Hidden Beauties

Into the busyness of family visiting, Don brought me a bunch of gloriously bright flowers. He found a vase and popped them in. I’ve admired them as I’ve passed but life has been busy.

This morning I noticed there were gems hidden behind other, bigger blooms. The flowers are so tightly packed that some real beauties are going unnoticed.

One task this morning will be to get a second vase and split the bunch so that each flower is given space to reveal its beauty.

It’s so important to give others space, space to be seen for the beautiful attributes each of us has by the grace of God. A reticent child can live in the shadow of an exuberant sibling, talents unnoticed and unsung. A self-effacing church member can be overlooked, the church the poorer for missing out on unused gifts.

I only noticed what I was missing when I just sat down and looked at the bouquet. Today I will take more time to breathe, to reflect quietly, and to pray. I don’t want to overlook any hidden treasures.

Gems in the Hedges

My fingers are stained purplish red. Yes, it’s that time of year, and I’m just in from an hour dodging the thorns of gorse bushes and wild roses to bring in some big and beautiful brambles – local word for blackberries.

When we moved here thirty years ago, the narrow country lanes were littered with cars pulled in to the verge as folk got out and picked the crop of wild brambles. Now, the occasional cyclist stops and picks a few, but other than that I seem to be one of the last.

But is there anything more bursting with flavour and colour than a bramble crumble? Hard to beat.

Perhaps people are just too busy to linger along the roadsides or spend a few minutes in the kitchen. Perhaps they don’t know what they’re missing. Or perhaps they’ve never noticed these little gems twinkling in the autumn sun.

Sometimes they are obscured and need a keen eye to find. Sometimes they are just hanging out there invitingly. They take a bit of time to pick and a bit of effort to prepare, but not much, for the returns.

Many of God’s blessings are like the brambles. They are there, twinkling in the undergrowth of our lives, and we may not even notice them, recognise them for what they are, or thank the giver for his generous gifts. If we don’t do anything about them, they may wither away and never be gathered in to feed others.

May you find many gems in the hedges of your spiritual hearts, in the web of your daily life, lavished on you by the God who loves you so much. Savour them for what they are: unmerited gifts from an Almighty Father.

Visible or Invisible??

The fog brought the sky in low this morning, obscuring familiar landmarks and restricting visibility to a few yards in any direction.

Dusty and I were out on the usual stretch, but she wasn’t too keen to walk. Her back leg is hurting, I can tell, and she just wanted to go home. I stood and waited while she sniffed. I looked up at the pine trees rising into the grey mist. And smiled.

While the low cloud obscured some of the usual landmarks, it revealed some hidden gems. Well, I use the word ‘gems’ very loosely, because anything associated with a spider is hard to identify as a gem. 

However, there between pine needles in the canopy above me were thousands of intricate webs, their sticky threads picked out by the moisture in the air. It was beautiful.

It reminded me that what is invisible under normal circumstances becomes visible in special cases.

There’s a story in the Bible about a prophet named Elisha. One time he and those he was with were surrounded by enemy troops. Elisha’s servant was terrified, so Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes to see what Elisha could see – that in fact, God had a protective phalanx of angels encircling Elisha and his friends.

Nobody else could see the angels. But nevertheless, they were there.

Usually I can’t see the spider webs overhead. Nevertheless, they are there.

We think we are on top of our circumstances, that we live in the real world where all that is real is visible to the naked eye.

Ha!

I pray that today your eyes and mine would be opened to see the world as God sees it.

Gems on the Roadside

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

I found myself singing out this old favourite hymn this morning as I walked with Dusty down the road. Great is thy faithfulness.

Found myself singing, despite the sudden death of a dear old friend yesterday, the loss of a personality in this world who brought joy and cheer and wise words to many. The loss of a carer in her family. Heaven’s gain, is our loss.

Yet I was singing. I heard the birds singing, and wondered if they experience grief. How much more often they must suddenly miss a bird from a neighbouring nest, or even a mate or chick. Maybe I’m taking this too far, but I don’t think so. Animals have the capacity for emotion, too, I think. Dusty certainly does anyway.

I carried a punnet with me. Yes, as I admitted in yesterday’s blog, I’m a pack rat and the brambles are ripening nicely along the verges and in the hedges.

Was a time, thirty years ago, when elderly couples parked their old Morris minors precariously along the verges and could be seen picking all the wee sweet gems they found. No longer. The hazards on the country roads these days are in the form of packs of cyclists who range across the road widths, sometimes oblivious to traffic building up behind. They seek fitness and health. Do they achieve it in a better way than those who used to glean along the edges of the road, go home and make crumbles and jams and cakes from these fruits grown without chemicals? Debatable.

Now it’s just me, dotting from bush to bush as Dusty moseys along the road in front of me. 

Sometimes the plump black berries glint like deep blue sapphires among the willow herb. Easy to spot, easy to pick. Sometimes they lurk beneath leaves, over walls, under bushes, needing to be ferreted out. Not all are ready for picking. Some are still red and solid, waiting for the kiss of sun which will sweeten its taste.

Inside, I’m still sad. Grieving for my friend, for her family, so suddenly bereft of her sunny disposition. But I’m picking the fruits which God has provided. All I need, his hand provides. He knows the sorrow, and he provides for that, too. He knows the anxieties, and he has a solution for that as well.

Sometimes the gems he gives us are obvious and drop into our laps. Other times we need to linger, to look carefully, to listen, to glean. 

Today, as I came up the drive, a drop fell from the tree above. I thought at first it was a heavy droplet from rain the night before. But it was white.

A bird dropping, right on two of my beautiful brambles. (Don’t worry, anyone who might be served crumble at my house – they will be carefully washed!)

We need to take care that the world doesn’t soil the gems God gives us. 

May you glean diamonds from the treasury of God our loving father today. Just watch out for the birds overhead...