The Joy of Weeds and the Beauty in Beige

As the weather is turning more welcoming, I've been taking walks on some of my breaks at work. I went for a walk the other day around the park near my work. There was a gorgeous break in the rain, so I decided to take advantage of it. While I walked around the perimeter of the park, I soaked in all of God's gifts as fully as I could. It was lovely.

While walking around the park, I started to intently study all of the different weeds, as the park is largely unlandscaped. The more I studied them, the more the weeds became more interesting, and more beautiful. There was such an incredible variety of shapes, sizes, textures, colors, designs...and I also came to realize that they actually weren't all weeds at all, some of them were wild flowers. There were yellow ones, purple bell ones, fire red ones that looked like flames, delicate pink ones, and teeny blue ones. It was as if God were putting on a show of God's abilities in creating variety in nature. I was in awe.

While leaving the park, in complement to the beautiful sky blue, a beige bird flew overhead. It was in no hurry, and the wind was helping it takes its time towards its destination. It was about 10 feet over my head, so I was able to study it a bit; it was a gorgeous beige color, with darker and lighter shades highlighting its wings and its neck. I was actually overcome with how lovely it was, this specimen of bird I had never seen before. When it finally landed on the sidewalk 30 feet or so from me, I was actually able to identify what kind of bird it was. I laughed heartily to myself, as it was a simple pigeon!

I guess my point in all of this is that God is throwing at you an incredible array of creation. Simply open your eyes and heart fully, and embrace how much God loves you through the art God provides through nature. God is beautiful. Be well.

Asking God "Why"

I spend a lot of time--too much, for sure--pondering the mysteries of God. It just fascinates the heck out of me how all of this, i.e. all of creation, came into being. How was the universe created? How could everything, as big as billions of galaxies, possibly come from a single point in space and time? How big is it, really? How far off is science in understanding even the basics of Your works? Is there any life of any form out there, or are we THAT unique? Beyond all of these mechanical questions, however, my greatest question has always been "why?" Why do we even exist at all? I have been asking this of God for many years, always expecting, or even demanding an answer, as selfish as I know that sounds. But God finally answered, but with a strong request.

First, the request...lighten up! I hear this quite a bit from God, but God, unfortunately, has to continually remind me. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

But when I heard the answer to why, my scientific brain took issue, hence the request to lighten up. The answer: there doesn't need to be an answer. God is love, and God loves us beyond any fathomable ability we have to understand that kind of love. It is beyond the maximum capacity of logic or reason or quantifiable definition. Love needs no reason. The answer to "why"...because God loves us.

So relax, lighten up, and just appreciate as fully as you can the beautiful gifts of life, the universe, and everything with which you were blessed. Sure, continue to puzzle out the mechanics for mental exercise, but don't forget that the actual answer doesn't lie with equations or theorems; the answer lies with the quacks of a line of ducklings swimming behind their mother on a misty pond, it lies with the joyful giggle of a child being tickled by his adoring parent, it lies in the perfection of a Spring lily, it lies in feeling the sweet ocean breeze while listening to the entrancing rhythm of the surf with your eyes closed. It lies with heroic acts of bravery and in random acts of kindness and in heart-felt smiles. And it lies with remembering that God is the source of it all.

Thanks be to God.

The Joy of Depression in Springtime

Sorry I've been away so long, friends. My work life has changed drastically recently, and as a result, my regular blog time has diminished greatly. But alas, where there's a will...

And, as both of you know, my two dear readers, I've been struggling with depression. I know I've been dumb, as it's practically sinful to be so glum when I've been blessed so severely, but as I have come to accept, some of my depression is due to actual bio-chemistry, as clinical depression runs in my family. But alas, I'm shaking off the doldrums pretty effectively as of late, and I have to give God thanks.

Spring has become my new favorite season. It used to be Fall, with it's cooler temps, great holidays, coziness, great color scheme, and wonderful family times. But Spring is the season of hope. And hope is everything.

Spring is when life thrives at its most accelerated pace. Spring is when flowers explode the landscape with gorgeous colors. It's when the trees begin to once again green the horizons (Yes, I did just use green as a verb). It's when you start hearing the birds, seeing the squirrels and other native wildlife, and feeling the life-affirming sun on your skin in earnest for the first time in many months. It's when blue skies begin showing up regularly. It's when the ground once again is a willing incubator of life. It is when hope is at its climax, giving one a true feeling that anything is possible.

Dramatic much? I grant you that I am, but regardless, I am thankful to God that hope is eternally present, even when it takes a new season for me to appreciate it. God is unfathomably generous and kind. God is love. Love be with you always.