OPPOSITE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--OPPOSITE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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The first thing that popped into my mind was the apostle Paul's words in Romans 7:19--For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do (BSB).

And then before I had a chance to elaborate, thoughts of other opposites crowded my mind, interrupting that first one and clamoring to be heard.

I thought of how many times I have been quick to jump to conclusions and wrongly judge things that turn out to be the opposite of what I had thought. And how the life I am living now is so opposite of what I ever thought or expected it to be. And how the dreams I had when I was a teen, of falling in love and getting married to someone I would grow old with, and having a close knit family that enjoyed each other's company and doing things together did not turn out the way I thought they would.

That was a very big opposite. I did fall in love and get married and have a family, but my husband and I did not grow old together, and the many mistakes I made as a single mom pretty much killed any chance for the strong, bonded family I had yearned for.

One very amazing opposite though is that I am still here and just got to meet my 7th great-grandson. 

There was a time, not long after my husband's untimely death, that I had a scary experience that led me to have some serious concerns about my own mortality and what would happen to my children if something happened to me before they grew up. I was so sure that would be the case I wrote a will entrusting them to the care of my best friend in the event of my demise. By the grace of God, that did not turn out to be the case.

Also by His grace, and despite my parental shortcomings, my children have blossomed and matured into responsible adults and wonderful parents, who I am immensely grateful  are not repeating the same mistakes I made. It has also made me happy to see them live out many of the dreams I once dreamed for myself.

Most of all, I am grateful to a loving God who not only allowed me to witness my own children grow up, but allowed me to see my grandchildren grow up as well, and most of them get married and have families of their own.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

SURVIVORS

All the impossibility is with us when we

measure God by the limitations of our

unbelief.  (Smith Wigglesworth)

When things are looking hopeless, and there seems to be no way out, I have only to look at the plants on my balcony to remind me to never say never.

Spotted lanternflies have been swarming all over my windows and balcony, and seemed to be doing a good job of destroying the plants out there as well.  I tried spraying with white vinegar, and with soapy water, but to no avail.

From my vantage point, things were looking pretty hopeless for them as well. 

The only plant that did not seem to be affected was the spider plant. Even though there were lanternflies on it as well, it managed to thrive.

They pretty much destroyed most of the leaves on the tomato plant and all but one of the wildflower plants. But then, when I least expected it, some buds appeared on it that turned into pretty yellow flowers.

And then some droopy looking buds appeared on one of the other wildflower plants that was looking pretty defunct. I didn't expect them to open, but they did, and opened up into two lovely pink flowers.

The most miraculous survivor of all has been the tomato plant.

It started out doing really well, but even before the lanternflies arrived, it was knocked over by strong winds during a storm--despite being anchored to the balcony rail by a bungee cord.  And then the lanternflies swarmed and that seemed to seal its fate.

By some miracle, however, the dozen or so little green tomatoes that had appeared near the top of the plant before most of the rest of it had been destroyed, survived. They did not show signs of ripening, but they did not shrivel up and die either.

Today we had another windy storm, and even though the plant did not get blown over this time, the main stalk did get bent over. 

When I went out to try and secure it back up, imagine my great surprise. One of those little green tomatoes I had given up on was starting to ripen.

The words that came to me were "Fear less--trust more."

ACCUMULATE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--ACCUMULATE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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The image that accompanied the prompt brought back memories of a very long time ago when I made some unwise decisions, my plans unexpectedly went south, and it was too late to undo them. 

I had given notice and needed to be out of my apartment in a couple of days, had closed down my business, and had given most of my stuff away, when the job I had been counting on fell through, as did the place where I was going to stay. 

My daughter in West Virginia graciously offered to let me stay with her, so not having anywhere else to go, that's where I headed, with nothing but what could be stuffed into my little two-door Ford Escort. Anything that didn't fit had to be given away as well.

A choice needed to be made. In my hurry to pack and get ready to move, I had not had a chance to finish sorting through a large pile of accumulated paperwork that included several little scraps that had notes scribbled on them. I could not bring myself to dump them, in case it might contain something important like a phone number or address that hadn't been added to my address book, so I just put it all in a large plastic trashbag. And now, because of the amount of space that bagful of accumulated papers was taking up, I had to leave some things behind that I really, really didn't want to, such as two down sleeping bags. 

Once I was settled at my daughter's house I started going through that bag. Most of the accumulated contents really could have been trashed, but there was one little scrap of paper among the many that had a friend's phone number and address on it, who I would not have been able to connect with had I lost it.  

There's a message here, I'm sure, about the value of one soul, but my five minutes are up, I'm way late for a Friday post, and my brain is feeling really tired, so maybe one of you can comment about what you think the analogy would be.

JUST SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

The Five Minute Friday website has been down with a case of unresolved technical issues, so in lieu of an FMF post, I'm sharing some random thoughts that have been percolating in my mind over the last several days.

I had a very large spider plant that was not doing well. Repotting it in a much larger pot with fresh soil did not help, and the leaves kept dying one by one. Every day I was pulling out new ones. I could not, however, bring myself to give up on it and toss it. 

No matter how dead any of my plants may seem, if there's even the tiniest evidence of something green, I just can't bear to part with it. Instead, come spring, out on my balcony they go, where they have a chance to revive or die. My desire is for them to thrive, and usually they do.

I do not share the same feelings for all God's creations though. I know everything He created has a purpose and plan, but when it comes to stink bugs and spotted lanternflies, I can't even start to imagine what that plan could possibly be. From my perspective, they are just a very annoying and destructive plague I would love to see wiped out. 

This year it's the spotted lanternflies that have taken over. They are swarming all over my windows and balcony, keeping me from being able to sit outside, and have destroyed most of my tomato plant and all but one of the wildflowers. 

Though I can't bring myself to stomp on them, it is with great gusto that I spray them with vinegar until they are at least stunned enough that I can go out and water what's left of my plants, without having them fly into my hair or onto my clothes. 

And then I listened to a livestream where the pastor preached a message about how God's heart is for salvation--not condemntaion, and even though I'm not exactly seeing its connection to stink bugs and lanternflies, it did give me something to ponder.

The gist of the message was that God wants ALL to come to repentance and for none to perish (not even the most vile person you can imagine), and even though we have free will and not everyone will choose to do so, He is gracious, compassionate, patient, and longsuffering, and goes after us again and again until there finally will come a time when it will be too late for those who refuse to respond to His call.

Is that our heart as well, or are there some people we don't wish to see saved? Are we like the prophet Jonah who tried to run from God when God told him to go to Nineveh and preach His message to the Assyrians? They were a brutal and ruthless people and Jonah knew if he took the message to them they would repent and be saved, and he did not want that to happen.

The pastor told of a time back when Osama bin Laden was assassinated, that as he walked out of a bulding in DC, a reporter stuck a microphone in his face and asked him what his reaction was to this breaking news. His response was, "The Lord takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked." 

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Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live (Ezekiel 18:23, NLT).

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9, BSB).

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

P.S. TO THOSE OF YOU WHO SUGGESTED IT

Even soapy water does not seem to phase these spotted lantern- flies. They have completely taken over.

MELANCHOLIC MONDAY

It made my heart happy to see some flowers and a few tiny budding tomatoes on my tomato plant. But will they survive? That is the question.

Having pulled through oppressive heat and a nasty fall when it got toppled over by tornado force winds during a recent storm (even though the pot had been secured to the balcony rails with a bungee cord), it is now weathering something even worse. An invasion of spotted lanternflies.

Several sources on Google said spraying the lanternflies with white vinegar would kill them instantly, but that is not what I'm experiencing at all. If anything, the vinegar just seems to be attracting more and more of them.

Each bug I spray jumps to another spot, or onto me, and I have to keep spraying and spraying it until I just about drown it--if I can get it to stay put long enough for that. 

My joy has turned to melancholy.

I took these pictures this morning just as a reminder of what might have been.

PERCEPTION

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PERCEPTION

Five minutes to free-write about it

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What came to mind when I saw this week's prompt was a poem by John Godfrey Saxe. 

The words are his--not mine--so I can't take any credit for free-writing this post, but it probably did take me about five minutes to find a free downloadable version and an image (courtesy of Pixabay) to go with it.

The Blind Men and The Elephant

It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined,
who went to see the elephant (Though all of them were blind),
that each by observation, might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant, and, happening to fall,
against his broad and sturdy side, at once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the elephant, is nothing but a wall!"

The second feeling of the tusk, cried: "Ho! what have we here,
so very round and smooth and sharp? To me tis mighty clear,
this wonder of an elephant, is very like a spear!"

The third approached the animal, and, happening to take,
the squirming trunk within his hands, "I see," quoth he,
the elephant is very like a snake!"

The fourth reached out his eager hand, and felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like, is mighty plain," quoth he;
"Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree."

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said; "E'en the blindest man
can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant, is very like a fan!"

The sixth no sooner had begun, about the beast to grope,
than, seizing on the swinging tail, that fell within his scope,
"I see," quothe he, "the elephant is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan, disputed loud and long,
each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

PATH

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PATH

Five minutes to free-write about it

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I was once on a path. A very good path, I thought. A path that led to everything I had been searching my whole life for. I was so convinced it was the right path, I tried to persuade others to follow it as well. But God, in His infinite mercy and grace, did not leave me there.

It took extreme measures on His part, as I sincerely believed I had found all the answers and was no longer on a quest. But, in a most improbable way--probably the only one that would have captured my attention--He stepped in and rescued me from the darkness I thought was light. He opened my eyes to the lie I had bought into, turned me around, and set me on the path that really was the right one.

The details of this rescue mission are documented in my memoir, Sincerely Wrong: An Improbable Journey. (A free PDF copy is also available by clicking on the link in the sidebar of my blog.)

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Following is an excerpt from my book's AFTERWORD (pp 125-127):

Were I to see you headed towards some imminent danger, such as a cavernous hole in the sidewalk, it would be unconscionable of me not to warn you about it, and I would not hesitate to do so, even yanking you aside if necessary. . . . Don't be deceived, as I was, into thinking that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by being good. Although we were created to have fellowship with the Lord, Adam and Eve's sin caused us to be born into a fallen world. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and in Romans 6:23, that "the wages of sin is death." Because of sin, a vast gulf separates us from our Heavenly Father, and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. Only one path can lead us to eternal life, and that is Jesus, "The way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]" (John 14:6).

The good news is that "God so loved the world [you and me included] that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). . . . This gift of salvation that is being handed to you can only be received by grace, through faith. It cannot be earned by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and as much as it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours.

WORDLES WEDNESDAY

 

PERHAPS

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PERHAPS

Five minutes to free-write about it

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Over the years, the Lord has used my plants to teach me many things. Perhaps He is about to do so again?

Every summer I put my plants that are on their last legs out on the balcony to give them a last chance to revive or die. Usually they do perk up and thrive, like the spider plant on the left. 

A few, like these cuttings from my jade plant, however, do not. Barring an extraordinary miracle, there does not seem to be any perhaps in its future.

As for the wildflowers and tomato plant, will they have a chance to bloom and bear fruit given how late in the season I planted them this year? Perhaps yes, perhaps no.

Right now it's looking very iffy, as is the peace lily cutting, and the kalanchoe plant that was doing so well on my windowsill, but does not seem to be enjoying being outdoors as much as I thought it would.   

Pondering the uncertainty of these things fills me with gratitude that there is no perhaps with God. He has given us His Word (the Bible) so we need have no doubts.

Romans 3:23 clearly states that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no one on earth who always does what is right and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20). We all, like sheep, have strayed and left God's path to follow our own ways (Isaiah 53:6). 

But God does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). He wants everyone to repent and be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). He longs to be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18), and loves us so much "that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  

God did not appoint us to suffer His wrath, but to receive the gift of salvation that Jesus died to appropriate for us (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). There is no perhaps about it. The choice is ours.

TRANSFORM

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--TRANSFORM

Five minutes to free-write about it

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The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is quite amazing. So is the way a good haircut can transform the way you look. Or how adding a couple of ingredients can transform the taste of a recipe that turned out so yucky you were about to toss it.

My readiness to toss the recipe got me to thinking of how God doesn't just toss me out when I fall short. It led to a moment of deep gratitude that He is patient, longsuffering, and never gives up on me--even when I would have long given up on myself. No one is too far gone for Him to transform.

God loves us so much that while we were still sinners He sent Christ to die for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life (Romans 5:9, Isaiah 5:5, John 3:16,36). The gift of salvation is a free gift that can only be received by grace, through faith. It is not something you can earn (Ephesians 2:8-9).

When we repent of our sins and invite Jesus into our hearts, the slate is wiped clean and we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) with a new identity as a child of God. 

God accepts us just as we are, and transforms us from the inside out through the power of His Holy Spirit. It is not something we can do in our own power.

VIEW FROM MY BALCONY

The perfect ending to a day filled with promise and hope.

FACE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--FACE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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This week's prompt made me think of the chorus of an old song by the Gaithers, Because He Lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, 

Because He lives, all fear is gone; 

Because I know He holds the future, 

And life is worth the living, 

Just because He lives!

A good reminder when I am tempted to feel anxious about certain situations in my life that seem overwhelming. That, plus a couple of Scriptures I came face to face with recently that I've probably read a zillion times, but that suddenly came alive . 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34, BSB).

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?  (Luke 12:25-26, BSB)

Our brains can only focus on one thing at a time, and I have intentionally been training mine to stay focused on the present moment and what I can do right now, since there is no way I can face tomorrow until tomorrow becomes today. 

I have also been intentional about trusting in God's timing and plan, which always turn out to be so much better than mine, instead of second-guessing Him when prayers don't get answered when and how I think they should or turn out the way I expected, and trying to help Him out and rush things along. 

So many things we worry about never even come to pass, and while we are busy worrying about them, we miss the blessings and opportunities right under our nose. I wonder if that's where the idiom "Take time to smell the roses," comes from.

My five minutes is up and there's so much more I want to say, and it won't necessarily fit with the prompt, so I will start over and rewrite this on my other blog, At The Foot Of The Cross.

CIRCLE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--CIRCLE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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Today is the first day of summer. The seasons have come full circle since summer 2024. This weekend the temperature is supposed to be in the 90s.

When the temperature gets that hot, I am super grateful for my air conditioner and have no desire to leave the house, but I have been told that wildflowers love the heat. And so, I put the window box of tiny wildflower sprouts that had been germinating on my windowsill on the balcony, as well as the flowering kalanchoe plant in the circular pot. 

Not even an hour later, the beautiful blue sky turned an angry gray and before I could make up my mind whether  to leave the plants outside or bring them back in, we had a storm to end all storms. The rain was torrential, and the thunder loud. I felt terrible about having  transported those plants from their safe, sunny windowsill to the middle of a severe thunderstorm. 

I said a quick prayer that they would survive, and was amazed that they did.

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An unrelated thought, but something triggered as I was writing about my quick prayer at the end of my post, was Mark Batterson's devotional, "Draw the Circle." I'm adding it here for anyone who may be interested, since it fits this week's word prompt so perfectly. It's a 40-day prayer challenge I've worked my way through many times, and that maybe it's time for me to work my way through again. Each day has a devotional containing a true, faith-building story of God's answer to prayer, a Scripture, and some prayer prompts. Anyone want to go through it with me?

PANIC

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PANIC

Five minutes to free-write about it

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My plan was to skip this week's challenge, but this morning I was feeling grateful for toilets and that we don't have to squat over a hole in the ground as some folks in other parts of the world have to do. 

And then I started feeling grateful for toilet paper, and my thoughts wandered from there to the 2020 COVID pandemic which led people to panic-buy toilet paper, of all things. Practically overnight, it had been grabbed up and hoarded by panic-stricken buyers, and there was not a roll to be found.

What a lesson in not taking anything for granted--not even the availability of a commodity as common as that.

One of my friends was thrilled to find some online (I can't remember if it was on Amazon or where), but it was a six-pack, and it had cost a pretty penny. No matter. She was just excited to have been able to order it and couldn't wait for it to arrive. When it finally did--all the way from China--what a surprise it turned out to be

I wish I had a picture of it that I could have posted here. The rolls were so tiny that the whole six-pack easily fit into her mailbox.

Now we look back and laigh, but it was no laughing matter then.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

ANYMORE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--ANYMORE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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At first, when I saw this week's prompt, all I could think of were the many people and things that are not in my life anymore, and the many things I cannot do anymore. I even lamented that the beautiful little plant in the picture does not flower anymore. It hasn't in several years--not even when I put it out on the balcony in the summer.

But then, when I searched my mind for something positive I could associate with the word, two things surfaced. This morning I was surprised by a text from someone who had been an important part of my life and who I wasn't expecting to hear from anymore, and even better than that, and the greatest positive anymore possible, was the thought that "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1, NIV. What can be better than that?

P.S.

 

For those of you who asked--no, not Norman Rockwell. Box says Susan Brabeau.

(Love, love, love the expressions on the faces--including the dog's, haha.)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 

PERSEVERE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PERSEVERE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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...they were at their wits' end. Then they

cried out to the LORD in their trouble, 

and he brought them out of their distress. 

(Psalm 107:27b-28, NIV)

It's been a couple of weeks since I last participated in the FMF challenge, and probably this doesn't really count as participating either, since the words are not my own. It's a poem I came upon during my quiet time, as I pondered what to write, that seems to say it all. 

I'm sharing it in hopes that it will encourage someone else, as it did me, to persevere and keep on keeping on as we make our way down the path we are currently trudging along.

Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner,"

      Christian, with troubled brow?

Are you thinking of what is before you,

      And all you are bearing now?

Does all the world seem against you,

      And you in the battle alone?

Remember--at "Wits' End Corner"

      Is just where God's power is shown.

Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner,"

      Blinded with wearying pain,

Feeling you cannot endure it,

      You cannot bear the strain,

Bruised through the constant suffering,

      Dizzy and dazed and numb?

Remember--at "Wits' End Corner"

      Is where Jesus loves to come.

Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner"?

      Your work before you spread,

All lying begun, unfinished,

      And pressing on heart and head,

Longing for strength to do it,

      Stretching out trembling hands?

Remember--at "Wits' End Corner"

      The Burden-Bearer stands,

Are you standing at "Wits' End Corner"?

      Then you're just in the very spot

To learn the wondrous resources

      Of Him who fails you not:

No doubt to a brighter pathway

      Your footsteps will soon be moved,

But only at "Wits' End Corner"

      Is the "God who is able" proved. -- Antoinette Wilson

(Taken from Streams in the Desert, May 23 and available on Amazon.)