Crabapple Blooms
The ornamental crabapple is blooming in my back yard. It serves no purpose except beauty. Tiny dark fuchsia buds open to pale pink blossoms about the size of a quarter. They cover the lawn and patio as the winds tug them loose. They will last a week or more depending on the frost and rain. I cannot look out the west windows without a song in my heart for the sheer delicate loveliness. How like God’s abundant love to send such a sense-pleasing reminder after our world changed last October!
Michael hit the panhandle of Florida five months ago. The hurricane left quickly like a doctor who walks out after a devastating diagnosis, but the need for prayer here is still desperate. Residents wake up daily to a new reality, not just recovery. Historic landmarks are gone. Timber harvesters have recovered and leveled hundreds of acres of timber. It will take years to clear it all. Most towns closer to the coast have few surviving ornamental trees in yards and parks. Blue tarps still dominate; a few homes have burned from the damage to wiring. The roof-level piles of debris are about gone, but cities and counties are running out of money to pay for cleanup. Financial help may come eventually, but the waiting period is depressing. Populations have shifted because of the homes destroyed; businesses are rebuilding and reopening. Congregations meet in gyms, schools and other locations, just like the first church did.
God is bringing hope to this area by the hand of hundreds who continue to show up from other parts of the country to help. But we are not finished…many residents are still in despair, especially in those municipalities with poorer constituents and lower tax bases. One small town nearby faced the near destruction of its sixty-year-old sewer system. That won’t be on the national news! Many elderly and low-income residents there suffered gross damages to their homes they could ill afford to clean. Local leaders need prayers for wisdom with how to move forward. It takes money and resources to continue, and in the neighborhoods where those are limited, residents are downhearted. Please pray for these people.
At my house the many ugly stumps have been hauled away or ground down. One friend brought equipment in to level and fill holes; grass is coming up. The cows stayed in all winter by grace. We had enough hay to feed them. Carpenters have finished clambering over the roof; the barn looks almost new. My husband, sons and nephew have re-fenced twenty acres with thirty more to go.
Some mornings our song is deliberate, not spontaneous. We don’t feel it yet, but we rejoice by faith that things will be better. We have been strained, but we have had the physical strength to continue. Psalm 43 says,” He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord “(NIV). We are alive to sing His praise. That’s wonderful! Isaiah 43 speaks of our future in God’s hands: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? “(Psalm 43:18-19 NIV). The crabapple blooms new. So we take the beauty we can find and rejoice. It is a much-needed joy!
Has your trial been long-lasting? Have you been weary in the day-to-day efforts you make for God? He wants to bring you hope! He cares so much that He decorates our lives in the spring! The season of renewal is coming. Watch for it. Sense His beauty, His restoration.
God, I am so grateful for the extras in life, like extravagant blossoms on the ground. I praise you for your provision. You see our needs. You will provide. Thank you.
God’s beauty in nature always makes me smile- even on the worst of days.
Love the picture of the blooms. I’m so glad that seasons come, seasons go and that we don’t have to stay where we are.
“The ornamental crabapple is blooming in my back yard. It serves no purpose except beauty.”
Sometimes a little burst of beauty is exactly what you need to Inspire you to keep going… Love this post?
That question mark was supposed to be a heart, lol
I am so glad that you have had the energy to rebuild. Yes, God will provide for our needs.