Hello all fellow computer users! Today is rainy here. It's a good day to settle in with a cup of hot tea and get some of those necessary computer tasks completed.
Sounds like a gratifying prospect, right?
Now my problem today wasn't a testing of faith as much as a testing of patience with a temptation to exasperation. All the same, what kind of witness to being "in Christ" would failing that test be?
Today the trial was with Spell Check. Spell Check is a wonderful program that helps catch most of our spelling errors. It's a blessing really. My spelling is generally good. I get a little off when I type too quickly. But as I typed along today, I watched red lines appear under almost every single word that I typed.
Words like IS and MAKE.
The computer suggested IST and MACHEN.
The blessing had turned into a trial!
Blindly, I clicked on various categories in the tool bar and finally landed on the correct category to see Spell Check.
Bravely, I clicked on the Options button and would you know it?
My Spell Check had somehow switched to GERMAN!
I really don't have a clue how this happened. Did the computer know that I've been reading a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer lately? Had it searched my brain for any lingering, thin remnants of college German, (now limited to translations of "Open the door please" and "Where is the bathroom?") Who knows? Computers! I had to laugh and, happily, I was able to change my Spell Check back to English.
Hmmm…that wasn't really a James-worthy trial, was it? It was just a small hiccup, a pause and a smile. But even in that, fellow rainy day computer friends, we see the call to persevering in faith by maintaining a Godly attitude and perspective in our Christian walk.
Thank you, God, for this GOOD day.
to persevere and realign our definition of trials.
Thank you for computers and Spell Check.
Thank you for developing perseverance in each of us.
Thank you for our blessed hope–for Christ.
Today has me inside. I ventured outside this morning to pick the dandelion blooms and halt their full development. Across our bumpy, hillocky, rock-here-and-there yard I went–in search of those frowsy, bright yellow bursts. A slip on the mossy slope surely gave me a bruised knee, but I also collected a "bouquet" of blossoms. All of that proved more than enough to start me sneezing and making a bee-line back inside for a tissue.
Still, there were plants to be watered! I filled the watering can several times and, plant by plant, gave each one a cool drink (and each one a sneeze "blessing").
The last watering can was for our bird bath. It sits beneath a maple tree and the birds love an afternoon splash. I'm not sure any bird would have wanted to splash around in that bird bath right then though. If there were a Water Purity Board for bird baths, ours would've been on the Hazardous-Zone list! The surface was a cloudy mass of pollen and a larger grid of maple seeds and small twigs. So, out went the old water in a waterfall onto the ivy and then went in the clean, clear water.
Of course, this brought on another bout of sneezing.
The stuff of growth in plants.
The reason I carry a tissue in my back pocket.
The catalyst for sneezes and itchy eyes.
Don't growth and trials often coexist in our Christian walk?
It's often steep and awkward.
It includes some hands-for-others work, some ego-bruises.
We need tissues from time to time.
Justification. Peace. Access. Endurance. Character. Hope.
Wow! Since we're talking horticulturally, don't you know those are Best of Show-worthy blossoms! I certainly want those flowers in my garden, in my life. You, too?
Well, as any good gardener knows, beautiful gardens take work. There's compost to add, soil to turn, weeds to pull, plants to stake.
But there're also vegetables to pick, fruit to harvest, flowers to enjoy.
And there's time to wonder.
Our God made the microscopic filament of pollen.
of a crack in a wall.
He can use any thing, any one, any situation, any where.
He can even use sneezes and red eyes.
Heaven ~ no pollen there!
Let's rejoice in the hope of physical and spiritual blossoms to come and the even more brilliant hope of heaven!
I hope you've been hugged and showered with love today! Life here is cold but cozy, and our yearly Valentine tradition of making a heart-shaped pizza is in progress. Still, even if you haven't had a stellar day, I want to send you a hug and remind you just how very much you are loved. Why, considering God's great love for us, even red lights should remind us of roses!
How are things at your house? Here, some of the kids have already gone back to college, decorations are coming down, and leftovers have been mostly eaten. Yes, the tree is still up and fully decorated (and I think it's still really lovely, see?) but I'm hoping, with my husband's help, the ornaments will be nestled in their bin by evening.