I am still thinking along the lines of, “just doing what Jesus says.” Here’s an example of an easy obedience.
One summer day, a while ago, my cousin Debra and I spent the day together after not having done so for too long a time. We lunched at Pineridge Hollow, and then hiked the White-tailed Deer Trail. It had rained in the morning, but now the sun was out, and we enjoyed its warmth as we walked. The trail reminded us of our childhood days when we meandered the Manitoba prairie and bush surrounding her home in the country. It was so pleasantly familiar, but then suddenly we noticed something that we had not seen way back then. Lady Slippers. First we saw one yellow, and then dozens and dozens of pinks, quietly dotting the prairie grasses with subtle hues, and intricate shapes. Both of us immediately thought of Jesus’ words about flowers clothing the grass of the field. Jesus said that we should look at them, and consider what they could teach our souls. Stop to smell the roses, so to speak. I have paid closer attention to the wild grasses as of late, and yes indeed, that’s where the flowers are. We also delighted in discovering a stand of Milkweed that day, and two huge Monarchs fluttering about. They depend upon the Milkweed, another picture I’m sure Jesus would have us ponder.
Beauty in my own garden.
We stopped to look and consider that day, and were refreshed with thoughts that followed about the beauty and extravagance of Jesus, the Creator of it all. No wonder He tells us to look and consider these beauties; they point us to what He is like. I loved that He reminded me that our stopping to enjoy and consider was actually a simple act of obedience. He said that His commands are not burdensome. Those words rest easy in this situation, but are no less true in all of the circumstances He brings our way, if we let Him in. My prayer is that I will always remember to look, and in the looking, see Him. I had no camera that day to capture the beauty we stopped to consider, but even now, stopping to remember, it is all there in my mind’s eye.
“Jesus said consider the lilies, they do not toil or spin...God so clothes the grass of the field...”