between beginning and end…
I was journaling over lunch today, and noticing my soul’s need for rest and refreshment. So I took the long scenic way home and stopped to photograph some wild flowers by the side of the road.
Some of the flowers are so tiny I nearly stepped on them before I saw them, even though I was looking for them.
I didn’t have my usual camera with me so these were taken with the camera on my iPad. I hope they give you a moment to slow down and breathe before you start another busy week.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Isaiah 9:6
It’s Christmas once again, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, the coming of the awaited Messiah.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23
One of my favourite Christmas songs is Bryan Duncan’s “The Form of Man” – the lyrics never fail to remind me of the astonishing truth of Christmas:
“He wrapped his love in flesh and blood and he took the form of man.”
The extent to which God would go to dwell among us, to love us, to redeem us, is truly beyond comprehension. With total vulnerability, Jesus the Son of God submitted himself to share our humanity. He walked this earth with us, and entered into our mess.
“God the Father sent His son and we held him in our hands.”
Whatever your Christmas looks like, whatever burdens you may be carrying, may you find peace and rest in Jesus, the one who came to be God with us.
With love and blessings,
Ann
Image sourced here.
You never know what you might find if you take the time to look. It’s spring and the wildflowers are coming out to play. These shots are the result of a very pleasant afternoon spent wandering along the roadside near Belair. The flowers are tiny, and very easy to miss. It would be so easy to drive past and never know they existed. Many thanks to my good friend Chris who introduced me to them.
Blossom. Glorious clouds of colour enveloping bare winter branches. Scent drifting in the air.
Each small flower is a herald, announcing that spring is coming, and has arrived.
Blossom is full of the promise of new life, new growth, new fruit. The old has gone and the new has come.
May it be the same for us.
Winter is almost over, but I thought I’d post a few shots taken in July just to show that it isn’t all grey skies and bare trees.
Life can feel a bit like a long winter sometimes, but if you look around you may just discover that there’s more to appreciate than you first thought.
Flourish! 