Collection Connection (S.O.K. Day 16)
I picked up the wonkiest card. It had clear medical tape on the top, and I quickly found that it was attached to a small white card. Between the two cards – there are four verses, front and back. Some are printed nicely; another is quickly printed, still, another is written in cursive only I can read, and another is in print script. Mom wrote all of them in different colored ink with various pens. Yet – the collection connection is clear. They are all about learning to live a life of growth and faith.
Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
Isaiah 26: 3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Ezekial 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Job 33:4 4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Isn’t That What Life’s All About?
I recently started a new job and it’s not really anything I’ve officially done before, but at the same time, it’s everything I’ve always done. Coming into a new place with new people, norms, procedures and expectations can be daunting. But by approaching everything as a learner – approaching every person as an expert on something makes these transitions much easier. There is so much to learn in life. What I knew at 18 and what I know now at 46 are worlds apart. Each season and age had its own lessons. Every person I met along the way taught me about life. And, I have changed my mind about many beliefs I held onto strongly as I learned and grew.
Learning From My Garden
I came outside to work in peace while breathing in the fresh air I’d been missing all week. Noticing that my garden is now woefully overgrown and in need of pruning, weeding, and some TLC, I was stressed about the wilting herbs that needed watering. Suddenly, I saw something I hadn’t noticed, my bee balm had sprouted up to great fights and had beautiful purple flowers on top, my mint had also begun to flower with tiny white blooms, and all around were bees luxuriating in the overgrowth. There was something profoundly satisfying about seeing big fat bumblebees being nournished by the herbs I had no idea flowered. I wasn’t expecting it. In fact, I’d been contemplating cutting them back only last week. Now, I’m learning from my garden.
