And We Dance

On July 3, 2014 By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography2 Comments

He that lives in hope dances without music.
-George Herbert

Becoming

On June 15, 2014June 15, 2014 By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography9 Comments

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.

(Psalm 33:1)

Poppies

On June 13, 2014 By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography2 Comments

Open your heart to sympathy, but close it against despondency. The flower which opens to receive the dew shuts against the rain.

– James H. Aughey

Dazzlingly

On May 20, 2014May 19, 2014 By Charis PsalloIn Art, Flowers2 Comments

“God made you to love him supremely, but he lost you. He returned to get you back, but it took the cross to do it. He absorbed your darkness so that one day you can finally and dazzlingly become your true self and take your seat at his eternal feast.”
―Timothy Keller

Double Flowering

On May 15, 2014May 15, 2014 By Charis PsalloIn Art, Flowers5 Comments

You are my God, and I give You thanks;
You are my God, and I praise You.
Give thanks to our Eternal Lord; He is always good.
He never ceases to be loving and kind.
(Psalm 118:28,29 The Voice)

Restoration

On May 9, 2014May 9, 2017 By Charis PsalloIn Flowers12 Comments

I planted tulips the year we moved into this house 26 years ago. Then the deer moved into our neighbourhood. Deer like tulips -for breakfast. They devour them like Lindt chocolates (and seem to prefer the red ones). After a while no tulips sprang up when the spring sun warmed the garden and I didn’t plant anymore. Occasionally tulip leaves emerged, but either they formed no flowers or the deer nipped them in the bud and they shrank back into the ground quickly. I forgot all about them.

This year three brave tulips are blooming under my window, returning after all these years.

Some people are like that. The period of “the dark night of the soul” may last a long time. The “devourer” has kept them from raising their heads and freely being who they are created to be. The years of darkness, when no growth can be seen, can last a very long time. Mine did. There were people who lost hope for me as depression and negativity kept me in a shallow grave year after year.

Mine did. There were people who lost hope for me as depression and negativity kept me in a shallow grave year after year.

There were people who lost hope for me as depression and negativity kept me in a shallow grave year after year.

But God…

God is in the restoration business. Time is not as important as process to him. He knows who we really are, and he is not disappointed.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

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From Glory to Glory

On May 3, 2014May 3, 2014 By Charis PsalloIn Flowers, Photography12 Comments

So do we go or do we stay? The weather on this side of the Rockies is lovely. We’ve had summer temperatures this week and suddenly there are leaves on the trees and flowers in my garden! Glorious flowers!

But there is a heavy snowfall warning out for the Cowboy Trail on the other side of the Rockies, the part that lies between us and our granddaughter’s special day. The temperature is right around the freezing mark, so that could mean wet highways, or impossible highways.

I find myself shopping the weather forecast sites looking for the most optimistic reports, but I know better than to be caught in the mountains in a heavy spring snowfall. So we check highway cameras and road reports and wait for Facebook posts from those who are already out on the roads and wonder if we should make a dash for it before it gets really bad.

Change is like that. I have seen the transforming power of Jesus in people’s lives and it’s amazing. They don’t seem like the same people. There is hope, joy, peace and love in their lives. Then suddenly the habits of the last season blow back in -and it’s a big mess.

Disappointment in the apparent lack of progress in our lives can make us wonder if we are actually getting anywhere. Sometimes in the midst of this journey, when we see how far we have got to go, discouragement piles up on the road like unwelcome spring snow. “Hope deferred” the Bible calls it. It says it will even make your heart feel sick. But the next part of that verse is the one to watch “But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

We can look at the snow which, although very real and hazardous and mighty inconvenient, we know is passing, or we can look at the trees blossoming into new life. Transformation is about not looking to our past for norms. It is about fixing our eyes on hope and the joy that lies before us. We move from glory to glory.

Soon. Very soon.