Sunday 21 January 2018

2017 ~ Occasions worth remembering Part 1


Listening to what others say and write about 2017, it seems there were many that had trials to ware them down.  It was a year of loss and disappointment for us.  And yet there were still many occasions to celebrate. I reached the big 6 and celebrated with family at one of my favourite places in the Cotswolds: a Lavender farm.  June is my favourite time to visit as not only are the lavender beginning to look and smell  spectacular, the wild flower meadows are also in full bloom encouraging the bees and butterflies to visit.

It was a wonderful day having the family altogether and the best gift for me. 
What a blessing to have your children close at hand, I thank God for them daily.

                
                                               
                                 
 


I am in a new phase of life now with adult children no longer needing to be home but choosing to be. Our family is growing too with a new daughter joining us; a wonderful sight to behold as your child finds their soulmate.  There are new paths ahead for my children, mountains to conquer, lessons to be learned. I won't walk alongside them for many but I have developed a culture in my life to pray and trust God for them. He has plans to prosper our children even without our influence.

One of my favourite books to read when the children were young was Sally Clarkson's "Seasons of a Mother's Heart".  The biblical principles for mothers encouraged in her book still apply for the season in this mother's heart right now.  As Sally writes, a mother's life certainly is a whirlwind of seasons, changing from one day and year to the next. I have endeavoured to prepare my heart to adjust to the present season and trusting God to enable me to weather the changes with grace. I wonder which season your mother's heart is in right now, whichever it is trust God to see you through





Wednesday 3 January 2018

The grass whithers, and the flowers fade.............

It has been a very long time since I have written down my ramblings. Seasons have come and gone and yet with assurance we know they will continue to return. A new year does get us rethinking, planning, changing, doesn't it.

                


 Life has taken us on a complicated journey which I am still endeavouring to walk. I am always having to remind myself  to be "calm in the midst of the challenges on my life" Some days I achieve this and feel like I have reached my angle of repose.  Other days I realise there is still much learning.
My last post, I wrote about my mum and the road we walked with her as she battled with dementia.
The struggle stopped last year in February, so the anniversary of her passing is not long off now.

  
How I miss her; it still aches some days when I think of her but we rejoice in that she is free of all that came against her in her final years. She is safe in the arms of Jesus.
   I will write more about mum close to the anniversary of her passing.


So what have I been up to? I'd like to record some highlights from the past, more for my own benefit really, but trust you will enjoy going down memory lane with me. Through this very stormy time we have gone through and in some ways still go through, there have been wonderful highlights and times of blessings.
 
This photograph taken while visiting a lavender farm helps me see beauty around us even as storms brew. I know God's word tells us to look up and not at the things around us, and yet I think there are times when you have seen dark clouds on the horizon and the things around bring comfort and a little respite from the impending storm.
The sweet heady aroma of the lavender represents for me the tranquility and presence of God.
He is there before the storm and in the storm.
And finally I add the most important fact about grass withering and flowers fading: but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" ~ Hebrews 13:8




Note to self.......

Focusing on Christ puts everything into perspective