Wandering . . . But Not Lost

I have been having a bit of a rough time since Thursday afternoon when I was driving back home, heading north on I-75 about 15 miles south of I-4 near Tampa. 

The pilot of a Piper Cherokee on his way from Tampa to Miami with two passengers had made an emergency landing on the interstate several hours before I was approaching the scene of the landing.

Because of the cranes and tow-trucks, poli

ce cars and emergency vehicles working to extract the pieces of the plane from where it had been moved to the middle of the six lanes (three going south, three going north,) there was a traffic slow-down similar what happens during a rush hour commute in the Washington, D.C. area.

(Two miles every forty-five minutes or so . . .)

(Maybe you heard aout or read about this accident in the media?)

Hmmmmm . . .

I had to stop from going 70-something to zip in about eight car lengths that were between me and the dark blue Toyota sedan in front of me and it seemed like a miracle to stop within about six inches of its rear bumper, and for no one to run into me.

(Could imagine angels intervening, and a swift sliver of a mini-series of my life flashed through my mind and spirit, but you know how I can exaggerate at times!)

A little of the effects of whiplash and some sore muscles and joints were left over.

(Trying not to whine, just describing . . .)

Then there was an unfixable plumbing problem in the little ol' "Mom and Pop" motel on the beach I was staying in, so I had to move out of the place.

Was blessed to spend Friday night with my sweet sister and her family.

Then was also blessed to be seen at the Bay Pines Veterans Administration Med Center where a sweet lady doctor originally from India was kind enough to subscribe some prescriptions for pain, tight muscles and migraines.

I arrived back here on Longboat Key to my folks' house in time to rush my Dad and my brother George over to the Beachouse Restaurant on Anna Maria Island while the sun was still about seventy degrees above the horizon.

We were blessed to be together to have some delicious food with really good service from a waiter named Matt while we enjoyed a lovely, lovely sunset together.

This was the third time since May that Dad and I have tried to watch a sunset together there. But storm clouds along the western horizon of the Gulf of Mexico blocked our view of what seems to be the firey chariot of the sun making its swift journey below the sharp line between sky and sea.

(The third time's the charm, as they say, ot maybe we just needed George to be there, too. He kept stepping out every few minutes to digitally record the sights for posterity's sake -- you might see the results on FB if you are a friend or relative of his.)

Was blessed to be able to take the meds and find relief from the symptoms as the sounds of summer wafted into my hearing from the living room. Dad and George were watching a baseball game.

I woke up when the sounds changed as they prepared to head to bed. Got some water from the fridge and kissed them both "goodnight" again.

Grandpa Georgie had sent me his latest photos od who he calls the most beautiful and adorable baby in the world, sweet Evie Alani, and of course a grandpa's eyes see very, very clearly and there is no disputing that claim.

(I make the same proud boasts about my beautiful and adorable grand babies, and it is always the height of a special kind of veracity, isn't it?)

*twinkle*

Changing the subject . . .

We're awaiting the much heralded coming of tropical storm/hurricane Isaac with lots of interest.

One of the most common past-times for any place where hurricanes and typhoons are possible is, during the season, carefully keeping track of them and battening down the hatches and/or boarding up and sand-bagging buildings, hoarding water and food, and/or getting da heck outta dere aheada dem . . .

(In case you don't know, the storms are usually called "hurricanes" if they originate in the South Atlantic, but they are designated "typhoons" if they are birthed in the big, not-always-so peaceful Pacific.)

I used to fly on some of the C-130 Hercules "Hurricane Hunters" back when I was on active duty in the Air Force -- but never through any hurricanes or typhoons.

Sometimes those types of aircraft were used for other missions and when I was on them we were exercising the potential for horrible man-made disasters.

Right now the late August palm fronds are intermittently rustling on the tops of the trees outside the carport, some peepers are peeping, too.

I hope the local masked marauders won't get into the in-ground heavy-metal-covered zinc/aluminum (?) garbage can again.

The raccoons successfully feasted on some baby back BBQ rib bones they discovered the other night. No matter what kinds of anti-raccoon security system people around here employ, we are defeated from time to time by the oh so clever critters.

Several years ago some were known to have rabies, so especially people walking their little doggies in the pre-dawn and post-dusk hours were very aware of the dangers.

This summer the over-55 complex our folks retired to nearly twenty years go had its streets re-asphalted, and a new attractive brick road entrance-way was done.

The whole project took much longer than expected because of some earlier tropical storms.

The corn belt and the Rockies . . . Texas and Oklahoma . . . and elsewhere . . . could have used some of the rain we've been getting all summer. But Florida has been suffering a drought off and on for the last ten or so years, too -- sometimes for a three or more year stretch.

Signs and wonders . . . I wonder as I wander . . . not all who wander are lost . . . lost in space . . .

George said at dinner that our friend who was the niece of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, said to wink at the it for him.

Of course Armstrong was there along with Buzz Aldrin while Michael Collins waited to retrieve them, orbiting around la luna, out of contact on the dark side every so often while we collectively held our breath, so relieved each time to hear him re-connect with Houston each time.

Somebody had to do it.

But a twenty-two-year-old from the ancient city of Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, who is staying at the same lodgings as mine said he didn't believe we ever really did that!

He claimed to be an atheist, too.

And after I had told him that I was a pastor and had been in mission in to former Soviets immigrants in the US as well as in Russia, in Ukraine and in Kazakhstan -- all of which he says are still part of Russia . . . he said he very much wanted to talk about philosophy and religion.

So we had some interesting discussions as we tooled around the area in his late-model rented black Mustang convertible.

The sun set in a glorious but gentle fanfare across the rivers, and the vibrant half moon rose. The balmy late August night with dreamy scattered wisps of ephemeral clouds delicately adorning the cheeky moon and the shy, freshly-appearing stars enveloped us.

Since the mid to late '70s I have been encountering people in their 20s from the Soviet Union or from former Soviet republics. They have afforded me a look through a small window into their culture and world view.

The latest one, after coming up from the beach from his first attempt to surf also told the desk clerk of the little "Mom and Pop" motel that for him surfing was like trying to lead a cow through snow drifts.

(The desk clerk told me that she is originally from Hawaii and has never lived where there is snow, but she was charmed by the image. Obviously the young man has been spending more time in the surf rather than riding on it, and he expressed the hope that his flights back to Russia would be delayed by the coming tropical storm/hurricane do he could try the "real" waves.)

(Please pray for him if you feel led. Duke Kahanamoka might be looking down on him.)

(Or St. Sergei of Radonezh.)

(Or both of them.)

My kids and I have lived both in Alaska during winters when there was an accumulation of over eighty inches of snow JUST from late January through mid-May, never mind mid-September through the end of the Orthodox Christmas season AND on the beaches of the Florida Space Coast. So when I told Krista what my new young Russian friend had said, she totally understood, gasped, and laughed indulgenty.

Of course.

Some time I will write about the comments I remember about cultural differences expressed by the twenty-something kids from central Europe and Eurasia.

Who is more sure of anything than six year olds or young twenty-something (or so)kids?

I hope tonight or whenever you read this that you are sure you are loved beyond measure, time, and comparison.

Cheers!

;-)

Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013

kwharris777@gmail.com

Used for Good

Good morning, Beloved. PraisIng God that my brother George got here safely last night and that friends traveling cross country are doing well.

In this transition when I don't have any idea how things will turn out, and so far much has not come around the way I had hoped it would, I am blessed to continue to be reminded in lots of ways that God is faithful and that the Lord has good plans for me.

My son sent me an e-mail with Romans 8:28 in it -- "God uses everything for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes."

That passage was first brought to my attention in January of 1986 when I was leaving active duty in the Air Force. Krista, Tommy and I were coming out of Alaska on the State Ferry. A colonel I had worked for at Patrick AFB near Kennedy Space Center had retired from the Air Force and gone to work for NASA at KSC. In early January he had been kind enough to say that he would help me find a civilian job.

Leaving the security of military life within less than two years of having left the security of marriage partly because of the difficulties of being a single parent on active duty overseas, I was being challenged to learn to trust God in new ways.

I actually didn't trust the Lord very much at all at that time. I was used to taking control and making things happen, or at least that was the way I thought about it.

Instead of seeking God's will before I made a decision, I would run over one way and query the Lord, "Is this it?"

And then I'd run over another direction and ask, "What about this?"

Or I would just barrel through circunstances to make something happen that I wanted to happen without asking for God's guidance and just insisting on my own way.

When we got off the Alaska State Ferry at Sitka we were all set to spemd a few days there sightseeing. We lodged at a Bed and Breakfast owned by a Tlingit woman married to a Greek-American man who had fought in the Aleutians in World War II, and who had fallen in love with Alaska while there. After the war, he had gone back to the east coast of the "Lower 48," as Alaskans call the rest of the US except Hawaii. Then after bidding his family there farewll, he had made his way to Sitka, found his wife and raIsed a big family.

The first morning we were to wake up in Sitka, the Tlingit woman came up the stairs to our rooms and gently woke me up, telling me not to wake up my children.

Having been stationed at Patrick AFB during the first five test launches of the Space Shuttle, I had been involved in support for the STS launches, and we had seen all five from either the Space Center or from the beach along the Space Coast.

The reason I had been awakened was that I had told our host and hostess at the B&B that we were heading to Florida for a job at KSC and the morning new was all full of reports about the Challenger accident.

The launches of the STS orbiters had become routine, and that 25th launch seemed only to have the novelty of its non-astronaut teacher crew member, Krista McAuliffe to recommend it as anything new or interesting to many folks.

As my hostess brought me to sit in front of their televsion, I could not have been more shocked than to see the explosions at the wrong places and to watch the orbiter falling into the sea.

I was so grateful that the B&B owners were big-hearted and faith-filled Christians. We prayed together for the families and loved ones of the Challenger crew, and they prayed for me concerning whatever might happen next.

After we continued our journey with three days and three nights on the Ferry from Sitka to Washington State, we met many fellow travelers and the comradery was lovely. As I told an older gentlemanthat because of the Challenger accident and the lay-offs that were already being predicted at the Space Center, he encouraged me with Romans 8:28.

Something like it had been going through my mind, but at that time I didn't know much more about the Bible than John 3:16, Psalm 23 and Psalm 100. The man also prayed with me, and helped us get from the Ferry Port to the military base where we stayed while I out-processed from active duty.

God was already showing us how He would use everything for good as I learned to love and trust Him more, and as He continued to show me the purposes He intended to use me in my life.

So if you feel uncertaIn, or if you are in a transition, please take some time aside with the Lord as often as you think of It. There is a promiise in the scriptures that when we seek to draw close to God, the Lord responds by drawing close to us.

And another inspirational message I saw this morning when I first read my e-mail reminded me that the Lord is often closest when we are being "pruned." This comes from the image of the gardener or vinedresser in the parable of the vinedresser, the grapevine and the branches that Jesus teaches, found in John 7.

The vinedresser knows how to prune or support each branch so that it will be strong enough to remain on the vine, receiving its life-gIving sustenance when the cluster of grapes it bears grows heavy as it ripens.

I have come to learn that in times of transition there are practical lessons about trust and opportunities to keep receiving gifts of faith.

God has purposes for your life and for mine. But it is not necessary to seek the purposes. You only need to continue to seek -- or start seeking -- the One who has created you in love so that you will learn to be in a relationship with the fullness of that love. As you continue to get to know God in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, the purposes of your life will unfold.

The joy and fruitfulness of a life lived in love will be yours, and God will provide for you, guard you, and guide you.

I pray you will respond to the love that surrounds you and is within you. And if there is any way I am able to encourage you and pray for you, with God's help I will be very glad to do that.

In His love, grace and mercy, I am your friend.

Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013

kwharris777@gmail.com

Dueling Lightning Displays

Good morning, Beloved.

Last night the eastern horizon was clear except for a cluster of cumulus clouds in the southeast.  They were still bright and creamy when I reached the beach.  The sun was about 20 degrees above the horizon in the west, struggling to brighten up breaks in the cloud wall of a storm system mostly just over the island to the north, the river and the mainland, but only as far south as a little bit farther than right where the sun was setting.

A riot of magenta slashes, orange beams, golden spaces and red lines made it clear that the sun wanted to make it's exit known. But when I turned away from the tumult in the west, it was a relief to see that the sea was fairly calm.  Only one gentl rolliing breaker swishingly tucked itself into the little drop at the tideline, the water interacting with the shells and coquino rock.

I joined the parade of walkers and runner for about 3/4 of a mile heading north.  There were only a few cirrus clouds above my head, and they had already been turned black from lack of sunshine.

The cluster of cumulus clouds on the southeast horizon started to turn from cream and bright white to a hint of rosiness.  I stopped walking from time to time,as is my custom  I love looking out over the Atlantic to watch for birds, jumping fish or the fins of dolphins and sharks.  Once I saw a sperm whale mother and her calf heading north at the end of the winter.  The calf played around its mother's head, and I could see her head, back and tail.  I saw the calf moving about and the effluent from both of their spouts and they purposefully kept moving.

When I stopped at the shore last night, sometimes I turned back to see how the setting sun's struggle with the clouds was going, or looked north to see if the wall of clouds from the storm system was enlarging itself.

Then all of a sudden when I was about halfway back to the motel, I saw a flash of lightning in the midst of dark mass of the northern storm system.  I then checked out the cumulus group on the southeastern horizon, and just as I did there was a beautiful lightning strike in the midst of the clouds on the left edge of the group.  Because the clouds already had some rose and orange coloring, the lighting wasn't just a bright sliver of light that I saw in the north.

The flash in the midst of the cumulus clouds seemed to fill the space in between them and sparked the other colors so that they all seemed to burst out from the center of some heavenly courtyard.

Then the rest of my walk, I kept looking from the storm system wall to the north to the cumulus tower cluster in the southeast as I was treated to a dueling lightning show, over and over.

How delightful!

The plovers were heading home.  The little sandpipers finishing their skittering back and forth from the edge of the waves.  The pelicans made their last forays above the surface of the sea seeking bait fish or just relishing the feeling of glide and flight.

I climbed back up the steps to the deck above the dunes, rinse off my sandy feet and sat in a high stool on the patio in back of the motel of a while, a view of the Atlantic punctuated by sea oats waving gently in the evening breeze.

In the Hebrew tradition, each new day begins at dusk, when the sun has set and the third of the first three visible stars come out.  When I lived here before, I would watch the sunset on the beach and from the top of the overlook, then swim and  float in the pool of my apartment complex and watch those first three stars come out, thanking God for the day that was fading away, and praising the Lord for the new day coming.

There is something that leads to peace to know that the day is starting with a chance to sleep and dream and rest in the Lord without the busyness of the day.

I hope you had a good night's rest and that this morning you are sure of God's love and that God has good plans for you,  Keep relinquishing your own plans to Him.  Keep entrusting your loved ones and your self to His care.


The Lord is my shepherd.  He supplies all my needs.  He leads me in the true and righteous ways.  He restores my soul.  Even when I am walking in a dangerous place, He is with me.  He will use His rod to protect me from evil that comes against me.  He will use His shepherd's staff to rescue me from danger.  He will lay a table of bounty for me in the presence of my enemies.  He anoints my head with oil for the purposes He has for my life.  In a dry, thirsty land, the cup He pours for me overflows.  he has promised that surely, indeed, absolutely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in His house forever.

Alleluia!

Those are promises I cherish.  They are true for you, too, and for everyone you love.

Sometimes it's hard to be a lamb when we have the tendency to want to go out own way and be independent.  But why don't you try it?  The Good Shepherd loves you and wants to take care of you.  Freedom in Jesus Christ comes from yielding to Him in the fullness of love.  He will help you and show you that within the security of His grace and peace there is more than you can ever imagine.

You can cease your striving and feeling like you have to do everything your self.  he will guard you, guide you, provide for you -- and show you what you need to do every step along the way.

My prayer for you, Beloved, is that you will come to know this peace, love and grace for the first time or in deeper and deeper ways every day of your life.



Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com

When Morning Gilds the Skies

Good morning, Beloved!

Yesterday when I went out to the beach before dawn, only two stars and the waning half moon right above them were visible, all in a line.  But I went out earlier today and the only light was on the horizon behind what looked like a dense oak grove, really cumulus clouds all stacked up.

And many more stars were visible, including the constellation Orion resting on his left side, and the moon was shining higher and further to the east than yesterday.

There were flocks of those lovely cirrus clouds beginning to turn a light rosy hue after a few minutes, and though there had been a storm last night, the surf was bucolic and just shimmering out to the horizon.

The dolphins I had been calling since I first got here finally showed up yesterday morning, but today I only saw one fin break the surface way out to sea, and I'm not sure whether it belonged to a dolphin or a shark.

In the dark when I first reached the shoreline a runner came quietly past me and as I walked north several more runners and a few walkers nodded or quietly greeted me out loud.  By the time I got back to the motel quite a few residents were on the overlook or in the garden in back of the building.

Was pleasant to chat with a woman who has been here to celebrate a granddaughter's birthday with her family.  The picnic area has a palm frond roof and they put a colorful paper letter "Happy Birthday" string along the edge of the overhang.  They were full of joy and the child seemed very happy both at the party and when I saw her playing on the beach with her parents.

I was blessed yesterday in the middle of the day to go for a walk on the beach with my friend and her six-year-old granddaughter.  Just as I had with my kids when they were six and eight, I showed her the little shells that remind me of angel's wings.  She found five or six when she wasn't merrily skipping in the surf at the edge of the shore , or running ahead of us, splashing.

This morning I found a conch shell, a gift of the sea from the storm that past through from a hour or so before sunset, drawing clouds and wind that blocked all the beautiful colors, but rain is always welcome, and I fell asleep to the sound of drops on the roof.

The beauty of the magenta cirrus clouds as the sun rose added to the general peace of the time between dark and dawn, and as I started to write this, a hymn came into my heart.  You probably know it . . . "When Morning Gilds the Skies."

Here is a version from YouTube:

http://youtu.be/m_ZjM2WMSJQ

I hope you remember you are blessed and completely loved today, Beloved. No matter what is happening, even if things are difficult, God is with you and has promised never to leave you or forsake you.  If you can't quite believe that, please take a deep breath and close your eyes and think of someone who loves you.

That love comes from God and if you keep opening your heart to love and focus on blessings rather than on problems, you will have more peace.

I promise.

Joy and Rainbows -- August 6, 2012

Good morning, Beloved! 

I hope you had some rest and relaxation over the weekend and that you were able to turn your attention to worship the Lord in the fellowship of others who know God's love and peace in Jesus Christ.

About an hour before sunset last night I went out to the beach. The varieties of layers of clouds were very beautiful. 

For quite a while I just sat in a beach chair, watchin

g the ocean and listening to the waves come ashore.

Some surfers were gathered, floating on their boards out beyond the small breakers that didn't give any of them a ride while I was gazing out their way.

After a while I got up and walked along the beach toward the north. A line of cloud clumps that looked like a native American peace pipe had already darkened because the sun's angle no longer afforded them light.

But groups of cumulo-nimbus clouds still floated with enough altitude to glisten with bright white, edged in blue with their interiors beginning to glow with a hint of rose.

A flock of around twenty terns were congregated on a little rise where the tide had carved away a kind of platform for them. They were all looking out to sea and reminded me of Olympic spectators attentively regarding some sports event.

I turned my attention away from the birds on the shore, back to the ocean. All of a sudden I saw a plover dive straight into a wave and come up with a small bait fish between its beak.

In no time at all the plover and a companion who was harassing it and scolding with screeches and thei quickly flew in a mad chase were directly over my head. I clearly saw the silver prize fish in the champion's beak.

So I was reminded of Jesus' comforting words in Matthew's Gospel that we don't have to worry about anything because our Father in Heaven provides for us even as the Lord provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, feeling very grateful to God.

As I kept walking, I came to the place where I had decided to turn around to head back to the motel.

I stopped to look directly out to sea and my breath caught in my throat. There in the middle of a complex of cumulus clouds towering over the surf was a large square of rainbow colors tucked inside the biggest cloud, behind and to the left edge of a smaller cloud out front.

Of course when looking out over the Atlantic, I am facing east, so as the sun continued to be seen in the west closer and closer to the horizon, the angle of its light made the square of colors grow in the midst of the clouds until it was like a tall pillar and finally even began to curve to the right a bit at the top.

I had been wondering how things will turn out and whether I will find a place to live soon. Having lifted all that up to the Lord, and having released the worries and fears into His capable hands, with His help, I took the rainbow enthroned in the cumulus complex personally.

I felt comforted by the sign of God's provision when I saw the plover with the fish.

And I felt joy to be reminded of God's faithfulness when I watched the rainbow in the clouds.

Then as I walked toward the south again after turning back, on the farthest edge of the horizon to the southeast there were some beautiful fluffy clouds that had turned dark blue just as the sun was setting.

I don't ever remember seeing a cloud quite that color before, though maybe I just didn't pay enough attention.

I was walking in the water at the edge of the surf and all of a sudden a breaker yielded the fins of two small sharks caught in a wave as it almost reached the sand. The sharks were tumbling over each other, struggling to stay in the water.

Their fins were no more than eight or ten inches high as they seemed to be fighting to keep from being beached.

It's funny how we can complacently walk along unaware of what might be hidden, only to have something surprising revealed in an instant.

I decided to continue my walk a bit further up the beach away from the edge of the water.

;-)

I hope you will have a blessed day, and that you will take at least a moment to remember that God loves you completely and eternally.

More than that, I pray that you will be conscious of God's love for you in a deep way as you go through your day.

And I hope you will keep remembering that the Lord has good plans for you. When you keep seeking His face and wait on Him, He will surely reveal them to you.

Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013

kwharris777@gmail.com

The Moonshine Path -- Evening of August 5, 2012

As I walked on the beach before sunrise this morning, a plover was triumphantly shaking its head, something tightly held in its beak that in the pre-dawn light looked like a little square. Two small sandpipers anxiously attended the plover, but all three skittered and flew away as I approached them.

Upon closer inspection as I came to the place where I had first seen them, the "square" turned o

ut to be a green sea turtle hatchling barely able to move one small paddlefoot.

As I bent down toward the sweet creature, a wave swept the baby turtle into the shallows.

The full moon of early August was shining so beautifully over the Indian River Lagoon the other night when I drove across the lovely arched bridge of the Melbourne Causeway from the mainland back to the beach island. That full moon should have reminded me that the baby green sea turtles, the loggerhead tortoises, and the leatherback tortoises will be hatching soon, or some already have been from time to time.

A bit further down the beach I saw loggerhead tortoise tracks that led up and back from the surf to the top of the tidal beach rise.

I know they were loggerhead tracks because of the photos on the informational card in my room at the beach side motel where I am blessed to be staying.

The differences between the green sea turtle tracks, the loggerhead tortoise tracks and leatherback sea turtle tracks are very distinctive, just as each species I'd very different.

Maybe a momma loggerhead was checking to see if any hatchlings had freed themselves from their egg shells and the sand covering their nests.

When I lived here in Brevard County in the past, sometimes while I was swimming in the ocean at sunset I would see the huge heads of momma tortoises and sea turtles pop up above the waves. And sometimes I would find myself swiomming along with them in the troughs of the surf.

Maybe the grand pregnant creatures of ancient heritage were waiting to see if it was safe to come up to the edge of the dunes, to dig their nests, to deposit their eggs, and to cover them up again under the cover of night.

But with the help of the light of the full moon, their tasks are easier. And the warmth of the summer sun on the sand nurtures the babies as they grow inside their eggs.

Aren't nature's cycles fascinating?

The baby tortoises and sea turtles will be hatching from time to time now all the way until the end of October.

People who live on the beach side in houses and in condos, or who stay in hotels and motels along the beach know or learn to keep to a minimum any kind of light except for red lights from May 1st through October 31st. This is so that the hatchlings won't follow any light but that of the moon, so that they will safely make it to their ocean environment.

The full moon is important because when it rises in the east over the ocean, and the turtles and tortoises hatch, the moonlight makes a path for the babies to follow.

They intrinsically know to go toward the light. Isn't that amazing?

No birds find them at night, because those that prey on them do not fly in the dark.

But the baby sea turtles and tortoises who are unlucky enough not to make it to the surf line in the dark become breakfast for the shore birds. A cycle of life and death, it's nature at work.

But isn't the image wonderful of the hatchlings born on land under a covering of sand, being led to their ocean home because of the path of light, the moon shine laid on the ocean from beach to horizon?

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.". (Psalm 119:105)

Out of the wonders of nature I find a touching reminder of the way the treasures of the Bible are used by the Holy Spirit to brighten my life and help me to seek the Lord so that I will be guided on the paths of righteousness with the Lord's help.

I am so grateful to God for the revelation I received and for the time alone with Him -- and with His lovely creatures and His beautiful creation at dawn.

Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013

kwharris777@gmail.com

A Control Issue -- August 5, 2012

The sunset was so lovely tonight. 

When I got to the beach the was a storm out at sea directly to the east, with a dark canopy of clouds stretching overhead all the way to the shore.

In the west there were staggered cumulo-nimbus clouds dressed in shades of bright orange, rose and fuchsia outlined in silver and shaded on the top edges with a bright cream shade. 

To the north the imposing cumulus towers were interspersed with patches of deep indigo in backdrop.

And in the northwest there stretched what seemed like a deep scalloped bowl shining with bright orange variegated light.

It reminded me of a Chinese lantern hanging bulgingly above the horizon.

To the south and southeast the sky was clear with just some cirrus cloud stripes that changed from pink to orange to black against a backdrop of pale blue.

The dad of a family sitting on blankets on the beach was setting off some Roman candles on the edge of the surf. They sparked bright blues and reds and whites, but the scattered lightning way out to sea flashing in the deep black and dark grey of the storm clouds in the northeast competed with the colorful flashes of the arcs of the fireworks.

After the one that went off as I walked by, the dad turned toward me and we both agreed that there was really no contest!

The lightning had it all over the Roman candles.

Before heading out to walk on the beach, I had been talking with a friend who sadly has recently lost her son who was in his twenties.

I was praying for her and her family as I walked. The thought came to me that our lives can change as quickly and permanently as the sky changes in the evening.

As quickly as a passing storm brings wind, rain and lightning and then is gone.

Throughout all the changes and troubles of our lives, though, God's love is constant whether or not we can perceive or acknowledge that fact.

In our joys and in the routines we get used to day to day, we might not always be aware of how much we are loved.

But when we deliberately draw aside to spend time consciously being aware of God's eternal love, we can find comfort.

Sometimes you may not find that peace and comfort easily, though.

Sometimes you may be numb or aggrieved, because of a loss.

Or you may feel overwhelmed by circumstances beyond your control.

But God has promised that you will find the Lord when you seek Him with your whole heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

I hope you will draw aside to spend time with God soon and often. Please do.

Good night, Beloved. Sleep tight! As ever, angels guard your rest. I pray you will have sweet dreams.

Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013

kwharris777@gmail.com