Garden of Thoughts

Here I am again weary of the world but loving it too!  With a blizzard of Christmas catalogues falling on my doormat I ogle them contendly and what satisfaction it brings, and Im so torn with creating a peaceful, joyful home and so painfully aware that everything I own, everything I treasure and I love will not make it to Heaven except the people I love.  And yet without a thought I gather things tome that will perish, every single object will one day be no more.  It is a good reminder to me that while cosy blankets and mugs of hot chocolate, and books by the fireside are all delicious “things” to have, it is people and how I treat them that will have a lasting effect, oh yes mugs of hot chocolate and fireside stories set the scene and are not bad in themself of course, but I think Im quite deceived if I think that is all it will take to create lasting loving relationships.   

 Having said all that I do think time effort and money is spent more on  *things* than investing in those that will truly last – people.  It is so striking in Ken Ham’s books when he uses the illustration of  “which of these can you take with you”, under the caption are several items houses, cars, treasured items and a small boy.  Of course the boy is the only one you can take, and yet it is usual to spend more time investing our abilities in the “things” and not the person.  How backward our thinking is.  I am particulary struck by the fact I see so many distractions and interuptions in *my day* in a negative way and yet think nothing of pondering over what color table cloth I should have for the Christmas Table.  Oh if only I took so much effort to *be there* really there, not just physically replying with monotone voice, but be there investing in people, not just my children, but people in general.  So Happy Christmas shopping but invest in the eternal.

What can be done when her heart is longing for God and yet she stumbles over a tiny grain of sand.  Her eyes are looking upwards, her heart is longing for something better, she sees contentment, peace and joy are within her grasp and still tumbles to the floor at her first test.  In a heap she sits, angry and frustrated, how can something so small, so uninportant cause so much strife.  The grain of sand will pass away, one day it will be no more but while it is here, it sits on the floor barely visible to her eye but it may aswell be the rock of Gibralter for the trouble it brings, but it isn’t that big, it is a grain of sand. 

I suppose that isn’t a very original title for this post but it sums up the view from my kitchen window.  Looking out across the rooftops, passed the birds swooping and gliding, and up into the pale blue sky leaves me feeling quite small in this vast universe.  How beautiful it is, my heart rises, longs and looks for higher things at such times, and all from peacefully looking out of the window up, up, up into the dazzling sky.  My kitchen certainly isn’t peacful with houseful of children, but surely my soul can seek a moments rest by looking and taking it all in, soaking in every drop of God’s precious peace He gives me.

Walking through the delightful woods at the weekend had the same effect.  Sitting on a quiet bench, with cyclists whizzing by, and children playing and laughing nearby, we all sat on a cozy wooden bench munching on crisps, breathing in the delicious fresh, crips air and I was full, full inwardly.  Here besides God’s creation, lapping up all my eyes could take in ready to visit again in my minds eye. 

It is a theme I seem to repeating lately, perhaps because I am surrounded by lots of “needs” with little time to recuperate and fill my souls cup, but it does the heart good to stop and take a minute and think of the bigger picture, of the world you are on and just how awesome God is.

Im not too keen on spiders, but a spiders web can be quite beautiful on a misty morning when they are covered with dew.  And watching one from a safe distance behind a window as they weave their traps can be fascinating.  Perhaps not a daily miracle, but certainly more evidence that points us to our Creator.

Isn’t autumn lovely.  Crisp air, the fresh scents of the garden as it goes to sleep for the winter, the hazy countryside with its golden hues against a grey afternoon sky.  It is truly my very favourite season.