Enough Rain, Enough Sun

     We have had a long wet early spring, and cool temperatures. As a result, the wild flowers have spring up in abundance.  Wildflowers vary in what they need to grow.  Camas needs cool temperatures and running water.  Ours grow along a rivulet that runs down from our hillside:   

A little more warmth, but with soil that is still very moist, and voila!  You get phlox:

  A little warmer, with the soil still moist, and up come the longspur lupine:

We have more longspur lupine than I have seen in a long time.  The temperatures warm up still, the rain ceases and up comes the silver lupine:

We have lots of arrowleaf balsam roots (yellow), and mules ears (white)--they outlast many of the other wildflowers, because they can tolerate dryer soil and warmer temperatures:

     Given enough sun and moisture, and the hills yield wonderful results.  Add in even more water, less desert heat, and the hills give forth even more.
      So, observing spring this year, what have I learned?
      All the seeds are there, in the ground, year after year.  You would not even know they were there.  Yet, with the right amount of what they need, they will sprout and grow.  It's not just rain and sun that they need--it's the amount.  We do see wildflowers every year; how many will be determined by how much warmth and water is available.
     Wildflowers seem to require differing amounts of moisture and warmth.  As soon as the soil starts to dry out, the early sprouters--violets, phlox, triteleia, to name a few, will be gone.  The plants that can tolerate the ever-drying soil carry on, and soon, once the desert heat sets in with summer's entrance, the wildflowers are a pleasant memory.
      Spiritual application?  We all were created to receive the Son's warmth and the living water of His presence.  That is a basic need of all of us.  Many come to know Him, and yet, seem to never really grow.  The amount of time we spend in His word, and in His presence, will determine our abundance--pure and simple.  We will have dry spells to be sure, but a sure-fire way to revive is to seek Him out--no distractions, no competing voices--just sitting in His presence.
      Now, I spent this spring trying to chase down one wildflower that has just carpeted the hillsides--more than I have seen in a long time.  At first, I thought it was Queen Anne's lace--no.  It's called hoary cress or whitetop:

      It is considered a weed.  Oh, I know what a weed looks like--not very appealing.  But, does this look like a weed?    In our high desert mountain landscape, these plants spring up and make the hills beautiful.   They are considered weeds because they are very invasive.  And yes, this year, with the favorable conditions, the whitetop is everywhere, in huge numbers.  They don't seem to coexist with any other flowers.  You will find lupine growing along violets and arrowleaf balsam roots.   Phlox will tuck in near lupine.  But once the whitetop takes over, that's all you see.
     Spiritual application?  You bet:  if we not discerning about the whitetop in our world, it will take over and crowd everything else out.  It's beautiful, at first--how harmful can it be?  Quite harmful, to be sure: once there is enough of it, it will no longer share the hillside. 
     What is your whitetop?  At first, whatever it is seems harmful enough--but after awhile, it's all we think about, do or worry about.  Our whitetop will not share the hillside with Jesus--it will crowd Him out, and His voice will become harder to hear and follow.
     Keep in His word and in prayer.  Spot check for whitetop and enjoy the blessings of His spring in your life.  Struggling with sin?  Seek out others who can stand alongside with you, and pray for you.  Keep an attitude of gratitude.  Make a list of all the beautiful "wildflowers" in your life--family, friends, a starry night, a butterfly, a smile from a baby.
     Realize that your full potential will take time in Him.  These Nootka roses and other wild roses are the ancestors of the amazing roses we have today in our gardens.  Looking at this wee lovely rose, could you imagine such potential?  We can't but He can--trust the vision that He has of you and your future.

Finally, take a lesson from a mariposa lily:  these beauties spring up after every other wildflower is gone.  The heat is on, the soil is dry and yet here they are--swaying in the hot afternoon breezes with the wild grasses. 

      

    
Even in the heat of trial and tribulation, there is beauty.  Because, even in the heat of trial and tribulation, there is Jesus.

Winter Storms, Spring Sun

     In the mountains, winter never leaves without a fight.  We have had some beautiful sunny days, with lovely cumulus clouds and warm breezes.  We sigh in relief and say, "Spring is finally here."  The hills have the green tint of grass and an occasional flower has poked up its little face to the sun.  Yet, today, BOOM!  Snow and wind and rain and more snow.  Winter has adamantly reasserted itself.  The clouds are veiled in shimmering dove grays and white and the snow line has dropped down as if December is back.
    I look anxiously at the primroses I planted in pots last week, hoping the very cold temperatures do not doom them to an early demise.  The bulbs I planted last spring are just poking up their thin green stalks, and I worry that winter may slap them silly and they won't make it.
    Yet, God's creation tells of His character: 
The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 19)
    God's creation speaks of Who He is, and how much He is involved with His world.  So, what is this season saying to us of His character?

     The cold may test us, but the sun always breaks through:  Yes, the snow and rain is unpleasant, especially if you have already felt the warmth of the sun, but the sun will eventually stay.  Time captures us and we chafe under its yoke, wanting winter to pass quickly and spring to stay.  It's easy to believe in Him when the sun is shining warmly on your face.  Yet, look at His creation:  the plants start to come up from their winter sleep because just enough sun has warmed the soil.  They rise in expectation of warmer days to come.  They rise because God keeps His promises:  the sun will break through, and the cold grip of winter will loosen.  Spring is a promise He keeps year after year.
     If you are in the winter of your life, He keeps His promises to stand by you in the storm, and to part the clouds.  The Son will break through and will rewarm your spirit.  Winter does pass:  

"See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
¹² Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land" (Song of Solomon).

     Hard, cold and blustery rain is necessary for growth.  I just visited some friends in Nevada where the rainfall is so minimal that even though a lot of soil is present, very little in the way of plant life is evident.  I saw hardly any green because the Washoe Basin is in the "rain shadow" of the Sierras.  Rain does fall--the huge amount of snow in the Sierras attests to that--but the storms cannot surmount the high summits of the peaks and the rain stays on the California side of the mountains, and barely makes it over to the Nevada side.   So, while I look outside my window at the blustery day we are having, with its cold wind and snowy rain, it is this very water that will supply the soil with moisture that will bring forth wildflowers and grass.  Growth requires rain and warmth.
     It is never easy to stand in a storm.  But that same rain that falls on your face is also falling on your faith:  it will bring growth.  He reminds us:  "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).

     Finally, keep singing.  The meadow larks are in full song right now.  The air is cold, the mountains are gray and the ground is cold and wet, and yet, listen...a meadow lark sings a praise chorus over the land.  The birds do not cease singing when the sun ceases shining.  If anything, the song adds a sweetness to the day.  The larks sing, knowing deep in their hearts that the sunny days are coming.  The goldfinches outside my window are a mottled yellow, gray and white, but they bounce around the feeders.  They know that their beauty is coming and in a few weeks, they will be golden jewels.  God put the song in their hearts for us to hear and be reminded of His work in us.  We may be mottled in plumage but we can still sing. 
     Watch and see what the Lord will do.   Meanwhile, here's what you can do:

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
⁵ Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4).

What Did Ya Plant?

Late last fall, my son and I planted bulbs...plenty of bulbs!  The only requirement was that small marking on the box, showing a deer with a circle and a slash through it.  I didn't want the deer to think that we added some new menu items to the "salad bar" that they consider my raised beds to be. 

So, after buying about ten boxes, away we went.  We both dug holes into the raised beds, and within about a half of an hour, we were done.   I tore the lids off the boxes, just so I could remember exactly what we planted.  I put the lids on my bulletin board, and awaited the magic of spring.

One problem:  I didn't mark on the beds what we planted where.  Sure, I had the lids to remind me, but no little signs in the soil, designating what was under the surface.  The snow came and went, and then in early February, we had a few intrepid sprigs rise up.  I was concerned, and had a chat to those early risers.  It was too early to come springing up in the world...the winter leaves the mountains not until middle May.  Did my early risers listen?  Nah, but I figured the ensuing cold would dampen their enthusiasm and slow them down.  And sure enough, that's what happened.

Then finally April brought enough warm days to encourage more peeking up through the soil.  The problem is, what am I looking at?  Without a beautiful flower to identify the plant, I am not such a good gardener that I can look at a stock and say, "Oh, that's going to be a so and so."  Nope.  Not me.  So, I must keep waiting until the flowers make their appearances.  Even then, we planted some flowers I couldn't identify and I had to go get the lids and see what these wee beauties are.

 I thought about our life as Christians.  When we are young in the faith, many things get planted:  sermons, fellowship and discussions with other believers, movies, and music are sown into our hearts and take root.  We may not always remember what we read or what we saw, but then it flowers into our lives and can bring beauty to those around us. 

I went to a small neighbor church as a young believer and had beautiful role models all around me, who planted good seed in my young heart:  how to love as a believer, how to model Jesus to a hurting world, and how to care genuinely for those around us.  I got a good Biblical grounding and spent many mornings at prayer meetings, listening to older saints pray for themselves and others.  Sure, not everything was rosy; there were some people there who were more concerned about themselves than the tender heart of a teenager, but the love I felt overshadowed these folks.  My family was falling apart and this church truly became a second home.  I had a new family and felt love and acceptance that my chaotic home couldn't provide.

The flowers in my life today I see having sprung forth from those early years.  The verse from Galatians 6:7 comes to mind:  "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."  I think we always read that in the negative sense:  sow sin, reap pain.  But I also see God's justice operates on the positive side as well:  sow love, reap peace.  His justice is breathtakingly simple:  if we seek to do His will, He will walk with us, sustain us and give us peace.  The inverse is equally true:  if we avoid His will and seek sin, He will stand at a distance, wait for us to "come to our senses" and will grieve over the pain we feel.  He will patiently await our repentance. 

Sometimes we don't remember what we've planted...and the resulting harvest can be a mixture of peace and pain.  Or sometimes we are careless and the pain springs up and we blame God.  And yet, the Bible can be our "lids"--it shows us the way we are to go, what to plant and what to expect:  "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"  (Micah 6:8).

That's fairly straight forward.  That's doesn't mean that life will always be perfect--our peace comes from the Father through His Son, not from our circumstances.  The world will give and the world will take away--more often it takes away painfully.  Jesus plants within us the one thing that the world cannot plant in our hearts:  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Plant love.  Plant forgiveness.  Plant a garden of patience with one another.  The love of God is always the perfect item to have blooming in your heart:  "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."  (1 John 4:7). 

In a world of pain and darkness, can God's love be shared too much?  That would like saying there are too many daffodils in the world...

Be A Finch

The winter is slowly leaving the mountains.  The mountains are starting to green up--there's  a faint green tint to the surrounding hills.  The wildflowers haven't shown up; the days are still not warm enough.  The soil is quite moist, but the warmth is compromised by cold winds and low temperatures during the evening.  

So, the colors are rather muted up here.  My daffodils are popping up and giving me a splash of yellow.  But one wee splash of color outdoes them all--the arrival of a goldfinch.

The gray skies, the leafless trees, the dried dead grasses that cling to a cold soil...and then magic!  A goldfinch comes to my feeders...a drop of sunshine in the Russian olive tree outside my kitchen window.

I am delighted that he has arrived and he is delighted that a lunch awaits him.  I stare out the window and he has no fear, just an earnest desire to eat what he can to stay warm.

I thought he is so representative of how we can be a drop of sunshine to a cold world that awaits the spring.  Look at Galatians 5:22-23:  

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."  

Think about it:  everything the Spirit wants to grow in our lives is in direct opposition to what the world offers.  The love the world offers has strings--you do for me and I might do for you.  Love really boils down to:  if you are meeting my needs--if I don't feel love or you are not pleasing me, my love for you grows cold.  Not so with the love from His Spirit:  we love because He loves us and knowing how unworthy we are of His love, we are humbled.   We are loved, so we can take our full cup and offer some of what is running over to someone whose cup is empty.

Joy.  Wow--the world says that joy comes from stuff--bigger houses, better jobs, nicer cars...and once we have what we thought would bring us joy, we find we need more.  The joy God gives is not based on external gratification, but on the knowledge that He has us in His hands.  A favorite quote is "I may not know what the futures holds, but I know Who holds the future."

Peace.  No surprise there--with the world motivated by self, it's little wonder that peace is elusive here.  Jesus gives us a peace based on Himself--He love and provision for us.  The world giveth and loves to taketh away.  Not so with God--He loves us and always has our best in mind.

Forbearance.  "Hurry up!" screams the world.  With a toddler-like mentality, we want it now, yet beg others to be patient with us.  God's love is long-suffering.  He watches and waits.  He suffers with our griefs and pain.  

If just for one day, everyone on planet Earth practiced goodness (thinking of others), kindness (treating others as we like to be treated), gentleness (treating each other with tenderness), and faithfulness (standing by through thick and thin), what a day that would be!  A little like heaven, don't you think? 

Self-control.  Road rage, war, violence, hatred, hurt...if we lay down arms, and trust the One Who stands by us to stand for us, then we can act graciously, knowing He will bring all things to right some day.

If we are growing in His Spirit and seeking His fruit to hang from our branches, think of the beauty we can bring to others.  Notice, however, one thing about our finch--he is not yet in full spring plumage.  He still has sploshes of white and gray in his yellow feathers.  He's not perfect, yet in the gray world of late winter, his yellow with all its imperfections is still beautiful.

No, we aren't perfect yet...we certainly won't be perfect this side of heaven.  But think of it--in a gray world, still laboring under the deceitfulness of sin, even a wee splash of yellow to a weary soul is delightful.  You don't have to be perfect to show Jesus' love.

Cheat Grass of the Heart

Last summer, we had a terrible fire.  It wasn't huge, but any time you watch a fire burn out of control, it feels epic.  The ground has been scorched black since last summer and all the surrounding trees are still black sticks.  With the snow covering the ground, it was a bit easier to forget the damage, but now that the snow is all but gone, the black ground reappears in all its ugliness.

But, something new is covering the ground...Look:

Yup, it's cheat grass.  Here's what the Internet has to say about it: "Cheat grass is notorious for its ability to thrive in disturbed areas—common disturbances include construction, fire, floods, poor grazing activities, and intense recreation."  So true!  It is covering, slowly but surely, the whole area that was burned.  The secret to its success?  A wide spreading root system!  Its invasionary tactics will lead to further fires as it covers more and more, because it's a highly inflammable grass.

Makes me stop and wonder:  I love the new green carpet that is being laid down over the scorched earth, but now that I know what it is and what it will bring, I am less excited and a bit more reserved in my praise of this new life.  

This is Easter Week and it commenced with Jesus riding humbly on a donkey into the city of Jerusalem, to the people's cries of acclamation and praise.  In less than a week, many people would be shouting to Pilate for His death.  The people thought that the kind of life Jesus was bringing was going to be Roman-free.  He would use His mighty power (having been demonstrated with miraculous healings and even bringing the dead to life) to remove the ugly Roman presence from the promised land of God's chosen.  The scars of Roman oppression were everywhere, and Jesus seemed to be bringing a new kind of kingdom to cover the ugliness and bring new life to the people.

But Jesus' kingdom was not "cheat grass."  He didn't come to merely cover over the Romans with a new kind of rule by the Jews.  His kingdom was not going to be on the outside, visible to all and springing up quickly wherever He walked.  He knew the hearts of men:  merely overturning the social order would only lead to new oppression--sadly, those who are victimized often, when given power, will turn just as vicious as those they replaced. 

Jesus came to set up a kingdom in a renewed heart.  As Jesus observed: "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-3).  So, we can change the system and overturn the existing order, but without a changed heart, all the same sins come roaring in again, and make even the best efforts fail.

The people turned on Jesus when they realized His kingdom would not meet their demands.  Their hearts were angry and then turned wrathful.  How quickly they wanted the "cheat grass" of overturning the existing order to come and yet Jesus has a much more long-term solution in mind:  the real inward growth in each person's heart.  In other words, Jesus wanted spring in our hearts:  slow, germinating seeds of change, nurtured by the warmth of the Son and watered by the rains of His presence.  A heart so grown would produce a bounty of beauty:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Gal. 5:22-4).  

That's why He died:  so that such fruit could be brought forth from a scorched heart from sin, and that spring would arrive in the ones who love Him.  No cheat grass--just a heart made new.  May spring and Easter be in your heart as you seek the risen Savior.  Just go to the tomb and look inside:  He is not there.  Ask Him into your heart, and that is where He will be.

How the Storms of Life Shape Us

“A bruised reed He will not break…” (Isaiah 42:3)

     We have amazing spring and summer storms in the mountains.  The winds pick up speed as they rush down the mountainsides.  Because we live on a ridge, the winds come up from the valley below and just pummel our house.  Recently, the winds hit the 60 miles per hour mark, and the rain had frozen into tiny glass-like shards that flew about like angry insects.  We had to lay down our rocking chairs on the ground so that they would not fly down our driveway, and our patio furniture had to be jammed up against the side of the house to prevent it likewise from blowing away. 

       The high winds test the resiliency of what is growing on the land.  I have a young Austrian pine, and while it stood at a slight angle after the high winds were gone, it was still standing.  The grasses on the hillside swayed with vigor as the winds blew; in the peaceful aftermath, there they were.  The wind and rain seemed merciless at times.  I had to run outside to secure some patio items, and the small bits of ice hurt my skin and the rushing wind almost took my breath away.

        What is astonishing after such an angry flurry of wind, rain and ice, is that the afternoon sun will appear under the clouds on the horizon and cast a rainbow on the far side of the valley.  These rainbows are intensely colorful and continue to dazzle as long as the sun has not yet gone down for the evening.

     The high winds of our lives test us—they bend us to the point where we fear we might break.   But what allowed my Austrian pine to endure?  It is green…not dried, not desiccated, not withered…it is green as spring itself.  

 So, if we are walking in Him, He reminds us: “ Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”  (Lamentations 3: 22-23, NIV)  We serve a God who does not allow us to be broken when we are already bruised.  Why?  Because of His utterly boundless love for us.  But what about the branches that do break off of trees during a storm, or those trees that do fall over?  

     After this same storm, I walked along the river that runs through town, and the number of branches broken and strewn about was astonishing.  Some branches were enormous and many of the trees looked like they had gone to battle.  Then it struck me:  wind is the pruning instrument of God.  These are wild trees—no arborists come and regularly attend them.  So, older branches, perhaps invaded by bugs or deeply cracked by previous storms, are slowly stealing vitality from the tree.  There are few leaves on these branches as compared to the ones that are rich in blossoms and green leaves.  When they are removed, does this actually invigorate the tree, allowing it to put its energy into the healthier branches?

       If I stay green in God--by praying, reading His Word, staying in fellowship with other believers--I can endure the storms that will come.  I know I possess branches that are clearly without vitality in my life—unconfessed sin, judgmental attitudes towards others—and I need to trust His wind to do the pruning.  I cannot always tell which branches need to be removed—it’s not always obvious.  I left a job that I thought was going to be wonderful and turned out to be problematic; I needed to end a friendship or something I enjoyed for years is now over—those branches surprise me when they come down.  But again, He is seeking not just growth, but rich spring growth and a greenness of leaf that shows His life in me.  

     He then seals His faithfulness with that rainbow!

 Precious Lord:  the winds come and the rains rage, and down go some of my branches.  Help me to not consider such pruning punishment, but as a gift…to be green in You, vital and resilient in this life, those branches that crash to the ground will leave me stronger in You.  Storms fiercely come, but so too does Your love:  the rainbow is a witness to that!  Amen. 

Living Water

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. 

Indeed, the water I give him will become in him

a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

John 4: 13-14

Last year, we had a very snow-intensive season.  It snowed constantly, and it seemed as if spring would never come.  On the shadow sides of the hills, the snow remained for a long time, and even if the snow melted, it left a tell-tale mark of its presence:  pools of water and very muddy soil.  The rivulets ran by our house and I could hear the water rushing under a copse of trees as they grew over the stream that nourished them, shading it from view. 

The soil was dark brown with moisture, and small yellow bell-shaped flowers sprung up in the moist mud.  This so caught my attention, that I decided to chronicle, with my camera, all of the wonderful wild flowers that were to grow as the spring came on.  I learned several lessons about life through hunting wildflowers and from how and when they grow.   

Soil needs warmth and moisture to bring up the greatest abundance of wildflowers:   This year, in contrast, produced a lot less snow, so the ground is not nearly as moist, and the wildflowers are much less.  Moisture is critical because it allows not only water to enter the plant, but allows the nutrients in the soil to pass into the plant as well.  Without fresh, abundant water, our plant life quickly dries up; however, last year, with so much snow, my hillsides were as green as I ever seen them. 

But water alone isn’t enough.  This year we are having very cool days, unlike last spring, when the sun shone brightly day after day.  The warmth stimulates growth in a plant, allowing it to make food and sustain growth.   

So, to optimize growth, you need warmth and water, and it is no less true in the Christian life:  you need stand in the Son, learning from His Word, and drink deeply, for He calls Himself “Living Water.”  The world will leave us thirsty, just as the women in Jesus’ time had to fetch water from the well every day, for if it stood too long in a storage jar, it would become undrinkable.   The water needs to be refreshed, otherwise it becomes stagnant.  Camas flowers are wonderful:  they love the water beneath them in the spring.  In fact, Lewis and Clark thought they were, at first, looking at a lake when they saw the camas flowers in bloom--the azure blue flowers filled the valleys.  But once the wonderful spring water goes, so too, does the camas.  

We need His refreshing new water each day for our lives, and the warmth of His presence.  Then we can see in our lives what I saw played out on our hillsides last spring:  “I came that they may have life and have it  abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Prayer:  Dear Lord:  I do want abundance in my walk with You:  but I often settle for a few flowers here and there.  I am many times on the verge of drying out.  Let me stand in the warmth of Your Presence and in the rain of your Word:  falling on me each day to refresh me and giving me strength, with one idea and one idea alone—to grow in You.  In the Name of the One Who is the very Living Water for my soul, amen.