Chasing Joy Up A Tree

 

 

I watched him through the kitchen window. He grabbed something like a black walnut and up the tree he went.

 

 When he climbed to a safe height (away from the dog) he stopped to eat.

 

We all have our safe places. The place we run to when staying still doesn't feel safe. When we feel like something is chasing us...and it has teeth.

 

Some find their safe place close to the ground.

Others...not so close.

 

Where do you run?

 



 

My granddaughter reminded me how much I used to climb trees...when I was young.

 

Like the squirrel she climbed right up and sat down. Fear didn't chase her up there...joy did.

 

Joy can be the best place of safety. The best place to run (or climb) to.

 

Instead of being chased by fear, maybe we could chase joy?

 

She didn't stop to take off the boots, who would? When a tree is asking to be climbed you climb it. Slippery boots? Only grandmothers care about such things, not little girls chasing joy.

 

 

 

It wasn't long before the boots came down...and I went up and sat beside her...yes I did. Old girls sometimes need to chase joy too. And sometimes joy leads you up a tree.

 

 

We sat there side by side, legs swinging,
two little girls (at heart) finding joy on the branch of a tree.

And I think God smiled.



A Draught

They call it a draught.

 

When the rain won't come.

 

 

The earth gets hard and the crust of it becomes crumbs under foot.

 

 

 

Everything lays waiting.

 

Waiting...



No campfires with grandchildren until it rains. The marshmallows wait to be popped into giggling smiles and wood waits to crackle and snap with the blaze of a flame.

 



I watch as life around me dries up.

 



 

And I look up.

 

Look to the One who is above the cloudless sky, the One who made the trees so long ago in the garden, the One from where the rain first came.

 

The One I forgot to thank before,  when rain came as expected.

When more came than I wanted.

 

And I thank Him now - for then. Say I'm sorry for forgetting...

for taking for granted His gift,

His water that brings life and sustains it.

And with the trees I wait.

 

Every good and perfect gift is from above.

James 1:17

 

Sometimes life can be that way...dry.

A soul can feel parched and in need of living water.

 

The One who sent the rain through the ages past sent us His son - Jesus. He came to offer us water for our souls - living water. It is different than the water He gives to the trees and flowers. The water He offers us will satisfy our souls and they will

never thirst again.

 

"Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.

 

But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:13-14

 

Have you accepted His water?



Laying Down Heavy Things

While walking with the dog I passed this oak tree. She's lived through many seasons. Braved many storms. Pieces of her lay close by, broken by the wind and weight of life.

Sometimes you just can't hold it all. Sometimes some things have to be layed down. The weight of them are too heavy to continue carrying...

continue reading over on Laced with Grace.
(click on the pic)



 

A Heart Like Our Father's

      What a blessing it was to read the Compassion Blogger's posts this past week as they communicated from Uganda. I felt as though I was there with them. I could see the smiling faces of the children gathered at the Compassion center to worship. Big wide smiles and sparkling eyes that seemed as though they could see me through the screen of my computer as I watched the video clips the bloggers posted. They stole my heart.

      Children have a way of doing that - stealing our hearts. I think its because Jesus loved them so very much. God sent Him here to proclaim His love for them and if we have the heart of our Father, we will love as He did.

      The bloggers went to Uganda with a goal of finding sponsors for 400 children through blogging about their experiences there. Today, they have almost reached that goal. Would you consider helping them? Would you sponsor one of these precious children and change their world in Jesus name?


Find out more about their trip and the work God is doing in Uganda by clicking on the picture link below.