Choices

Good day Friends!

I realized the other day that crickets were chirping and in my piece of this planet that means August has arrived and fall is not far away.  I love Fall! I don't love the heat and humidity of July here on the shores of Lake Ontario.  So I've been planning my projects for this coming Fall...the quilting...the decorating...the planting of the urns with mums...and I might even start knitting a new sweater for this winter.  Being a quiltmaker, I love the thought of snuggling up under a well worn quilt and that's just not something I do during the muggy summer months here. I will welcome the cooler days of Fall with exuberance!

There have been some sad stories in the news lately...stories that I just can't wrap my head around. Sometimes I think I will take a media fast for a month or so, but then I am not sure God wants his people to be unaware of the suffering going on the world, and, there is always prayer. He needs us to engage with Him in his work, in prayer. And so, for those who suffer in our world, our community, our families, we pray God's peace in troubling times.

Once again, we are experiencing life without family. We had some good visits earlier in the summer, and now they have all returned to their homes to live their lives. I must admit I am jealous of my friends whose grown children have chosen to live their lives nearby.  How pleasurable it is for grandparents to witness their children raising their families. And what a blessing it is for grandparents to be an influence in their grandchildren's lives.  Our small opportunities to do this via facetime leave us unsatisfied, to say the least.

I wake up in the mornings these days choosing to be thankful, although my heart is sad. And in choosing thankfulness for what we have in this time, and in this place, some of the sadness is put into perspective. After all there is much to be thankful for...and I am. I guess you can have deep sadness, and be thankful at the same time.  I'll let you know how this works out.

Since there is little demand on our time these days, I find myself becoming more reflective during quiet moments. Lots of questions for Him. Lots of asking...lots of wondering.

Speaking of wonder, just looking at the scene in our back garden we are awed at the Creator's work. The night sky last night was a beautiful shade of midnight blue and I thought of the artistry of God. The colour of the early dawn sky and the sound of the birds waking as the sun comes up.

 Another day, another opportunity to choose to be thankful.