The Sticks

The edges stretch a little further here.  I wasn't sure I could get over the loss of a river view, but somehow the colors here are brighter.  The sunsets painted over the field edges have a different type of light and they go on and on.  There is a crispness and freshness that makes me feel like I can breath a little deeper, live a little lighter.  The black fields are folded over with remnants of last years crop poking out here and there like little amber stakes.  Something new will grow there soon.  There's a sense of excitement with that. 

There is an old familiarity here.  The smells of the farm are a reminder of some of my best days....and a hope that my greatest joys of youth can be a reality for my children.  They miss the big red house, the library, grandparents around the corner.  It pulls at my heart to take that away.  But the facts are simple and plain and this is best.  They are enjoying decorating their new rooms, exploring the new yard.  The apple trees with their low lying branches have been a great adventure so far.  As the snow fades and spring erupts we will plot our backyard paradise.  Santa delivered a fine trampoline, a couple new bikes, a scooter and a skateboard (thankyou Santa).  There are gardens to be constructed and flowers to be planted.  A row of trees to shade the yard and block the wind.  A go-cart to be fixed by daddy with the help of little hands.  Plans for horse fence and a big shed for daddy's equipment.  Hours of tractor watching and the slow evolution of the fields coming to life around us. 

Today the rain will keep us in.  But it will replenish this ground.  It will spur up new green, brighter pastures.  The colors today are solemn, but magical.  A misty grey hovers, muting the shades of winter.  I am excited for the brightness of spring, but marvel at the beauty of this haze. 

Some days can feel dreary and hopeless.  Foggy, dull, bleak.  But those days spur on life.  Remind us that without the struggle, the rain, we can't find or appreciate the joy or the grace.  Yesterday was sunny weather, but a foggy day for me.  Ironically, today is bleak outside but I feel a bright light burning within.  I survived a day to top all days, and get to learn from it.  I get to hopefully do better today, be brighter, and stronger.  Today will be a snuggly, reading, cookie making kind of day.

So as the sun flirts with  the horizon this morning I find a smile.  A swelling from deep with the realization that I get a fresh start each morning.  That there is a God who loves me beyond my human condition, and a hope that I can, through trial and error, learn to be more like Him. 

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

My hope for you and yours: That you can find the sunshine even on cloudy days :)