Watching and Waiting

Posted on by lindaskelton

When the things hoped for are ‘not yet’ we wait, and walk, in steady confidence that God makes all things beautiful in His time.  Knowing every season does in fact have its beauty.

I have been watching and waiting for the little branch I redeemed from the burn pile to show signs of life…

One day there came a peep of redness at the tips of the buds:

The next, to my surprise, came catkins creeping…

When they had dried up and begun dropping off the branch was nearly relegated to the garbage when lo…

And behold!

Against a wintry backdrop green began emerging!

…unfurling to my delight into dainty green leaves

defying the snowfall outside the window…

So we continue to weather a fickle spring–with sunny warmth and clear sidewalks one day and mini-blizzards the next.  And we continue to put in exercise time after work at the Nordic Center rather than on the tandem which waits under a snowy tarp for warmer weather…

 

And I keep children’s books on hand for the sweetness they exude and the smiles they inspire!

This one sits open on my desk these days:

[illustrations by Lisa McCue in M. Wise Brown’s Bunny’s Noisy Book ©2000]

–LS

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Rom 8:22-25 ESV)

Rewards…for the working and the waiting

Posted on by lindaskelton

The reward for a long trudge UP is a splendid view of Banff and surrounds from Sulphur Mountain’s summit… AND a free Gondola ride down!

  

The reward for getting out after work to put in some skiing miles is…

Fresh air, scenery, and endorphins!

And the reward for getting out of bed before the sun, is getting to watch the valley wake up:

With all this loveliness, why does my soul begin to hanker for spring to show in earnest?  Why do I tire of black and white beauty and want splendor of another sort? I don’t know.  I suspect it’s because we were made for more.  And one day it’s coming, but for now I walk nearby determined to find the picturesque in the now…

 and determined to be grateful.

I return with a budding branch from a burn pile, in hopes that it will yet show color.  We shall see. 

And I’ve bought a primrose this week to cheer us on in the great wait…

In the  meantime, welcome COLOR and beauty catch my eye in unexpected places…

 

 

[Mimi Robinson’s LOCAL COLOR watercolor book]

And I am thankful ( :

The wait will be worth it!

–LS

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy—And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory—For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

Jude 1:24 ESV; I Pet.5:4 ESV; Rom 8:18 KJV; Rom 8:19 ESV

It beats going to the Gym!

Posted on by lindaskelton

To look at the pictures, you would wonder why I balk at the thought of getting out and getting some exercise…

 

But I do, often. A wall of inertia must be overcome to drag this comfort loving home-body out into the elements. There are so many factors to consider:

The COLD. The bundling up just right but not too much. The fear that this will be the time I fall and hurt something, or suffer some cataclysmic life-changing event. Then there is the sheer work of it.  (X-country skiing may be about g-l-i-d-i-n-g but first there is the push, and it is most definitely WORK. Ditto that for snowshoeing, only there is no glide!)  All these factors rise up in protest at the prospect of getting out in the wild white outdoors.  Oh how grateful I am for Jim’s sanctifying leadership!  He sees to it that my objections do not win out and I am almost 100% of the time grateful to have gotten out and gotten some scenery-laden exercise!

The Highline Trail, Canmore:

 

Sundance Canyon, Banff

 (*I have loved a wonky picture since my first roll of film with my Brownie camera)

Upper Bankhead, Banff:   

Lake Minnewanka…

Home–the place I love best.  The fire-pit out front vanished (almost!) this week:

–LS

Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. Ps.116:7-9 ESV