Risky Living

I stretched my hand carefully through the thorny tangle of bramble stems, focused on the plump berries deep within. I noticed the sticky web just before plunging through it, and drew back as I saw the brown striped spider scurrying away to the edge. I’d have to find another way to reach those berries, and as I considered, I noticed the spider’s dilemma: a succulent insect struggled, caught on his web, and I could imagine the spider salivating, if indeed spiders can salivate! We were both on hold as we considered the risk to gather our tasty morsel.

Sometimes it is easy to ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’. Other times there are things in the way, risks we must take, temptations we must resist in order to gather in the nourishment he provides.

Easter Eggs

The Lindt Easter egg looks beautiful. Wrapped in gold foil, nestled above small red Lindor eggs, a moulded plastic cover holds all in place inside an outer cardboard wrap. (This isn’t going to be a rant about the environmental impact of all our Easter egg packaging, though it does make my heart sag…)

The egg looks lovely. I know it will taste delicious, from past experience. But until I open the box, extract the packaging and unwrap the egg, and actually bite into it … it’s all theory, memory, probability.

The cross does not look lovely. It’s an instrument of torture of the most cruel and barbaric kind. But the man who hung there … Jesus, who triumphed over death and rose from the grave … he is beautiful. I can look at the story, and see how beautiful his love and grace and mercy are, but unless I engage with him, unless I enter into the intimate relationship he invites me into, unless I confess that he is Lord … it’s all theory. A nice story, but one without impact on my life.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Better even than the Lindt Easter egg.

In the Moment

Laptop seems a bit sluggish today. I know how that feels. 

I hit a key and wait while I’m informed ...still working... I know how that feels, too. Gmail gives me a commentary ... we’ve encountered a problem ... oh, yes, that sounds familiar.

I’ve hit the jackpot this week with seeing four grandchildren, getting to spend time with them and get to know them better. They grow so fast. This is one of the things you know when you’re the gramma, and not the mama.

While I’ve gadded around with grandchildren, I’ve been aware of responsibilities unresolved: my mother’s insurance questions yet again, problems with her hairdressers and their billing...issues with shades of Groundhog Day. Well, like Scarlett O’Hara said in Gone with the Wind, I’ll think about them tomorrow.

Living in the moment: a wise concept, not always easy to do. Taste and see that the Lord is good. He is good. He is always good, in good times or bad. Blessed be the name of the Lord.