Splashes Of Red!

Purple, pink, purple-pink, yellow...red. Purple, red-purple, yellow, light purple, green. My backyard-my flowers.

I've been told I am too matchy-matchy. Every color has to blend.

I can hear my daughters voice ringing in my ears; "Mom, everything does not have to match ex-act-ly!"

Not this time!

Last summer I decided my kitchen and dining room needed a change. Hours I spent, (or wasted), finding all the colors that blended perfectly with teal. First choice; a picture. Store to store I went, eyes roaming up and down the walls of Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath and Beyond; and my favorite, Gordmans , just to name a few. It took days for my neck to return to a straight position again.

So many to choose from: too much teal, too little teal, much too modern, not sure what THAT is? Too country, too small, too big, too scary, ugly frame, ugly picture...oh wait, back up.

“Oops, there it is!” Haha...did I just say that?

Indeed there it was. The perfect blend of colors, each representing a shade in my dining room. Teal, of course. Brown for the wood table and hutch. Cream, perfect match to my upholstered chairs. A little green, drawing color from my fake plant. Buttercup gold flowers; near perfection to my entry way hall walls, which can be viewed from any of my dining room chairs facing that direction.

My heart raced just a little as the clerk climbed the ladder to pluck it from the wall. Once home, I made a beeline for the dining room, anticipating that moment when all the colors of the room found a home in my prize pick. Hammer and nail finished with its work, I stepped back to enjoy the view. Perfect! They all matched!

Wanting to share this moment with someone I love, and, the only female of the family available and slightly interested in my new found treasure, I dialed my daughters number.

Sure, she could come over. Just give her a few minutes.

Great! That would give me the time I needed to set the scene. Opening the doors of my hutch I gathered all the pretties I'd been putting aside to set the table. Each one, of course, picking up a color from my picture palate. I finished just as I heard the door open.

Anna entered my perfectly matched room as I held my breath, waiting for the oohs and ahs.

“What do you think?'

“Uh, it's nice mom"

Slowly walking around the table she stopped in front of my prize picture. Was it only a few seconds before she spoke? Seemed like an hour.

“You need red in here mom.”

“What? Anna, no way! I spent hours matching every color in that picture to pull this thing together. Red would look like a 'bull in a china shop'. Why red? Nowhere is there red in this room."

“Come here mom, look.” Pulling me toward the picture, her finger landed on the specks in the middle of my beautiful yellow flowers. There it was. Red!

How could I have missed it? And who mistakenly put such an outlandish choice of color in my picture? There was no denying it.

“You need something big with red in it Mom...and it doesn't need to be the same shade of red.”

“What!”

“You always try to match, blend in, be perfect. The eye is drawn to the bold, the misshaped, the splash of color,” she offered carefully.

She was right. So often I tried to make my life appear perfect. Life isn't really that mundane. God colors the world with a rainbow of colors and threw in splashes of red to make it adventurous. It draws us into him and helps us see beyond our design of perfect works.

A few days later, walking through a store with my lovely, insightful daughter, she stopped me in my tracks. “Mom, that's it!”

Turning my head there sat a totally out of character lamp with a bright red shade. I would have never picked it...but that day, I did.

It graces my odd shaped, wrong color table that sits in the corner of my perfect room. Each time I enter that room I smile and remember to let God color my life with the unexpected, and splashes of red.

New Growth

John 10:14  "I am the good Shepard; I know my sheep and my sheep know me."


Sitting in my favorite chair, what I call my "prayer chair". Love this chair. But today, I am frustrated with myself. I nearly had to drag body to this chair to spend time with you God; creator of heaven and earth...and me. Somehow, watching a movie about General MacArthur competed for time with you, the great, powerful force in time.

But, here I am. Driven by a voice in my head and a pull in my heart whispering your name. "Come to me child."

Before you think I've become delusional and hear voices, let me explain. A mother hears the cry of her child; a servant hears his masters voice over all others; a sheep hears his Shepherd's call. There is ownership. I, too, am bought and paid for with a price. I answer to no other call.

Like all other relationships it doesn't mean I always go willingly. A child knows he cannot ignore his mothers call for him, but if in the middle of doing something fun, he may reassure his mom he is coming, to buy a little time to do what he wants to finish. He knows his mom is not going anywhere and will continue to love him.

That's me. Will I ever grow up? I am so that child sometimes.

So here I am in my chair, rain falling outside my window, Bible open, feeling once again, defeated. Not with God, but with my growth. Why is this so hard when I now with everything in me that spending time in the Word is the only thing that gives me true satisfaction, peace and a sense of hope and joy?

Glancing out my window at the Spring rain He reminds me: Growth takes time. And it's not in your time.

This Spring has come slowly. But growth is coming. Flowers are growing, though buried in the mud and darkness. The clouds cover the sunny days ahead, when the rain will stop, the warmth will return
and the earth will burst forth green and vibrant. The best encouragement of all...it continues to happen year after year. No two Springs are alike, each determined by the harshness of the winter before and the steadfastness of the One who is faithful..

Although I am in the fall of my life, Spring always comes. Growth continues to bring forth new color and God is faithful to bring it all to pass.

What is Easter Like In Heaven?

Is it an annual event? Are the gates of heaven shined to a golden gloss to welcome the newly forgiven? Do all the residents from days past clean and sweep their mansions?

What about the choirs? Do they practice day and night for the heaven wide Alleluia chorus?

I hope food is part of the celebration! Especially yummy silk pies with mounds of meringue like my mama used to make. Now, those were a mouthful of heaven on earth!

I do hope there are round tables to share our feast. You know, the kind that lend themselves to intimate conversation; not those long banquet type that make it hard to hear the person two people away. And I'd like to be on the table setting duty. How I love to plan and set a lovely table for my guest to feel special.

I wonder if the angels are still in awe  that Jesus sacrificed all his life in heaven to become a mere human and live a life of strife, toil and pain on earth. He had no guarantee of acceptance or appreciation.  They must scratch their halo's and wonder why he left behind perfection and pure love to save a wretch like me.

Oh, flowers...there must be a million flowers of every color and scent, scattered through-out His kingdom. I imagine turning ever corner to a new heavenly scent.

Do you suppose church bells will ring, welcoming all of heavens residents to the great and mighty feast - the banquet of the lamb, celebrating that moment in time when love paid it all.

I can only imagine ....until He calls me home.