Mary's Heartbeats

 I decided to start my gardening early, before the sun would find its way into our front yard atrium.  I started trimming the jasmine and alyssum that seem to think they are the only plants that matter.  I am sure that they feel they are justified in spreading beyond their borders.  The Bird of Paradise, now over 25 years plus old also sprawls across its center spot.  Its large leaves attempt to curtail the jasmine growth, but the jasmine just kindly winds itself around the leaves and doesn't particularly feel bothered by them.  The ferns have continued to show resilience and repeated growth, and yet when I rearrange them, I see a spot of dryness that they cleverly hid.  The roses too required pruning, and defend their growth by poking me with their thorns.  I try to be careful as I work because I actually have the privilege of hosting a morning Dove mother and her nest.  She took up residence in the center of my hanging plants, just after I ...

  Usually, we read tales of ancient war heroes and men who paved the way for civilization.  The Bible is full of historic accounts of those who certainly played that part.  But within those stories are also accounts of women, often nameless, who demonstrated unbelievable compassion, faith, hope and endurance.  Because of them, children were conceived, born or revived, and husbands were spared from death or other near death disasters.  I have often wondered why some of these women are only known by their role in ancient culture, i.e. the widow; or they are identified only from where they lived, i.e the Shunammite.  Perhaps it is the genre of ancient literature.  But their courage and faith encourages me. Overcoming the odds is always inspiring.  I think that is why I enjoy come back sports stories so well. When the competitor is the underdog, the old legend, the one past his/her prime, victory is ever so much sweeter.  I guess I like to think ...

  Walking in the morning desert heat, the wind is warm and subtle.  I have adopted my friend's naming of the wind as the "heavenly breeze."  We often use this phrase when we have panted and sweated during our hike up the mountain and then are refreshed as we are greeted with cool brisk air as we descend.  But this morning, it's only warm breath that I feel as I walk along the winding path . . . It's been a good road trip for us as we traveled to Arizona to be with family.  I am really not a fan to go to desert lands in the middle of July, but even with the heat, I realized the beauty of  this area.  The horizons were endless before us, with wide skies in which clouds always took up space in just the right places.  Hovering over mountain tops, the clouds brought dimension and humidity.  The night skies lit up with jagged lightening spikes and roared with thunder.  Rain came in a few large splats and poured in other distinct and very limit...

  There's a pattern over and over again in the history books of the Old Testament.  It goes something like this, the king did evil in the sight of the Lord, in which he made the people sin, and provoked God to anger with their idols, (I Kings 16: 13).  God is not human, and we are limited in our language to truly describe an Infinite Invisible Being.  We use our human terms to describe outcomes or actions that are visible to us.  The people viewed their King as their protector and advocate.  If it went well with the King, it was well for them, even if the King veered from the teachings of their heritage, i.e. the Law of Moses.  It seemed as if there was no real discernment on their part, but rather a complicity of going along with majority thought or rule.  I could be wrong, but the phrase that the King made the people sin, makes me wonder.  After all, isn't there personal choice with our decisions?  Are we any different today, on this ...

  I start out my walk this morning with Gypsy Rose, deep in my thoughts.  I am wondering about ancient days, times that in some ways seem so surreal, especially as I look around at our paved roads, sidewalks, and grassy lawns with magnolia and myrtle trees in bloom.  I admit it is hard to imagine the time of 913 BC to about 873 BC, as I hear cars whizzing up and down the main streets.  My question stuck in my mind, is how did King Asa know how to follow God? I reflect on my past reading of 1st and 2nd Samuel, along with almost the whole book of 1st Kings.  It hasn't gone well for the tiny nation of Israel, even from the beginning with their first King, Saul.  Yes, King  David did bring a willing heart to execute justice and to follow after God with his whole heart, but he brought a lot of baggage and drama into the mix too.  His son, King Solomon ushered in the golden age for Israel when they had unbelievable prosperity and peace.  But his re...

Starting out up towards Bear Flats, we were met with 4 very curious and friendly dogs.  A husky was the largest in the group, along with 3 other hound like dogs, one even like a Rottweiler mixed puppy.  I was immediately reminded of my Goldyn.  One dog seemed to be the oldest of the bunch, with a peppered gray and black coat.  Just one had a name tag, the others with collars but no tags.  I thought that they would greet us and then leave us as we left the paved road and began our descent up the mountain.  But no, they seemed as eager and determined as us to go on a hike.  My hiking buddy and I mused about them, she at first reluctant to let them follow us, but we both figured that sooner or later they would tire, and would go on home.  But not . . . Seven and a half miles later, those dogs had become our best friends!  They never left us, and in fact paved the way up the trail.  The husky definitely took the leadership role, and always w...

                                                                        Why?  Why do I have episodic waves of depression and sadness pour over me? Why do I sometimes actually feel my age and really look my age? Why do I think about the thought of my husband dying way too soon? Or of me, dying with so many things undone? Why? It's really morbid to have such moods and feelings, I want to say it is not truly me. I shut my eyes and hug my Gypsy Rose comfortably close. Why, do I find myself at times in such a funk? Perhaps, it is such another part of being complicated me. I want to be this joyful, peaceful person. I start out my days with that inte...