Faith's Autumn Dance

My sister, Faith, writes about autumn in a poignant sort of way. 


Autumn Dance

Heavy gray skies hang over head

While wild winds blow the crisp leaves

Into a frenzy making them

Leap and dance across the yard

Trash cans tumble noisily by while

Wisps of paper and other debris

Whip by in a hurry to meet its destination,

The air cools and the breezes become

More insistent; tugging branches

To and fro in a long-awaited autumn dance

There are a few red and golden leaves left, but soon

 The trees will shed their beauty and become skeletal

In their appearance-the heavy gray of the skies will turn

Cadaverous and the earth will sleep.

~Faith Stobbs

Autumn -- the herald of winter--- , and when the trees smugly discard their glory ....the backdrop of beauty takes a vertical plunge....No, autumn, though it is a beautiful send off, sometimes teases and needles me about this "cadaverous sleep" a-coming.  And when I am left there again-- dumbly gazing up at "skeletal trees", don't I believe, after all..............in spring?

But today, "Oh my goodness",..today I dread nothing at all-- All caught up in the brilliant, vibrant color --  this autumnal scene is playing out like some kind of supernova whose glorious finale is about to explode; this magnificent crescendo happening all around us in our little valley. 

I want to hang around in this "glory" and not peer through the golden leaves, and shiver at  what  could be just beyond my view.......could it be winter again??  

But, to see my winters as the time when life is rejuvenating just below the surface, this would be sweet---and not a time of death, nor something to dread.  In  HIS gentle kingdom there is nothing to dread at all.

Mistrust is quite wintery to me-- it's as if  the peace that I enjoy just peels away and I and my unbelief sit exposed.  And how silly, when our Father can always be trusted.

But, it seems like a Kingly grace and kindness that sets any trial, any set back, and momentary lapse of trust , or winter of heart always between an autumn and spring. 

 I hear that faith trusts the view beyond to Him who loves us best. It reconciles our blindness and shortsightedness to Him who can see to eternity and back.  I hear that faith never forgets about spring, where refreshing awaits with endless streams for the thirsty.

 20 Early on Sunday morning,^[a] while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance......................and "spring" came again.

How is The View?

My little room;  I sleep there, read there, think and have deep conversations there (prayer),  and sometimes leaping epiphanies.   Three windows give me a view of the field, the next farm, a little pond out back,  and a little mountain beyond.  Gosh, the windows were dirty this morning.  Webs had been weaved around about and dust had blown up from some previous storms and blurred my lovely view.  It's been that way for a while, until, I washed them all off.  How sweet to see out so clearly now!

                                            How sweet to see clearly.

 And the apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians in his day like this:  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.  Ephesians 1:18.  I so want to see this clearly.

¹² For now we see in a mirror ^[a]dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

THEY. ALL. FELL. DOWN.

Reading in the gospel of John, I keep coming back to this story: 

So, Jesus was with his disciples and knowing that he is soon to be betrayed, he crosses over the Kidron Valley and into the garden/olive grove, where he and his disciplines had often spent time.  Judas, had decided to betray Jesus for money, knew that he would be there, so lead a group of soldiers out to find Jesus.  And when they find Jesus, who was expecting them, Jesus says to them, "Who are you looking for?"

One of them answers, "Jesus the Nazarene."  

~And this is the part that is punctuating my day ~

Judas, the betrayer, stood with the military force.  As Jesus spoke, "I am the One", the forces fell back on the ground. (John 18:6)

............. "THEY. ALL. FELL. DOWN!" They fell down at his voice...  a mere hint of  the power that was at his disposal, yet was being withheld.  

And Jesus had to ask them again, "Who are you searching for?" I'm assuming He had to ask again because they were all groping around on the ground! It was dark, they were carrying torches and weapons. They were stunned, surely fearful, and confused as to what just happened to them!?  I wonder if they questioned whether they should even be there at this point, whether it was safe to lay their hands on Jesus since He was obviously in possession of some awesome power. Maybe that is why they shackled his hands and his feet even though he went with them willingly. 

I grope on the ground as well. But not because I am experiencing that power like the soldiers did, but because I forget that it is there.  And I grapple with my issues and struggles and wonder how I can fix things that are broken around here, how can I figure out the answers to great problems, how  do I make good things happen, how do I defeat the enemies in my life?

And my eyes glance up to the sentence above in red:  "I am the ONE", He says.  And I see Him standing there in my minds eye with all of the power in the universe in reserve.  And if He didn't defeat His enemy at the seemingly most opportune time for Himself, but let them have their way with Him for a greater good (an understatement), then I don't want Him to do any less for me.  It's good to imagine Him holding back His strength and His power to save me in my struggles because He knows the timing is not yet right.  Oh, He will save us in our troubles -- He will always come through, but knowing Him better is trusting Him more and giving ourselves to His timing and plan.  

But, today I'm loving imagining how those soldiers all experienced His power that way before they laid their hands on Him to take Him away.  He was in control and He reminded me that He ever is.♥

Conclusions

Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.    He concluded.  He formed his everlasting opinion about us, that we  were very good.  And I must soak this in...this kind and loving conclusion concerning me and you.

And tucked into our created flesh, blood, and spirit is the mystery and the same powerful ability that our loving Father used to make his thoughts known about us;  He gave us, also, the power to conclude. 

And our conclusions about most everything hold vast power that we wield as we live in the wake of them, because our actions are charged with the truth of our conclusions--

Do we believe every word that He has spoken?  Is it all true and trustworthy?  Can we place our vulnerable lives and hearts in His care?  As my cousin says, "Does He have your back?" And as He said it about us, can you conclude with me that HE is good, too? --no matter what? That in any trial and no matter how the deep valley threatens to swallow and the shadows loom large overhead, that He will not let us be lost in our trouble, or swallowed up by any of it? 

Lately, I have been lingering around my conclusions and setting them in stone.  He is very good in every way, no matter what. ♥





 
 

When it Snows

When it snows..........we all loose our heads.

 When we take up the mail, we hide a camera under our coat

                    and start grabbing the snowy moments; click, click,   click.......greedy, like we want to save them all for ourselves.

 

because everything just looks more interesting when it snows...

and because snow makes our hearts pump a little     faster.........strange, right?   

            

... because ordinary things look  extraordinary in the snow.

Snowy daffodils; extra lovely.

                                             

                                    Snowy lil' donkeys are a sight to see.

Snow makes middle aged ladies climb up icy ladders just to take a picture from the loft in the barn.

                                       Snow makes school bells look cool.

It makes ducks quack and run like mad.

It seems to have made guinea foul do what they NEVER do...visit the house.

                          

                   But just for a minute or two.

                             

Then, when we come in from outside, we peak out windows.

We just keep peaking because something might look snowier and we might miss it.

And they DO look snowier! 

Snow makes us a little giddy 'round here.

Packing Light....Please Do

Trying to navigate the Christan life with a truck load of conditions and expectations in your heart is a bit like trying to take an S curve in the Ozark Mountains with a double semi.  When the curves get so wicked, narrow, and steep, something has to give.  How much easier to navigate those curves in a two door Honda Civic or better yet, on a motorcycle with only necessities in  your pack.  Travel light!

We are not made to travel life's path with stipulations and conditions made for our own comfort, safety and ease. It's too large a load to carry.  How much easier is it to say "yes" to God's will when we are untangled from our own plans and desires, when we haven't made a stipulation on Him that we must at all times be well dressed, well fed, well rested, well respected, received with admiration by our friends, respected by our neighbors, with money in our accounts, well traveled, educated in the best schools, and a brightly laid out plan for our future.  When we demand our life to be exciting, in line with the culture, free, and full of our own pursuits, we are in great danger of forfeiting His plans for us. What a dreadful trade that is!   It reminds me of this:  John 2 :16  All the things the world can offer you-the allure of pleasure, the passion to have things, and the pompous sense of superiority-do not come from the Father.  These are the rotten fruits of the world. This corrupt world is already wasting away, as are it's selfish desires.  But the person really doing God's will-that person will never cease to be. 


My thoughts sweetly shook me today and my prayers are forming anew.  If He asks something hard of us,  it's best to jump right in. In His plans lay hidden our greatest moments and best pleasures, though we may have to endure secret hardship mingled with our reward.  

 So, in my words I lay bare some of my struggles and triumphs!  And if I sound like I jumped right out of the 1800's today, it is because I have been reading Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss and now my thoughts are all in Elizabethan English today (grinning). But, I'm sure that will straighten out soon as I am almost to the end of the book and because I share a home with teenagers!  :)