I drove slowly by the lake near my house, trying not to startle them. Two large cranes were fishing in a cove near the road. But they saw me and both, one white and the other a dark gray-blue, lifted gracefully and flew to other parts of the lake. I watched them fly, their large wings rising and falling rhythmically, so slowly it was hard to imagine they could lift those heavy bodies. What a wonder nature is!  As the psalmist writes, the birds and animals, the sea creatures, even the trees, flowers, hills and valleys, all reflect the glory and creative genius of our Creator.

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” A quote from the Dalai Lama reminding me again that God’s grace is at work throughout the world, in all countries, in all religions, in all peoples. I learned a new word a few weeks ago, prevenient. Prevenient grace means God’s grace is available to all regardless of race, religion or creed. All have access to his grace allowing each and everyone to be able to respond to him. I knew this was true but wasn’t familiar with that theological term. The door is always open, all we have to do is knock!

A former pastor of mine loves fountain pens. He even collects them. I’m not that keen on fountain pens but I do have one nice one. I enjoy writing with it because the ink flows so beautifully, especially if I’m writing cursive. The problem with fountain pens is you have to continually use them or their ink dries up, so I write a little with it almost every day. This made me think about how important it is not to let our communication with God dry up. His love is always flowing toward us. By our continual prayer to him the spiritual flow between our Father and us keeps moving unhindered throughout our daily lives.

Are you a planner? I am. I make my plans every day and I have my routines down pat. I never want to be caught off guard, and at my age, that isn’t easy. So I carefully chart out what I need to accomplish each day. Planning is a good idea as long as we don’t forget this scripture, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Planning is fine as long as we  present our plans before our Lord and ask for his approval. Let’s plan but be flexible in his will. He may have an unexpected adventure in mind for us!

Prayer is something I do every day. Most Christians would say the same. Much of what I pray about are supplications to God for the world, my country, its leaders, my precious family and friends. I dutifully end my prayers, “And, your will be done, Lord.” But, is that an honest request? Is it really his will I want or is it my will? Prayer must be more than an attempt to manipulate God to do my will. He can be totally trusted to take care of the problems of the world and the circumstances surrounding my family and loved ones. Let go and let God! Living by faith can be a scary business, but it shouldn’t be.

I got the dizzies. My last bout of vertigo lasted several days. So I didn’t feel like eating and couldn’t drive or do my daily exercises. It wasn’t fun. You might think I wouldn’t mind not doing my exercises. They’re sure not the favorite item on my to-do list. I do them only because I feel at my age it’s absolutely necessary. So, when I felt better, I happily got back into my exercise routine, no grumpy, negative thoughts at all. Sometimes you have to lose something to appreciate what you had.

Though the Bible says when man and woman come together in marriage they become one, I have to admit my marriage didn’t live up to that perfect ideal. We weren’t in perfect submission to one another. Though we got better as time went on, we still had disagreements throughout our years together. There are no perfect marriages, but not because God hasn’t set us the perfect example of oneness. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have always been in such perfect submission to one another, in such perfect harmony in how they think, will and act, they are one God.

My tea rose bush in the pot on my patio has decided to erupt into a halo of flaming pink color. Maybe it’s because of the rain we’ve had or the drop in the temperatures. Not sure, but whatever the reason, it’s as if it’s praising God for being alive. I also hear his praises in the wind rustling the tree leaves in my neighborhood, in the songs of the birds in my garden, in the gentle whispers of the lake near my home. The psalms are filled with passages about how creation praises its maker, so I believe that’s what my tea rose is doing. All creation glories in its Creator. And, so do I.

How often have you felt unnoticed, unseen in one way or another. Haven’t we all felt overlooked and unappreciated at times. When Hagar ran away from Sarah’s abuse, God told her to hang in there (Genesis 16 and 21). Hagar was not only a woman but also a slave. Women were, and still are in some areas, considered unworthy of notice except negatively. Slaves had even less status. Hagar was so surprised the mighty God, the same God her master Abraham worshiped, saw her. He actually cared about her plight. She called this great Being the God who sees me. The lowly slave girl named God a new name. Hang in there, God sees!

My mail every day is full of junk. So are my emails and even some text messages. Not all of it is really junk; the majority is mail asking for money for worthy causes. My donations don’t stretch nearly far enough to cover all the needs. Then there’s the advertisements, which go directly into the recycle bin. What a joy it is when among the junk, there’s a text, a thank-you card or a postcard from my family or my friends! Lord, may the majority of my prayers be prayers of thankfulness, praise and honor to you. Though you have unlimited resources and tell us to come to you with all our needs, it must be nice sometimes to hear a prayer of only total gratitude.