, Don.  Be patient.  It'll get here, but it is not time, yet."

I know you are not supposed to "envy" people, but sometimes I wish I had a mini-hot house.  Of course, that probably would take a lot of money (especially to heat it these days) and a lot of time.  So, I'll just wait, and watch and anticipate the wonders that God is going to perform.   dm11mar11

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"Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt . . ." 

Job 38:25 (NASB)

High Water

There is nothing like high water to remind one just how little control you have over God.  We have gotten our share of rain the last few days.  Some of the areas around us have flooded, but we have been fortunate.  The ground is soaked, but, so far, the creeks have been able to drain off the flow.  At left is a creek that runs past our house.  We measure the rise of water by watching the bricks.  We know when to take immediate action, night or day.  In fact, we have a 2,500,000 candlepower light to help us see at night. We also have a light to see the threat of the floods of life.  His name is Jesus Christ, and he declared that he is the "light of the world."  Don't be without him and rely on him.  dm11mar11

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Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?  He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Matthew 13:24-30  

Sometimes the Enemy Is Attractive

Kinda pretty, aren't they?  I understand some people make wine out of them.  Helen Parcels, a friend of mine in Lancaster, OH, one day fixed a salad with the green leaves included.  Not bad, little bitter, but I'll bet they are great for putting fiber into your digestive system.  But for a lawn?  Yuck!   Yet, what's a person to do?

You can poison them, the garden supply store people tell me.  In fact, I bought a bottle of stuff that you attach to your garden hose.  As you water your grass, it's supposed to get rid of dandelions (Taraxacum, if you want to get fancy) and a lot of other unwanted weeds.  I am reluctant to use it, though.

I am afraid if I get rid of my weeds I'll have nothing left to mow.  There is a lot of funny looking stuff on my lawn, brought to me by the fill dirt I had put in.  Then there was the flood in 2009.  I am sure that brought some unwanted seed.  Of course, I feed birds during the winter, and you know they spread the seed all about, in various ways.

That story Jesus told about the tares which grew up among the wheat is a real-life example.  Bad stuff can get to you in many ways.  Sometimes it is even pretty, to a point, but that doesn't make it any less the enemy.  You can get rid of it for awhile, but pretty soon it's back.  I mean, I can't make my neighbors eradicate the dandelions in their yards.  Nor can I force them to change their ways, even though those ways sometimes aren't to my liking.

But, here's what I can do.  I can set an example.  I am going to unroll the hose, attach that bottle of stuff and squirt away.  If I have to replant grass, that's what I will do.  I know, a year or so down the road I probably will have to repeat the whole process.

It's just like that with sin.  I have to go constantly to the Lord and ask Him to cleanse me from my contamination.  I am ashamed to admit, but many of them are the same things I had to ask forgiveness about before. Unfortunately where my sins are concerned, I can't blame my neighbors, floods, birds or anyone else.  I must take full responsibility for them and keep working to grow up and beyond these sins which so easily beset me.

Pray for me, please.  And, put in a word for my grass, too.  dm14apr11

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The Rose Bush

By Becky Alspaugh

My son bought me a very fine rosebush for Mother’s Day. Oh, how beautiful it was. Before I knew it, there were 19 buds on that rose.  I was enjoying the rose bush when the leaves started looking funny.

Boy, was I upset, so I started spraying special rose spray to make those leaves look better. Before I knew it there were bugs eating my rose bush; boy was it a pitiful sight to behold.  Well, I just about gave up, then I had the bright idea to start clipping the leaves off of the rose bush. It really looked bad now, but there were no more eaten up leaves or bugs on that rose bush, NOTHING.

Well, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself that there was a pitiful looking rose bush in my yard that I had sprayed and chopped at and tried to make look better and it was looking so poorly.

Before long I had forgotten about the rose bush and then one day I looked out and thought I saw some green on that bush. I took a closer look; and sure enough, there was just a hint of leaves coming back. Wow, was I excited. I knew it was too late to get more flowers on the bush, but those leaves sure were looking pretty and making me realize that the rose bush was going to get better.

After a few weeks I now had a rose bush with lots of leaves on it. I took a real close look and held my breath. I do believe there was a bud I saw on one of the branches. No, it couldn’t be, so I looked really, really close and sure enough there was a bud of a flower. Wow again!

I thought I was just like that rose bush. I had nearly given up. Sometimes we need to remember not to give up in situations for God isn’t through with us yet.  God can snip off all those dead, nasty branches from us, like sorrow, and guilt and pain and he can make us grow again and blossom again. So I learned a good lesson that day. Don’t ever give up for God is not through with the situation yet. God took care of the leaves on that rosebush and made it healthy again for me. He even put the whipped cream and cherry on top by giving me another budding flower.

(Picture of the rose above is a stock photo)

See information about Becky's book "Who, Who Said the Wise Old Owl -- Reflections of a Caregiver"