He’s not his full height now but it won’t be long. One of my neighbors’ sons is still young enough to appreciate jobs I have for him. Sometimes, if it’s a small request, he won’t accept pay. When he’s older, he will find more lucrative work, I’m sure, but right now he’s available. When I was gone for a few days last week, I asked him to water my outdoor plants and to pick up my mail. When I returned he had forgotten to pick up my mail. He was so ashamed he didn’t want to take any money from me. I insisted he take some for watering, but it was less than half what I had promised to give him for both jobs. I asked him what he was going to do so he didn’t forget the next time. He said he was going to write it down. Lesson learned.

“You mean you don’t wash and iron all these clothes before you sell them?” I teased the women checking us out. My daughter and I found some treasures at a church resale shop and were advised to wash the items before we wore them. They laughed, but the older woman said years before they had a washer and dryer there and she did just that. Now the store is so full of clothes and many other donated items, they can’t offer that service anymore. It made me wonder how long that elderly woman had volunteered there. How much of her time and her life had she sacrificed to not only provide for others but also to serve her church. Not every servant of the Lord has an official title, but he values them no less.

Though I kept hoping to see him out nibbling bits of grass, after several days I’ve had to face reality. Someone ran over my rabbit. I call him mine because he lived in the flowerbed in front of my house. He was not quite full grown but I saw him face off and jump at a squirrel who came too close. He was quite territorial about his garden. I worried about him being caught by a coyote, but a car or truck ended his short life. He wasn’t really my rabbit, of course. He was wild. He wasn’t bothered about me walking in his yard though, and I respected his space. He was just one of many of God’s little creatures, but I miss him.

I’ve been fascinated by them since childhood and still love watching them. They fly around willy-nilly, little sparkles of light. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to where they go or when their lights go on or off. They flitter here and there, creating their own light shows for whoever cares to look. Watching them reminds me of how generous our God is. Like those fireflies, he blesses all his creatures. His sun shines on all of us; his rain falls on sinner and saint alike. In this dark world, can we be like those amazing bugs, God’s little sparks of light wherever we go, a blessing to all we meet?

One of my Texas friends had a pacemaker put in a couple of months ago. He decided it might need adjusting so he went to his heart doctor’s office and asked to see the doctor. The receptionist asked if he had an appointment, and he said no. She told him he couldn’t see the doctor without an appointment. Unhappy he drove over to his regular doctor’s office and said he wanted to see his doctor. “Do you have an appointment?” the nurse asked. “No,” he said. “Is he here?” “Yes,” she said, “but you need an appointment to see him.” Now really frustrated, he left. Then his phone rang. “If you’re having an emergency, you need to come back to the office so we can see what the problem is.” “Will I see my doctor?” “No, but we can take care of it.” “No, I’m not coming back.” And, the old cowboy didn’t. I love living in Texas!

Peeking out from one of my flowerbeds was one of my red cardinals. I call him mine because cardinals call my place home. They nest in my shrubs and roost in the taller ones at night. I love seeing little streaks of red flash in front of my windows. They say female cardinals are not as vibrant to protect them while they’re on their eggs, but why are the males so bright red? Or why is that the same with blue jays and other brightly colored birds? God could have created them all brown and gray, but he didn’t. I believe those beautifully decorated birds are just one more sign of his love for us.

My birthday is this week. There’s a lineup of birthday cards on my dining room table to prove it. It’s noisy around my house because two dead trees are being removed from my backyard. I asked the guy if I got a discount because it was my birthday, but he just smiled and said, “Happy birthday!” Birthdays are times to think about life and where you’ve been and where you’re going. I’m in the last phase of my physical life now. I’ve lived longer than many of my family and friends. I’m thankful but also wonder why sometimes. The Bible says long life is a blessing and my retirement years have been good to me. Whatever the reason, I thank God for the years he has given and for the everlasting years to come.

Henry David Thoreau said, “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” Though I don’t always follow his advice, I do agree with him. Here in Texas in its extreme summer temperatures, early morning is about the only time to go out for a walk. But early morning is the best anyway, when you can start the day while dew is making all the grass and flowers sparkle. This earth was designed not only for sustaining us physically but also for our pleasure. Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

The other day I tried to list all the attributes of God I could think of. The list kept getting longer and longer. Now I realize a human can’t come close to fully knowing who God is, but I do know, he’s overwhelming good. As I went down my list: generous, merciful, kind, compassionate, faithful, relational, joyful, patient, long-suffering, creative and on and on, I realized all these characteristics of God come under the one word love! God is pure and perfect love! It reminded me of what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives. He’s sharing with us those same godly traits, changing us from the inside out spiritually. What a great God we serve!

It was such a pretty day, I took my breakfast out to my patio table. A hummingbird was attending to the rosebush and other flowers. Then a flash of color as a little larger hummingbird arrived. This one was ruby-throated. They’re not uncommon in this part of the country, but I hadn’t seen one in a while. Though I don’t have hummingbird feeders, the tiny birds love my flowers. I’ve seen them at my birdbath too. Cardinals and wrens build nests in my shrubs and roost there as well. The birds enjoy my front and backyard gardens as sanctuaries. That makes me happy!