Category: Watching for God

God is all around us. All we have to do is look for Him. If we seek Him, we will find Him at times in the most unlikely places.

Lessons from the Trail

Posted on by Wendy
If we want to experience all that God has for us, we have to keep moving towards Him.

A couple of weekends ago, my kiddos were both home from college and we decided to go on a hike in the North Georgia Mountains. Hiking is something we have always enjoyed as a family, even when the kids were little. There’s just something about getting outside and exploring, completely surrounded by nature, that has always fed our souls.

We have an interesting history with this particular trail. The first time we attempted it, we weren’t prepared. We stumbled upon it when we were driving around and just parked the car and hit the trail. It was late when we started and we didn’t bring water, but the trail was shaded and it wasn’t that hot. We had a late breakfast, so we hadn’t eaten lunch. The trail follows a stream the entire way and there are waterfalls along it. It’s beautiful, but it’s a five mile hike round trip and we didn’t know where we were going. We finally gave up and turned back.

When we got home and Googled it, we missed a pretty waterfall at the top and we were very close, when we gave up. But, how could we have known? There was no cell service there and we had never been before.

The next time we went, we were prepared. We brought water and snacks and we got an earlier start. We were a little discouraged because there were tons of cars when we arrived, but when we got on the trail, it wasn’t crowded. We saw people, but there was plenty of space. I am always amazed at how friendly people tend to be out on a hiking trail. Most people smile and speak. Folks seem visibly relaxed as if Creation somehow brings out the better part of all of us.

This time, we made it to the top, but it was Fall of 2016 and a large part of the mountains were on fire. We had no idea that there was a fire just over the ridge and a lot of the people there were hoping to see it. We got down off of that mountain trail in record time.

Fast forward to 2020. We decided to give that trail another go. My children were now a sophomore and senior in college instead of high school like the time before. The entire world had been in some level of quarantine or lock down from Covid-19 since March, not to mention, reeling from months of social unrest and it was now Labor Day and we wanted to get out, to escape the news and the noise. This time, we brought provisions and my daughter’s precious pup.

When we arrived, there were cars everywhere. They were parked all up and down the road so close together that we wondered if our truck could even get by. It seemed a lot of other people needed to escape as well. We almost left, wondering how it would be possible to safely hike with all of those people, but we didn’t. We found a spot and hit the trail.

We were pleasantly surprised. While we did encounter people along the trail, there was plenty of space and masks. We saw old and young. We saw people of every color and as I have come to expect while out on a nature trail, there were friendly smiles and greetings. There was no tension or politics. No one seemed to mind if they had to wait for others to snap a photo. No one seemed to be in a big rush. There were simply people trying to enjoy some beauty and quiet and to soak up Creation.

This time, we made it to the top and sat and rested for a bit, taking it all in, so glad that we had come. Thankfully, there was no fire, just lots of fellow travelers who like us, seemed genuinely pleased to be there.

I have learned a lot from that mountain trail. I have learned that on our journey here, it’s okay to rest when we get tired, but if we want to experience all that God has for us, we have to get back up and we can’t turn back. I have learned that we need to plan for some provision both physically and spiritually. I have learned that the path rarely stays exactly the same, but God does. Perhaps most importantly, I have learned that in God’s economy, there’s always room for one more. His space is unlimited.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too. Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Spider Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

A few days ago, I was heading out to my backyard when I encountered a big garden spider on a huge web. I’m in my backyard almost everyday and it seemed like she appeared overnight on her web and all in all of her glory. If I’m completely honest, I will admit I have never been a fan of spiders, however, as I’ve grown older, I have come to admire their craftsmanship.

Have you ever really examined or stopped to appreciate, (from a respectable difference of course!), the intricacies of a spider’s web? They are so precisely made, like natural works of art. Besides their artistry, those webs are very effective as well, as anyone who has had the misfortune of unknowingly walking into one can tell you.

So, I paused for a moment to admire nature’s art, and I was reminded what seeing a spider in that spot likely meant. It’s late August in Georgia, as I write this, and we are easily hitting ninety degrees on most days, yet spiders on large webs, begin to appear every year as summer nears its end and fall draws closer. I chuckled to myself and wondered if this particular spider was mistaken. Fall feels very far away at the moment, despite what retailers would like for us to believe. It’s hard to think about pumpkins spice when it’s ninety outside.

But, a couple of days later, when I was out on a walk, I saw another spider on a large web, high up in the trees and I knew that the first spider wasn’t out of sync somehow. Why would she be?

As humans, 2020 along with the corresponding virus, social unrest, masks and divisive politics that will forever be linked with it, has created havoc for us. The human world is in chaos and nothing seems normal and sometimes we wonder if it ever will be again. We don’t trust the news, or our leaders or even our health officials, who seem to change their minds on a daily basis. It’s enough to make us want to throw up our hands and just give up. What’s the point of trying to make a difference in this crazy world?

Yet, God shows us another way. God is a God of order, not a God of chaos and when we want to find Him and some order, which is part of His plan, we can always look to His creation. Nature is completely unaffected my the chaos currently plaguing humanity. Spiders are building their webs. Fall is coming. God is still in charge despite what humanity might think.

As I thought about the spiders on my way home, I felt some peace settle into my heart as I always do when I truly seek God. A dear friend of mine recently reminded me that when we intentionally seek more of God and less of man, peace will always be close by. She was right. Some spider webs reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Hummingbird Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
When we focus on what we’ve been given, it’s usually more than enough.

I haven’t had many hummingbirds this year. I have no idea why. I hung my feeder in the spring like I always do and I patiently waited. I was so excited when the first one arrived and then the second, but I never got over three or four. Normally, I hang two feeders to keep them all fed, but this year, I only needed one and I kept it half full so the sugar water wouldn’t go bad before they could drink it.

But, about a week ago, traffic began to pick up. I had more visitors and I filled the feeder back up to the top. One morning last week, I watched two of the little birds viciously fight each other at the feeder. It was filled completely to the top. There were plenty of perches and plenty of food, yet instead of partaking of what had been freely given to them, they fought over who would get to feed there.

When I commented to my hubbby about how foolish they were acting and how much time they were wasting focusing on each other instead of what was in front of them, he commented, “Aren’t we all like that?”

I thought about those hummingbirds and his words for the rest of the day. He was right; we do tend to act like those foolish birds perhaps now more than ever. We have been slogging our way through a pandemic for six months now with no end in sight and we are weary. There has been a lot of sickness and death and yet there has been amazing provision as well.

The grocery stores are stocked once again. Toilet paper has made a comeback. Our hospitals are not overwhelmed and treatments are getting better, but instead of focusing on provision, we focus on each other. Who is wearing a mask? Who isn’t? Who is right? Who is wrong? Which school district is going back in person? Which is going virtual and why each is wrong or right? Even when parents can choose virtual or in person, it’s still a fight.

And of course, there’s all of the politics.

At closer inspection, we have a lot in common with those hummingbirds. What would happen if we were to prayerfully focus on the gifts we have been given at this moment, and if we are honest, it’s way more than we acknowledge, and stop concerning ourselves with what everyone else is doing? It may help if we begin with a large dose of humility admitting that none of us are in charge. None of us really know what we are doing and most everyone is doing the best that they can.

As I was writing, a verse popped into my mind. “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

It seems to fit the times we are in, funny how the Bible works that way.

Some hummingbirds reminded me to focus on what we have and what we have been called to do. What everyone else is doing is between them and God. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Hope and Faith will Find a Way

Posted on by Wendy
The hosta survived despite my lack of care.

Around ten years ago, we decided to do a little landscaping in our backyard, nothing too over the top. We just decide to create a pathway and line it with rocks and hosta. There was a lot of shade back there, so we figured hosta would do well. We ordered assorted bulbs from online and planted them as directed.

I was delighted when they sprouted the first time. I would drag hoses down to keep them watered and they flourished. When the winter came, they died back, but the next spring, when I was carefully raking leaves, they were back, just tiny little sprouts peaking through. I was thrilled. They grew fast and got bigger and they added some greenery to the backyard. They grew so large that we were able to divide them and plant more.

For a few years, we had that same cycle. The fresh shoots were a little signal that spring was on the way. But,then something unfortunate happened. A deer jumped the fence and ate all of the hosta to the ground. I was really bummed, but hoped that they would recover the following year. They didn’t.

We decide to give up and counted the hosta a loss. In fact, we didn’t try to do anything productive in the backyard for many years. But, this past spring, we were stuck at home for months in quarantine and decided to put in a backyard goldfish pond. We put in some different plants to add greenery around it.

Recently, when I went to water an azalea we had planted, I was delighted to discover a remnant from that hosta we planted all of those years ago. Somehow, with no help from me, no water, no care, it found a way to survive and spring back forth. I marveled at its tenacity. I marveled at how life found a way in spite of what seemed to be impossible conditions.

Hope and faith can be like that.

Last Sunday, we attended a church service and they announced there would be communion. I was so happy to hear it. There’s something amazingly spiritually fulfilling about taking communion with other Christians and I’ve missed it since this pandemic has swept the world. I wondered how we could possibly have communion with social distancing, masks and not touching each other as an usher passed out ziploc bags. Inside each bag, was a tiny sealed cup of juice and when we carefully opened it up, a tiny wafer was sealed on top.

The Church found a way. I found myself once again amazed as I fought back tears.

These are dark days we are living in and we are weary. The news just never seems to get better, yet God is still at work, working all things for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. We know this is true because the Bible tells us so.

A small hosta sprout and a tiny communion cup reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do to.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Pond Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes the things we see as damaged can transform into something amazing.

This past spring my family, like most families, had a lot of extra time on our hands. We were all stuck at home for days on end and we needed a project to keep us busy. Our backyard had a big wide hole in it since we moved in caused by erosion. My hubby talked about bringing in dirt to fill it, but I thought we should work with what we had and convert it to a fish pond. The years passed and we never got around to it. We never had the time. All of a sudden, we found ourselves with time.

My daughter and my hubby spent time measuring and digging and picking out the right size liner. We spent time combing the internet for the right plants to buy. We wanted to create an ideal ecosystem where the fish and the plants would feed each other. We dug up and moved around countless rocks to line the pond. When we finally filled it with water, we waited anxiously for the plants to arrive. They were very small and we weren’t sure how they would do, but we carefully transplanted them and hoped for the best.

We were delighted to see how quickly they took root, grew and multiplied. When we added fish, they hid under a big rock for over a week and it was hard to see them. The water was murky and we were a little disappointed. Everyday we would go to see if we could catch a glimpse of the shy fish. In the beginning, they were hard to find. As the days passed, the water got clearer and both the plants and fish grew.

A couple of months down the road, the fish and plants have tripled in size and the water has cleared up. We find ourselves spending hours listening to the waterfalls and watching the fish. They now know that we feed them, so they come to the surface instead of hiding when we they see us.

Our latest development has been hundreds of tadpoles added to the mix along with some snails and of course, frogs. I find myself amazed when I remember that our vibrant little ecosystem that is sustaining so much life, was just a barren crater, essentially damaged goods caused by the elements, seemingly useless at first glance.

With a little hard work, patience and faith, amazing things can happen.

Recently, as I was sitting by our little pond I reflected on the lessons it has taught me. The first is to work with what we have been given. Instead of filling in that hole with dirt to make it like the rest of the yard, we took what made it different and turned it into something unique. The second is patience. Even with all of our planning, a certain amount of waiting was required. We had to wait for the water to clear, and for the plants to grow. We had to wait for the fish to trust us. The third is faith and wonder, faith that change was coming and a sense of wonder when it did.

In times like these, I needed those lessons. Perhaps you did too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Redemption Business

Posted on by Wendy
Jesus sees way past where we are and where we’ve been. He sees our potential.

My son is moving into his first college house in August. He was in a dorm last year and so it was completely furnished. The house he is moving into is not, so he needs some furniture for his bedroom. When his sister moved into her first house a couple of years ago, I refinished furniture that had belonged to my grandparents that was sitting in my parents’ barn.

Quite honestly, I didn’t think there was any furniture left in that barn. My mama casually mentioned that she thought the pink furniture was still down there. I laughed. That furniture had been hers when she was a little girl. I really didn’t see how I could make the pink furniture work for my 19 year old son. But, we went and took a look anyway. It was in surprisingly good shape for furniture over 50 years old.

It was covered in grime. A mouse had moved into the night stand, but it had potential. It was solid. It took lots of scrubbing and disinfectant; the night stand was really gross; but I felt excitement building when we loaded it up in the truck.

I love to redo furniture. We live in a world where just about everything it seems, is disposable and our landfills are a testament to that fact. But, our disposable mindset can spill over into our personal lives too. Our relationships have even become disposable. If things get tough, we toss them out and look for someone new. How did people become disposable?

In the disposable world we live in, there’s something almost spiritual for me, when I can give brand new life to something that has been tossed to the side. I can scrub off grime, evict the mice and paint or stain. I can add shiny new hardware and something that was considered beyond redemption, becomes redeemed.

As followers of Jesus, I suppose many of us can relate to the old furniture. Jesus sometimes finds us when we are a complete mess, tossed in a corner, covered in the grime of our sin with little to offer to the world. But, our Savior who once nicknamed the man who would deny Him three times, “Petra,” of all things, which means the rock, sees our potential, just as He saw Peter’s. He sees what we can become. His love for us and our future with Him is in no way tied to where we are or where we’ve been.

When we reach for Him, He cleans us off and turns us into something new and exquisite and teaches us to use gifts we didn’t even know we had to serve Him and share the Good News with a world that desperately needs to hear it.

Some old, grimy, pink furniture, reminded me that if we are breathing, Jesus has plans for us. We are not disposable to Him; we are loved. The redemption business is His business. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Faith of Planting

Posted on by Wendy
All of the harvest matters to God regardless of the size.

This week, I harvested my first batch of blueberries for the year. There weren’t very many, but once I got the first ripe ones, there were more everyday. I only have one bush, but it’s so full of fruit that it’s leaning to the side.

Growing things always teaches me so much about my faith walk and blueberries are no exception.

It takes a certain amount of faith to plant anything in a hole in the ground and expect it to grow. There are so many factors that can stop any type of growth, from weather that’s too cold to birds and other animals that can destroy what we have planted.

But, even after I take the leap of faith to plant, there’s more to do. If I want to have lots of fruit, I have to take the time to water it and feed it with the right kind of fertilizer. Some years, nature provides plenty of rain and I have to do less on my end. In drought years, I have to work extra hard just to keep my plant alive.

Some years, no matter what I do, I have very little fruit and in other years, there are more blueberries than I know what to do with.

When I first see the blooms in the spring, it’s always a a sign of hope for the fruit to come, but I also know that the blooms are vulnerable and a late freeze can kill a lot of them. When I finally have fruit, I have to wait patiently before I pick it. Any fruit picked too early is sour.

When the time finally comes to harvest, I have to be very vigilant because I often miss some of the ripe fruit on my first time around the bush. I have to look underneath and at the very top and sometimes even after I have been around the bush several times, I will still find one I missed.

Our faith walk can be a lot like growing blueberries. When we walk closely with Jesus, we are often asked to step out in faith and plant something that may or may not grow, but despite our fears, we are called to plant anyway. Sometimes what we plant grows seemingly on its own and other times, it requires lots of prayer and work on our part. Like my blueberry bush, sometimes what we plant produces an abundance of fruit and sometimes it produces very little.

But, we need to remember that God’s economy is different than our own. He’s interested in all of our hard work and all the fruit that grows because of it, no matter the size of the crop. As Christians, we are all called to plant and then we let God do the rest. A new blueberry crop reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Business of Bridge Building

Posted on by Wendy
The cross is the ultimate bridge.

On June 17, 2015, I was participating in a Salkehatchie mission camp in South Carolina. That ministry is run by the South Carolina UMC. There are 46 camps and over 2,000 campers who participate throughout the summer all over the state. Salkehatchie is faith in action. Youth and adult volunteers head out to rural, low-income communities to repair their homes, build new relationships and become the hands and feet of Christ.

That year, my camp was working on two houses, one was owned by a white couple and one was owned by a black man. Everyone on both of our teams was white. I don’t think race ever occurred to any of us. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors and we were trying to do that. In the evenings we were fed dinner by different local churches, some predominately white and some predominately black, and we all fellowshipped, worshipped and prayed together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

It was a wonderful feeling, building bridges between groups of people where so many vast canyons have existed.

But, to our horror, on the evening of June 17th, an evil man went into a Bible study being held at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and shot nine people in cold blood in hopes of starting a race war.

As the entire country reeled in shock, the family members of the victim did the unthinkable. They forgave him. There were prayer vigils and fundraisers and on June 21st, there was a rally in Charleston and tens of thousands of people of all ethnicities, crossed Ravenel Bridge together.

Satan gave it his best shot, but he lost that round.

When I looked at twenty different versions of Genesis 1:27, they all say about the same thing. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Not one single version mentions skin color. That means we are ALL created in His image and are to be respected and treated equally.

I used to ask the middle schoolers in my Sunday school class if they believed God made mistakes. They would all readily answer no. I challenged them to remember that when they were at school away from church, interacting with people who were different than they were in some way.

The events of this past week and the cold blooded killing of both George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery have left our country in turmoil. It has become painfully clear that America has a race issue, but I have to wonder if the root of the problem runs much deeper. Do we have a soul issue?

People who walk closely with Jesus have two great commands: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

It is not possible to obey Jesus, walk in faith and to hate people because of their skin color. When Jesus willingly died on the cross, He created the perfect bridge. The cross is our bridge from life here on earth to eternity.

If as Christians we truly believe that God created all people, then we have to believe that He loves all people and that we are called to love all people. We too, should be in the bridge building business. Make no mistake, we are against a powerful destructive force. Satan will attempt to shatter any attempts for God’s people to unify as one. Love, forgiveness and hope have never been on his agenda.

As I write this today, I am heartbroken like all other people of faith. I’ve cried tears and said prayers for the victims and their families, and for the good people in law enforcement, and for my Black friends, and for people who have been injured and lost their livelihoods in the aftermath. I’ve prayed for healing and restoration. I’ve prayed that God will break my heart for what breaks His and that He will help me search my own heart for any poison that should be removed.

I don’t know where we go from here. But, I do know, if we hope to win this spiritual war, we have to start on our knees. We have to remember that God is in the bridge building business. Jesus is the proof. Perhaps we all need reminding.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Making a Difference

Posted on by Wendy
We made a difference for this one.

Our 20 year old daughter, just adopted a pup from a nearby animal shelter. When we arrived to look at the adoptables, it was both overwhelming and heartbreaking. It was a really big shelter and it had been closed down for the pandemic so no dogs had been adopted for many weeks. It was almost completely full. The dogs were well cared for and their stalls were clean and the place smelled clean, but walking by stall after stall was really sad.

Some of the pups that we walked by, would come right up to us; some would cower in the corner; some would bark at us. There was a lot of noise. But, there was one that caught my daughter’s eye and she asked to see him. We took him outside and spent some time with him. He was anxious for attention and affection and she knew that he was the one.

She completed the paperwork and a week later, Marshall was hers.

I thought a lot about the other pups long after we left. I thought about how it wasn’t possible for me to help all of them and how easy it is to get overwhelmed in a world with so much need, especially in the current Covid-19 situation we find ourselves in. Sometimes we feel it’s all too much and we can’t help with all of the need anyway, so we just do nothing. But, the truth is doing anything is better that doing nothing.

We can always simply text a friend or neighbor who we know is struggling with loneliness, anxiety, fear or just simply too much on their plate, or better yet, we can call them. It’s amazing that we rarely use the machines we call telephones to actually talk anymore. I recently read that letter writing has seen a surge. When was the last time I wrote a letter? We can post something positive on social media and share some hope. We can make a donation to an organization that is helping others and remember to donate to our local church even if we aren’t attending physically.

Most importantly, we can remember to pray and ask God for guidance. He can use every one of His people during this time to share His light, love and glory. He is not limited by this pandemic nor is He limited by our imagination or lack of resources. When we put what we have to offer in His hands, it will always be more than enough.

No, we couldn’t save all of the pups at the shelter, but Marshall got a brand new life and for him, it was enough. A trip to an animal shelter reminded me that the world will always be a place full of need and noise, but we can always make some kind of difference. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too!

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Call to Extend Grace

Posted on by Wendy

Our words can spread darkness or light. We have a choice.

Last week, we ordered groceries from Walmart. We often ordered groceries before the pandemic hit because I really don’t like going to Walmart. I often end up getting frustrated while I’m there for a number of reasons ranging from them being out of the items I went for, to them blocking the aisle for the online shoppers, to there never being enough cash registers open, to all of the screaming kids.

But, I’ll have to admit in my everyday quest to watch for God in the world around me, I’ve seen Him there more than once. I’ve encountered Him in a child singing, “Jesus Loves Me,” and an elderly person on a scooter who couldn’t reach an item, and in a cashier who I’ve discussed prayer with while checking out.

I’ve been given the opportunity to extend grace while shopping there; I suspect most of us have. But, sometimes that can be a tough call to answer.

This time when I ordered our groceries, I was trying to follow the stay-at-home rules which had me waiting all the way til Saturday for groceries ordered on Tuesday night. They also had a very limited selection on items that I normally buy there and some things weren’t available at all. I was determined to take it all in stride. We had plenty to eat, maybe not exactly what we wanted, but plenty.

On Saturday, I got a text that my groceries were ready for pick up. My hubby and I got in the car and headed to pick them up, but the app to inform them we were on the way wouldn’t work. It has always worked in the past. I knew that was not a good omen of things to come and I could feel some frustration begin to seep in. When we arrived, I called the posted number to tell them we had arrived. The woman on the phoned informed me our order was not ready.

“But, you texted me that it was,” I protested.
“We can get it ready,” she replied.

Now, I was really frustrated, but another lady came out into the parking lot and we decided to talk to her. She was very young and wearing a mask. She asked me three times what my ten digit order number was as other cars began to fill the spaces around us and my heart went out to her. There appeared to be only two people working bringing the groceries out. She looked exhausted.

She went back inside and returned with our groceries. My hubby commented how busy they were and she told him that he had no idea. I let her words sink in. She was absolutely right. I imagine she had a lot of frustrated customers who weren’t very kind to her over a situation completely out of her control.

When she finished unloading, she hurried back to the building, but I yelled out a thank you to her and she turned around and acknowledged it. It seemed like it meant a lot to her and I felt incredibly humbled. Had she been thanked all day?

This pandemic has us all on edge and bone weary, but that doesn’t give us an excuse to be unkind. We can choose how we use our words both spoken and written, and yes, social media counts. Are we using words that show patience, kindness, love and peace as the Holy Spirit would direct us or are we giving into fear and anger? Are we spreading light or stirring the pot?

As Christians, we are called to extend grace because amazing grace has been extended to us. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to be the Church. A trip to Walmart reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂