Wednesday March 16 2016  THERE ARE ALWAYS REASONS TO BE THANKFUL

March is a blustery month.  It seems as if I forget that each year until I again experience the storms.  I sit here at my computer, surrounded by windows that overlook the dance of the winds.  Tall trees swaying and twisting in gales of bluster.  Sometimes I believe the tops of the huge trees are going to twist right off.  We’ve had hurricanes around us in the past and believe me, the winds just snap some of the tallest and strongest trees right at the ground and carry them away.  Usually what happens after a snow melt and lots of rain, as we have had lately, is that the wind will just uproot the trees from the soft soil.  That is not a comforting thought as I sit here within striking distance of some of these trees.

Wind is so amazing.  It can’t be seen, only the movement of what stands in its way causes us to be aware of its intensity.  Nor can it be heard.  Oh yes, we often hear people speak about the “howling wind”, but in reality, it is not the wind we hear at all.  Instead it is the sounds that branches and leaves make as they clang into one another, or crevices and cracks that wind whips through which cause the whistling sound.  Right now I hear a deafening roar and it surrounds me on all sides.  I also hear the ubiquitous howling as it slams into the house, forcing itself through narrow passage ways of trim and gutters.  Fortunately we have updated windows that are tight and sturdy so wind doesn’t seem to sneak inside.  I can’t see the wind, but the undulating sounds, and the swirling bare branches of the trees give fact that it is doing its best March dance.  And with it comes a bone chilling cold.  This is the month I should have been gone!

Each area of the country we have lived in has its own unique weather patterns.  In Southern California it was the Santa Ana Winds and the dry hot summers.  In the San Francisco East Bay area it was the early spring rains.  In Wisconsin we have it all!  Cold snowy winters, blustery winds of March, spectacular spring flowers, the rains of summer (of which we do not complain), warm summer days with occasional high humidity, and the pristine colors of fall, bringing the full cycle back to Mr. Frost himself.   Of all the places we have lived I much prefer Wisconsin weather.  It is ever changing, versatile, unpredictable, and sometimes even “perfect”.  However, perfect to me might not be perfection to another.  I receive much enjoyment from the beauty of nature and season’s changing treasures.  And I especially love our trees.  In a past blog I wrote about how I was raised in an area without trees.  Well, there is never a day that goes by that I do not look out at the trees we steward and feel overwhelming gratitude, that God grants me the pleasure of living amongst such beauty.  If you don’t have a relationship with trees then you might think I am just a little off my rocker.  I guess that is putting it bluntly, I really do have a “relationship” with trees and I even have one I am in love with. 

The tree I love most is a very old oak tree that stands majestically alone on a hill surrounded by grass.  The slope of the hill rises up behind her, proudly displaying its seasonal crop.  For one entire year I photographed that tree on a daily basis.  I pass her (my tree is a girl) most days as she lives around the corner, about a mile from our home.  I received permission from the estate owner to get up close and personal with this grand old lady.  I estimate she must be between two to three hundred years old.  I have taken a photo of “my” tree from every conceivable angle, time of day, lighting, temperature, and weather that I could possibly think of.  Every season, no matter how cold or hot, early morning to sunset shots, whether the tree was fully leaved or starkly naked, I was there to witness the changes.  I have even hugged her and sat beneath her shade on a little lonely bench that humbly stands by her side.  My hug consists of more than FOUR extended breadth spans of my arms opened wide .  I just remembered the one picture I do not yet have.  I have no picture with me standing beside beside the tree which I consider my friend.  Dave and I plan to hike up to the tree together so he can take a picture of me standing next to the tree.  I want to be in the photo so as to have a size comparison of just how grand she is.

I wish you could sit here with me and experience the amazing panorama I am enjoying in full motion.  Perhaps my words have painted a picture for you.

FEELINGS I CANNOT LEND

By Kathleen Martens

March 16, 2016

What we behold is never known

By another, though it is shown.

What I see from my eyes,

Your taste may belie.

The thoughts I feel from within,

Are feelings I cannot lend.

Each of us see from a different angle.

Another’s parallax cannot be wrangled.

Each to his own from inside out,

Which for another may have no clout.

What to me may be a boutique,

Others may not choose to seek.

So I will enjoy what I choose

That my moments I never lose.

If I desire to love a tree

Then that is what, makes me, me.

I received a note from the friend who I have recently requested others to pray for.  I asked her permission if I could select part of her email and post it in my blog.  She gave me permission.

“Reading your blog daily. I cannot begin to thank you for your fervent prayers and those of your blog followers. During the last week (since our phone conversation and you said you would be praying for my knee pain specifically), I have had the least amount of pain in my knee since 2012. God is so good and answers the prayers of His faithful servants. I’ve been icing my feet / ankles several times throughout the day and my ankles have settled down a little, but still in quite a bit of pain and walking is still very painful. Just to have some relief in the knee pain has been a huge blessing.”

Here is her response when I asked her if I could print her letter:

“I would not mind at all.  Anything to give GOD the PRAISE.”

Thank you friend and blog reader for sharing with us what God is doing in your life.

Please continue to pray daily that God will release “our friend” from pain.  When we are one in the Body of Christ, our fellow believers are our family as well as friends!

Lord, I give you thanks this day for your tender mercy.

Lord, I thank you for hearing our prayers no matter where we are.

Lord, thank you for being all knowing.

Lord, thank you for the release of this pain and healing in our friend’s body.

Lord, thank you for loving us.

Lord, thank you for caring about every trial no matter how big or small.

And most of all Lord, thank you for providing salvation that we can live with You forever and not perish.

Do you have a THANK YOU JOURNAL?  If not, you might enjoy starting one.  Daily write down one thing, or many things, for which you are thankful.  Number them and see how quickly you pass 1,000.  It is so amazing how many things there are in which to give thanks to God.  And God hears your “Thank You Notes” to Him, and it delights Him to pour out His blessings upon His children.  And He doesn’t even mind if you repeat what you are thankful for.

Today I am thankful for the pain relief that your daughter is experiencing. 

Thank you too for her testimony to others who are praying.

And Lord, thank You for Dave’s shoes all lined up by the back door.  I am so thankful for the husband that walks in those shoes.

GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU ON THIS COLD BLUSTERY MARCH DAY!