Category: Flowers

The Mark of True Maturity

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, PhotographyLeave a comment

You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy.

Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all.

Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. 

Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ.

If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues.

Love becomes the mark  of true maturity. 

Colossians 3:12-14 TPT

Many of us long to be understood. We want to explain the background behind the reasons for our actions. As I often told my children, and now my grandchildren, an explanation is the history behind a decision. It is not necessarily the validation of a decision. An explanation is an explanation, not an excuse. Whether we hurt someone intentionally or unintentionally, their pain is still pain.

A young child hits back. A mature adult doesn’t need to.

Somedays I need to do an accounting. I need to remember times when I have been forgiven for doing or saying things meant to hit back. I write down memories of times when grace was extended to me for my graceless acts of immaturity. I give thanks for people who showed me kindness when I was flailing in pain, striking out at anyone I perceived as a potential threat and when it seemed only the foolish would trust again. Instead, they gently, humbly, and patiently demonstrated God’s true nature.

When I look at the people who have had the greatest effect on healing the deep wounds in my heart, they are all people God brought into my life to show me there was such a thing as love that was not self-serving. They made time. They listened. They were not put off by my raging. They were not afraid of how being associated with me would make them look. They made it possible to believe in more than the disappointing behaviour I had seen demonstrated by immature or false Christians. They showed me the kind of love that drives away fear and nurtures fertile ground for faith to grow.

On these accounting days, when I look, when I see, when I understand how costly it was to love someone in as much pain as I used to be, how can I justify offering less mercy than I have received?

Today I am thankful for the mature ones who patiently extended love to nurture my spiritual growth. Twenty years ago, when I told one of them I was losing faith, he said he would hold onto faith for me because he knew I would eventually begin to comprehend how much God loved me.

I want to be like Jesus because that guy let me see Jesus in him.

One In the Spirit, One in the Lord

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Just folks, Photography3 Comments

A song came to mind today. I remember linking arms with friends as we sang it around the campfire when I was young and naïve, and perhaps a little too trusting. The song is “We Are One In the Spirit.”

I believed in the ideals in the song. I still do. Fifty years later, having observed at least fifty demonstrations of decimating attacks on “each man’s dignity and each man’s pride,” and experiencing lots of opportunities to forgive, I still cling to the hope of the unity the Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 4.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

We have some maturing to do. In the same chapter he writes:

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Are there good reasons for separating? Of course. Dangerous people who refuse to change remain dangerous. A parent who loves two children will move an aggressive bullying sibling away to another room protect the other. The object is protection for one and restoration for the other. We have far too many examples of situations where habitual abuse in churches was covered up using 1 Peter 4:8 “love covers over a multitude of sins,” as justification while ignoring Ephesians 5:11, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” One is about extending grace for growing-pain type sins and the other is about not tolerating a pattern of serious sin with potential long-term consequences, whether for one person or for thousands.

One instruction has grace for the faults of immaturity while the other prevents harmful, ungodly ideas and practices from becoming established. That discussion requires more time and space than this blog post allows today. I’m talking today about the chafing that occurs when we rub shoulders with fellow-believers who still have rough edges, in other words, all of us.

I saw these roses in the landscape patch between an apartment building and the sidewalk as I walked to the grocery store. I grabbed a photo on my phone because I liked the circle they formed. Usually, I edit out the flaws in my flower photos before I publish them. I tell people that if a photo of mine doesn’t have a time/date stamp on it, assume I have adjusted something. I did zap a couple of aphids on this one, but I left fading colour, browning edges and uneven pigment just the way it was. To me, the image represents a circle of unity with grace for imperfection.

I heard a wedding sermon in which the officiant gave a pep talk to the bride and groom. He talked about the admonition to forgive and forbear. (Colossian 3:13)

“Who knew that forbearing the daily annoying stuff would be harder than forgiving the exceptional major stuff?” he asked, speaking of his own experience.

I’ve noticed that one of the major reasons for splits in places where people once gathered with every intention of bearing with one another in love, are often triggered by the opposite character qualities of humble, gentle and patient. Instead, they jostled each other with arrogance, harshness, and impatience.

Sometimes we find ourselves side by side with prickly people. Graham Cook calls them “grace-growers.” Their presence in our lives is not so that we can fix them (or develop protocols for their removal), but so the Lord can allow the annoying qualities that continually rub us the wrong way to smooth our own rough edges.

Jesus said we would be recognized as his disciples, but not for our ability to shun the flawed and those who fail to fall in line with shunning practices. We will not be visible representatives of Christ for developing perfect theoretical doctrine, for “maintaining the pure DNA” of our particular sect, for either indulging sinful practices or condemning people still in process, or for becoming successful by the world’s definition. He said his followers would be recognizable. You’ll know who they when you hear people say, “Look how they love one another!”

It’s like they are one in the Spirit or one in the Lord or something.

One in the Spirit by Joseph M. Martin

Pure Wisdom

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography2 Comments

The older I get, the more I pray for wisdom.

The older I get, the more I realize I need it. Oh God, how I need it.

The older I get, the more I realize that what passed for wisdom when I was younger and more trusting of “experts” has dire consequences years later if the trajectory was off even slightly when I took off running in a direction I believed was right. A good idea, tainted by the least bit of self-interest at the expense of others will eventually reveal itself to be a stupid idea.

The older I get, the more I realize how easy it is to either deny my own motives or be ignorant of them.

The older I get, the more experienced I have needed to become at making apologies instead of excuses.

The older I get, the more purity in thought, word and deed matters more than innocence. The loss of innocence means being reconciled to the reality of the long-term devastating consequences of sin and the reality that evil, even in tiny amounts, ruins everything. Innocence lost is lost, but God restores purity.

The older I get, the more “When I am weak You are strong,” means and the more beautiful forgiveness received and extended becomes.

The older I get, the more I want to be like Christ, and the more I realize that I am completely unable to accomplish even one step in that direction without his empowering grace and especially the wisdom that comes from above.

The older I get, the more I realize that when I pray with a teachable attitude for wisdom instead of vindication, God does answer. Treasuring and using wisdom he has already given means paying attention to that still, small voice that is easy to ignore.

The older I get, the more I love God’s holiness. His motives are utterly pure. His love is untainted by selfish motives. He gives and gives and gives because He is love. He is peace.

But the wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form and it always bears the beautiful harvest of righteousness! Good seeds of wisdom’s fruit will be planted with peaceful acts by those who cherish making peace. (James 3:17 TPT)

Exuberant Hope

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography2 Comments

I am filled with joy and my soul vibrates with exuberant hope, because of the Eternal my God; For He has dressed me with the garment of salvation, wrapped me with the robe of righteousness.

Isaiah 61:10a The Voice

Startled

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, nature, Photography, springLeave a comment

“Lord, catch me off guard today. Surprise me with some moment of beauty or pain so that at least for the moment, I may be startled into seeing that you are here in all your splendor, always and everywhere, barely hidden, beneath, beyond, within this life I breathe.”

Frederick Buechner

Influence

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, PhotographyLeave a comment

When an interviewer has a new rising star in the studio, they will often ask, “Who are your influences?”

I often ask this question of people who are not on the rising platform that is fame, at least not yet. I ask people who are potentially both on the way up or down, people who are ordinary, people who are interesting, people who are growing, and people who are passionate about issues that are life-changing. It’s a good way to get to know people.

Let me take a moment to answer my own question. First some honesty.

On Why-Do-The-Wicked-Prosper and Why-Do-Bad-Things-Happen-To-Good-People questioning days, my influencers are like the grieving sisters, Mary and Martha: “Lord, if you had been here this horrible thing would not have happened!”

On less attentive days, I am influenced negatively by doom and gloomers who cheer the descent of the world as it races toward the handbasket destined for hell thinking it signifies the time of rescue of the elect off this planet.

On I-Want-To-Look-Good days, I am influenced by the media mavens who equate compassionate love with short-sighted indulgence.

On days when I follow You-Think-That’s-Bad soap boxers on social media, I am influenced by those whose goal is to see them punished and us rewarded.

On better days, I am influenced positively by those who can wait to see the bigger picture.

On better days, I am influenced by those who choose good over evil, even when it seems to be to their detriment. I am influenced by the athlete who sacrifices a sure win to come to the aid of another athlete in distress, for example.

I am influenced by people who have spoken or written words of profound wisdom that bring greater understanding of the character of God, even if their own reputations, were later destroyed by failure to rely on God and leave a harmful God-avoiding coping mechanism behind.

I am influenced by artists and scientists who pursue excellence in both knowledge and wisdom and communicate insights with honesty and transparency.

I am influenced by children and guileless folks on the autism spectrum who have the clarity to shout, “Hey! The emperor has no clothes,” when I have accepted traditions that say it is wrong to think that out loud.

I am influenced by the parent who puts more effort into raising an inconvenient child than gaining accolades or material goods for themselves.

I am influenced by the introvert who leaves the comfort of their favourite chair to venture onto far-away stages in obedience to a calling on their life.

I am influenced by the experienced extrovert who listens first, second, and third before responding with better questions.

I am influenced by those who demonstrate self-control while giving others the freedom to control themselves.

I am influenced by those who talk about other people behind their backs in kind, appreciative ways.

I am influenced by the strong but gentle, the encouragers, the visionaries, the builders, the apologizers, the forgivers, the comforters, the humble, the confidant, the serene.

I am influenced by people who provoke me, annoy me, and exasperate me because they genuinely love me.

I am influenced by people who see ugliness, but rest their eyes on beauty.

I’m surrounded by a lot of influencers, some great, some not so great. I could name these people, but you probably wouldn’t recognize most of them. The one I will name, hoping you know him, is Jesus the Christ.

The root of the word influence means “to flow into.” More than anyone else I want Jesus to flow into and through me. I can only hope that someday it will show in my work.

Spiritual

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography2 Comments

Logic cannot comprehend love; so much the worse for logic.

N.T. Wright

Sometimes, trying to explain truth that is spiritually discerned to a person whose ultimate test of reality is limited to logic and empirical data is like trying to explain colour to someone who can only see in black and white.

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)

Today

On By Charis PsalloIn autumn, Flowers, Photography2 Comments

There is something particularly precious about the last flowers in the garden at the end of the season. We know the frost will show up one of these nights.

Sometimes we can sense a change in the atmosphere, a shifting in the angle of light, a different scent in the air. Change is coming.

Change means we eventually may need to let go of the rewards of past efforts, but today we stop and admire the beauty in this moment. Today we thank God for his faithfulness. Today we sing.

Ex Nihilo

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, summer1 Comment

“We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does,

and that God will not do what we can do.”

– Oswald Chambers

We plant. We water. We fertilize. We prune. We breed. We gather seeds. We plant again.

But only God can make a rose out of nothing.

Oh Thou In Whose Presence My Soul Takes Delight

On By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography, summer2 Comments

Only a few weeks ago, this patch of lavatera flowers springing forth like a delightful fountain of pink joyfulness was a barren patch of dirt.

I didn’t plant them, nor did I water them. I saw them growing in the community garden next to our building. A gardener who rents the plot planted them in amongst practical and edible kale and beans and tomatoes. These flowers don’t have 300 uses like the peanut or end up in a myriad of product like corn. Their only role is to simply be beautiful and to lift the spirits of those who pass by.

I am learning to stop and appreciate beauty when I see it. I also appreciate those who develop varieties of plants suitable for local environments and resistant to pests and disease. I appreciate the tillers and planters and waterers. I love the ingenuity and creativity of inventors and developers.

I most appreciate a God who created beauty to inspire us to create beauty. I appreciate soaking in the beauty of his presence when it serves no other purpose than show me I am loved and that a good Father loves to give good gifts.

When affliction comes (and he said it would) a patch of pink flowers, rising up from the soil that lay dormant for so many months, can remind us that God is good. Beauty says hope restored is a tree of life.

The song in my head today: