Friends

Once I found a dear friend.  "Dear me," I said, "he was made for me."

But now I find more and more friends who seem to have been made for me.

Is it possible we were all made for each other all around the world?

G. K. Chesterton

Wild Turkey Dance

We awoke early this morning to lightning flashes and rumbling thunder followed by sleet pelting the window.  Barley, who usually sleeps on his pad in our bedroom, huddled up against my side of the bed, and I reached down to pat him.  Outside, the chilled air was a bit of a shock to the system after several balmy days, but it didn't deter the Carolina chickadee from singing its sweet 4-note song, nor did it stop the scheduled dance of the wild turkeys.  Several turkeys have been frequenting our fields, and 3 gobblers were displaying for the hens today, dragging their wing tips and rotating slowly, inviting the light to catch every glimmer of their iridescent feathers, while moving their feet in the slow, mincing steps of a dance they knew before they were born.

There is a time for everything, 

and a season for every activity under heaven...

Ecclesiastes 3:1 

Wildfires

Across the lake from us last night, wildfires burned and spread, fanned by stiff winds, and smoke lit up the late evening sky.  We haven't heard any damage reports yet, although just south of Theodosia, in Dugginsville, fires took 3 homes, and our hearts go out to the families involved.  

I don't want to seem insensitive to their plight, but when I hear of such a tragedy, I often think, "what would I do?" or in this case, "what would I take with me if I knew I might lose my home?"  I'm pretty sure I'd grab my camera first, and if I had time, my computer with its jillion wires.  When we see interviews on TV after disasters, the ones we like best are the ones with people who say, "We are so grateful that God spared us. We have only lost things; we still have each other, and that is what's important".  Though we've never been through such a tragedy, those statements ring true, and we hope we'll have the grace to say the same, should it ever happen to us.

The fires are still burning, but they appear to be headed toward the lake, where they will die of natural causes.  At times like these, when things seem to be out of control, it's good to know the One who made not only the fire, but the water as well.

Do not be afraid.   

Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.

Exodus 14:13  

Serviceberry

Wild serviceberry trees are blooming, their frilly white blossoms dressing up the landscape.  This afternoon, the wind is singing in the trees, and petals drift down like snowflakes.