In the harshness of the covid pandemic, the news and social media is constantly abuzz with the the latest numbers and the most current predictions and the total reversal of recommendations. It’s enough to make your head spin. I know mine has been. I’ve been thinking about the curveballs life has been throwing at us this year and I can’t help but think all the tough times I’ve experienced in my life have been training me for this. 

I’ve got to tell you…this year was definitely not what I had in my Five Year Plan. Which just goes to show you what happens when you make a Five Year Plan. Life just seems to have a way of shoving all your plans to the side. I didn’t plan on being married again. But I’m so blessed that I am. We didn’t plan on two strokes. But we are so blessed they weren’t worse. We didn’t plan on a pandemic of epic proportions that would change the course of the world, but…here we are.

Yesterday was a day that brought into focus the simpler things in life. I shared with you a while back that the frame on our two year old tractor broke in half a few weeks ago. It’s in the shop and who knows when it will get fixed. Fortunately, we have a second, older tractor but it hasn’t been run in two years. It has taken a great deal of work to get it going again. For one thing, the mower deck was broken and needed welding. Our grandson-in-law came yesterday morning and welded it for us. Then, my step-son helped Mr. FixIt get the mower deck reattached. We still need another piece to adjust the level of the deck, but it’s running and will mow…just not terribly evenly till we get a new cable on it. I felt so loved and so grateful for the presence of loved ones. It is what we do. We help each other best when we expect nothing in return.

I planted onion sets in the garden. My friend Gail sent me pumpkin seeds that are third generation “wedding pumpkins”…the ones we used for decorations when we got married in October 2018. I planted a few along the side yard and I can train them to grow up the fence. I took a walkabout to see how the flowers are fairing. In the corner of the yard, there is a shady place with an earthen berm between the yard and the creek. With all the rain we’ve been getting, the creek is running along at a pretty brisk clip. 

I stood in the morning light and felt the gentleness of the moment. I sipped my coffee and felt the warmth as I held the mug between my hands. The birds were singing in the pear tree in the yard and the sycamores that line the creekbank. Insects buzzed here and there and a yellow swallowtail butterfly seemed intent on joining me in my reverie as it fluttered all around. The irises you see in this picture will soon be blooming. They are yellow and are actually called flag iris or just flags. They look modern and angular and remind me of an Asian painting. 

The moment struck me as peaceful in the quiet anticipation of these beauties that will burst open like fireworks in a few days. Catching them preparing for their moment in the sun was reminiscent of waiting for the curtain to go up on a much anticipated Broadway show. It was tangibly delicious and this picture captured it beautifully. 

I wish I could have caught the butterfly in the photo…but that’s just the way life goes, isn’t it? It is perfect in it’s imperfections.

❤️

“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

1 John 4:12 ESV

#Blessings, #Family, #Gratitude