Green Babies

I cannot remember that I have ever before planted seeds rather than buying young plants—not since I received the kids' one-cent packet from the Henry Field Seed Company when my parents placed their order each spring. How excited I was with my assortment of seeds! My brothers and I each sorted our personal bounty carefully: peas, beans, carrots, radishes, corn. We planted them in short little rows, watered, weeded and watched until they had produced a harvest.

I lost to the extreme winter weather the ground cover seeds I had planted last summer, so I decided to begin early with seed-starter kits by a sunny window inside. Little peat pellets which expanded when I added water were the medium in which I deposited the tiny

, tiny little seeds. I placed a plastic dome over the top of each tray to hold in the moisture, and in five days little sprouts were pushing up their leaves! I can't really be proud, since it is God that makes things grow when we co-operate by providing a suitable environment, but maybe I can say, “Look what we did!” I checked, and my thumb isn't green but I am awfully pleased all the same. I can see why they call garden centers “nurseries.” Those little green babies are just so cute!

I never cease to be amazed by the faithfulness of the seasons—God's faithfulness. Each spring I marvel, as though I had never before seen the greening of the earth after a cold, dreary winter! I never tire of this season of the year, although I know we are probably healthier and happier for having the variety that follows these beautiful days.

Praise our good Provider! And enjoy!

MaryMartha

 

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

Still More of My Favorite Things

This is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.

I have so much to be thankful for!

Warm apple dumplings and soup with fat noodles,

Pencils and notepads on which to draw doodles,

Siblings and cousins in a family that sings--

These are a few of my favorite things.

A warm winter coat and a hat for my head,

Freshly washed linens to put on my bed,
Someone who knows how to smooth the car's dings--

These are a few of my favorite things.

Puzzles and crosswords and things I must guess,

A new book to read and a bright Christmas dress,
Lights on the houses in bright twinkling strings--

These are a few of my favorite things.

Sunday's newspaper thrown right by the door,

A tiny milk pitcher from which I can pour,
The beautiful change that the fall season brings--
These are a few of my favorite things.

 

 

 

 

An angel collection that stands on the shelf,

Each one to tell me I'm not by myself,

Good news from a friend when the telephone rings--
These are a few of my favorite things.



When the sink clogs, when the mud slings,

When everyone looks sad,

I stop to remember these favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad!

See more of my favorite things (here), Thanksgiving 2009, and (here), Thanksgiving 2008.

MaryMartha

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

The Last Leaf

If I had my choice—which , of course, I don't—I would choose my final season to occur in October—not that I plan for that any time soon! This is my favorite month. I was born in May, a suitable season for life and growth, and it seems to me that the end of life would be appropriate in autumn, the season of harvest and rejoicing.

Leo Buscaglia has written a lovely children's book, The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, which tells a story for readers of all ages. It goes something like this:

Freddie and hundreds of other leaves shared life on a tall tree in the park where children played and old people came to sit in the shade and families spread out picnics on checkered tablecloths. But Spring breezes passed as did Summer sun and rain. It was October, and one night everything was covered with a thin layer of white which melted in the morning. Freddie's wise friend explained that the frost signaled the end of summer and the arrival of Fall.

Soon all the leaves began to turn other colors besides green: deep yellow, purple, bright orange or red. And then the breezes that earlier had caused them to dance now pulled on their stems until they were swept away from the tree and dropped softly to the ground.  "What's happening?" they all wondered.

The big old leaf explained that this happens to leaves in the Fall; it's time for them to change their home. "Some people call it to die," he said.

"I'm afraid to die," Freddie admitted to his friend. "I don't know what's down there."

"We all fear what we do not know. You were not afraid when Spring became summer or when Summer became Fall. You do not need to be afraid of this new season."

"Then what is the reason for all this? Why were we here if we are only going to fall and die?"

"It's been about purpose," Freddie's friend explained. "It's been about happy times in the sunlight and under the moon's glow. It's been for old people and children and families under our shade. It's been about colors in the Fall. That's enough."

For a little while, Freddie was all alone on the branch, and then the snow fell and he drifted quietly down and landed softly on the white ground. It didn't hurt at all. And for the first time, he could see the whole tree. He knew that he had been a part of its strong, lasting life. And it made him proud!

The leaf analogy can be carried only so far; it fails when it comes to resurrection and eternal life. But I find that it sweetly addresses the autumn season of life, and the confidence we have that all is well for us!

MaryMartha

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

The Marvels of Spring

"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.' (Song of Solomon 2:11 NKJV)

Although the calendar says that the official beginning of spring is more than a week away, the crocuses know better, as do the robins and turtledoves. These harbingers of spring have been at it two weeks already, telling me what I am ever so ready to hear!

This city's 43rd annual Garden Show was held this past weekend. The highlight for me was the gardens. Tons of dirt and rock were hauled in during the preceding days to create spectacular "great" gardens, mid gardens, small gardens, and mini-gardens. Waterfalls and a koi pond, rock walls and flowering trees, live owls and an eagle, pussy willows and pansies, hyacinth and hosta. What a varied display of the talents of our local gardeners and nursery owners!

Of course, all of this was enclosed in our civic center. A few feet away from the exotic gardens was bare floor. The trees and flowers basked, not in the sun but in floodlights. The grass was watered by a sprinkler system and the ponds were filled with a hose. It was all beautiful, but only temporary. Nothing could last indefinitely in that artificial setting.

What a grand earth God has given us to enjoy where the flowers and birds are a natural part of the creation in the springtime! Winter was sometimes difficult with sidewalks to shovel, icy streets to drive through, and sitters to find when the schools were closed. But winter had its beauty too—bare trees made furry by a freezing fog, the tracks wild creatures left in the snow, and the warmth and safe feeling of home.

"Who do you suppose carves canyons for the downpours of rain, and charts the route of thunderstorms that bring water to unvisited fields, deserts no one ever lays eyes on,drenching the useless wastelands so they're carpeted with wildflowers and grass?And who do you think is the father of rain and dew, the mother of ice and frost? You don't for a minute imagine these marvels of weather just happen, do you? (Job 38:25-30 MSG)

MaryMartha

Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

Let It Snow!

In spite of what Bing Crosby says, it's not a "marshmallow world"—at least not yet. Nor is it a "winter wonderland." It's just cold and icy and very wet. You would think folks would be expecting this; it's already December, and we are just now getting our first snow. Although some people grumble, this is actually a sign of God's continued presence and providence.

God rules the seasons!

Listen to it! Listen to his thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice. He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole. In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice, powerful and majestic. He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice—His word thundering so wondrously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding. He orders the snow, 'Blanket the earth!' and the rain, 'Soak the whole countryside!' No one can escape the weather—it's there. And no one can escape from God. Wild animals take shelter, crawling into their dens, when blizzards roar out of the north and freezing rain crusts the land. It's God's breath that forms the ice, it's God's breath that turns lakes and rivers solid. And yes, it's God who fills clouds with rainwater and hurls lightning from them every which way. He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that—commands them to do what he says all over the world. Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love, he makes sure they make their mark. (Job 37:2-13)

Great is God's faithfulness!

Summer and winter, springtime, and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand has provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
~Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923

MaryMartha

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Read another post about the seasons: "Summer and Winter, Day and Night" [here].

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

A Strange Juxtaposition

Some of the families in my neighborhood just can't wait to put up lights and ornamentation for Christmas, so they've begun to precede that season with Halloween décor. I was surprised this morning when I drove by a yard with little white skulls outlining the porch and sidewalk—and a cross, probably four feet high, with lights! "What in the world is this?" I wondered.

A make-believe cemetery? But the little skulls were not in rows as you might expect.

A nod to faith? "We don't really believe in all this spooky stuff."

A safe place to trick-or-treat? "You can trust us; we wouldn't hurt you here."

A lesson in contrasts? Big cross, little skulls and big life, little death.

It's not like I can ask, so I'll never know unless they put up some additional signage. But it started me thinking about the role of this celebration in American life. Thankfully, we have moved for the most part past "tricks" to simple "treating," since in my own childhood I heard tales about outhouse tipping, soaping windows, and re-assembling a vehicle on top of some hapless farmer's barn. These pranks had no connection, as far as I know, with treats; they just stemmed from general orneriness.

You may ascribe negative significance to Halloween, observe the Christian traditions of All Saints' Day or Reformation Day, join in the fun of a fall celebration, or just ignore the whole thing. As for me, when I drive by my neighbor's yard with its skulls and the cross, I'm going to think of something like this—"What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word." (Romans 6:5, 6)

MaryMartha

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

True Colors

Fall "fell" quietly during the night while I was fast asleep, I think, so this is the first full day of fall. With temperatures in the 60's, we are already experiencing some seasonal weather. Crisp brown leaves are falling onto the porch, the ivy on the trellises is turning red, and I noticed today that the elm trees have some yellowing beginning to show under the green.

You did know that the brown or red or yellow is already there, didn't you? When the leaves stop producing the chlorophyll that makes them appear green, we can see what color they really are. As the warm days get shorter and the nights get longer and cooler, the growing season winds down. Chemicals with long names continue their activity or even increase it, and thus we see the varied autumn yellows and golds, browns, red, orange and almost purple.

People too "show their true colors," we say, when they display what they are really like or what they are really thinking. That is not always the same as what they have been saying! Often at a time of particular need or even crisis, a person's true colors shine through. When we see what another is capable of in a tight situation, we are sometimes quite surprised. And sometimes we are dismayed. When it's you or me in that critical moment, we may be amazed at our own personal resources. Or disappointed.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "Into each life some rain must fall," meaning we will all endure some difficult, dreary times when gusts of adversity blow and our hopes fail and fall like dry brown leaves. Autumn comes to us all, not only as a season of the year, but as a season of life—not just once, but many times as one cycle of our growth winds down but before a new one begins. Remember that it is often in this "down time" that we show our true colors.

MaryMartha

The First Day of Spring

I am thrilled by the greening of the trees in the last few days. The forsythia I planted last spring as bare twigs is now blooming, to my delight. (The dandelions are up too—not quite as exciting to me!) Spring is really here, even the calendar says so.

In addition to the new growth, one of the marvels to me is this recurring reminder of the faithfulness of God. The rotating seasons speak of His covenant with us. "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22) Sometimes we experience unusual—even dangerous—seasonal weather. Even so, God is still watching over this creation of His.

As the sun was setting yesterday, my grandkids reminded me that it was just coming up "in China." Rain is predicted for the next several days, but even if we don't actually see the sun, we know that it is shining somewhere and we can depend on it shining here again. So too with life. The night-time of difficulty and uncertainty or the clouds and rain of sorrow may temporarily hide the sunshine, but it is still there. In the '50s and '60s, Eddy Arnold and Jimmy Dean sang into fame the words of Jessie B Pounds' song (1897), "Somewhere the sun is shining . . . God lives, and all is well." It's true. We can trust Him.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Spring Is Almost Here!

Am I rushing the season a bit? This is only the middle of February, but it smells like spring on damp mornings, and my spring bulbs are pushing green shoots through the layer of dry, brown leaves that covered them through the winter. A little yellow crocus greeted me a couple of days ago; that counts for something, doesn't it? On the calendar, the beginning of spring is more than a month away, and Phil Punxsutawney, the spring-forecasting groundhog, says so too, but what does he know?

From my distant educational past, I remember a few lines written by William Wordsworth, "All at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze." My flower bed won't produce what you could exactly call a crowd of daffodils, but there will be a few and they will delight me! Even after they have faded, their memory will cheer me. Wordsworth wrote "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud" (or "Daffodils") in 1804 two years after he saw the spectacular swath of daffodils by the lake. The closing lines of his poem reveal that often when he was alone and somewhat pensive, he still remembered the beauty, "And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils."

Spring is almost here--and I am already dancing!

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

The Making of Beautiful Wood

I admire objects made of beautifully-grained wood. I like to look at them, I like to touch them. There is something warm and alive about wood that doesn't exist in other materials: plastics, ceramics, and even precious metals. Sometime in my elementary school education, my science text explained that one can determine a tree's age by the number of growth rings. A wider, light-colored area encircles each thin dark area. The lighter section shows growth that occurred during the summer months when the sap flowed freely in the tree and growth was rapid. The darker layer shows the slower growth that occurred during the cold of winter when the sap had descended to the lower part of the tree. Together, the two represent a year's growth. Now many seasons later, I understand that the lovely grain I prize on wooden pieces is nothing more than the inner and outer portions of those growth rings, revealed when lumber is cut from the tree's trunk. Depending on the location and angle of the "slice," different grain is obtained.

I am realizing that if I want the end result of my life to be an object of grace and beauty, I must grow during good seasons and difficult. I am laying down a new "ring" every year. I don't know yet all that God will make of me, but I want it to be something He can admire!

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time." (Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV)

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Faithful Through the Winter

One fall I had a profusely blooming bed of pansies in front of my house, their bright "faces" giving me great pleasure. Pansies are a hardy little flower; those planted in the fall bloom awhile, rest through the winter, and burst into bloom again in the spring. That year we had an unusually mild winter. I kept waiting and waiting to cover the bed with the usual quilt of brown leaves upon which a snowy coverlet would then be laid, keeping everyone cozy through the long cold season. Since the bitter weather we always expect in Kansas did not arrive, I ended up not covering the pansy bed at all.

Through most of the winter months, the pansy plants stayed green, and a couple of them never did cease their fall blooming. Those pansies brave enough to keep blooming bowed their heads in the chilling winds and frosty nights, but by afternoon, they raised them again to the warmth and light of the sun, giving me the unexpected pleasure of flowers beside my door all through the winter.

Most of the pansies followed the normal pattern of being still alive, but dormant throughout the winter. Those few who persisted in blooming were far ahead of the others when spring days came and it was actually time to put forth blossoms again. While the others were stirring themselves to put on buds, the brave winter-hardy souls had an abundance of large blooms. I took special delight in seeing that those who had weathered the winter were far ahead of those who had taken the winter off!

Faithfulness. That’s what pansies speak to me about. We are tempted sometimes not to wait out the tough times; we think about pulling back to avoid any risk in that personal relationship or that cause in which we are interested or that opportunity coming our way.

May God help us just to hold steady through the hard times, through the winter when nothing seems to be happening, through the cold season when there seems to be every reason to pull back and check whether it's worthwhile to invest our time, energy, and resources. Remember, no season lasts forever! If we are faithful through the winter, when spring comes again, our lives are strong and steady, ready once more to be productive and beautiful!

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Hope for the Future

This month I took advantage of a break in the cold weather and put my backyard “to bed” for the winter. This involved bringing in the lawn chairs and the hose, placing collars around the rose bushes, dumping the pots of expired tomato plants into the compost bin, and hanging the wind chime in the garage. Everything looks pretty quiet and dormant now.

Except for the forsythia bush I planted last spring! I looked at the brown, leafless twigs and saw a bazillion little buds that will be next spring’s earliest blossoms. I felt a rush of gladness. Real winter is just ahead, but can spring be far behind? It will certainly come, for those little buds are the promise of renewed life.

We usually think of spring as the time of fresh beginning, of renewal and resurrected life. We associate fall with harvest at the end of the growing season, and winter with nature in a slow, sleepy state or even death. Unfortunately, we liken our lives to these seasons too, thinking that youth is full of life and promise and hope, while the mature years are simply for winding up things and waiting for the end.

It is not the springtime that speaks to me of hope, as lovely as that season is. Hope is not in the bursting forth of new green leaves and blossoms. That is not hope but sight! Hope is in the little gray buds on a bare branch when there is nothing to be seen of what will one day be.

Go into this New Year with hope! The Apostle Paul prayed with assurance, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) If you are discouraged by what you see or distressed by what you think might come in the days ahead, remember that the God of hope will not fail you! Don’t say, “Well, 2008 was a bust; 2009 probably won’t be any different.” Don’t worry about the months in the past that perhaps were not well spent. In other words, don’t spend your time looking at the “bare branches” in your life. Look at the little buds of new life that promise there will be fruitfulness in your future!

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Autumn Colors and Others

Although the Midwest does not have the glorious colors on the trees that some other parts of the country have, I have been enjoying October immensely. As I drive around the city, I've had fun trying to come up with as many names as possible to describe the colors I see, without naming other similar things, i.e. buttercup yellow or pine green.

Yellow—golden, sunny, cadmium yellow, and ocher
Orange—rust, and copper
Red—scarlet, crimson, burgundy, cerise, and vermilion
Brown—tan, beige, sepia, henna, umber, russet, puce, and sienna
And of course, there is still some green—chartreuse, kelly, emerald, and celadon

OK, I admit I looked up some of these! (I’m still learning.) But I did not make up any!

When I was in grade school, I had a treasured box of 16 crayons, without fancy names. There was yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-orange, red, purple, etc. I knew just exactly what to look for. Do you recognize these Crayolas, new this year? What’s a kid to do when the teacher says “Color the tree trunk brown?” (Answers below.)

     1. Bear Hug
     2. Fun in the Sun
     3. Best Friends
     4. Happy Ever After
     5. Giving Tree
     6. Awesome
     7. Super Happy
     8. Famous

Seriously, what a beautiful, colorful world we live in!

Key to the colors above
     1. a dark brown
     2. the old orange-red
     3. orchid
     4. turquoise blue
     5. a very bright green
     6. “watermelon” red
     7. ultra-bright yellow
     8. hot magenta (I’d call it “hot pink”)

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

In the World of Dick and Jane

I grew up in the world of Dick and Jane—also Baby Sally, Mother, Father, Spot the dog, and Puff the cat. For those of you who are “Boomers” or somewhat older, you probably know who I mean. For those who are younger, let me explain: the above-named are characters in a popular series of basic reading texts for young school children from the 1930s to the 1970s in the United States. The books relied on sight reading (or "whole word reading") and repetition, using phrases like, "Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny Jane." The books enjoyed a revival when they were reprinted in 2003; they are not now considered suitable for teaching children to read, but over 2.5 million copies were sold to nostalgic people like me. Related merchandise, such as shirts and magnets, were also produced and gained wide popularity, particularly among people who had never been exposed to the original series but were familiar with catch phrases such as “See Spot run!"

In the world of Dick and Jane, there was no unemployment, no arguments between one’s parents, no racial tension (characters from other races and cultures were not introduced until 1965), no sick babies or dying pets, no one who stole wagons or tricycles. I loved Dick and Jane and their world! And when I say that I grew up in that world, I am quite serious. My father farmed and so it was obvious to me that he had steady work. (I didn’t know it was making hardly any money.) My mother was, of course, a stay-at-home mom because that’s what mothers did. My parents did not argue—that I could ever tell—mostly because that’s not what mothers did. Until I entered high school, I did not know a single person of another race. (I was in an all-white community.) We had measles and scarlet fever, but nobody was deathly sick. When the pets died, well, they weren’t really part of the family anyway; they just happened to live where we lived. And there was no one around to steal our stuff, as if they would even want it. So I was not really very well-prepared for the reality of life in any other kind of world than the world of Dick and Jane where the worst hurts were usually nothing more than scraped knees and bloody noses.

We no longer live in the world of our earliest childhood experiences—whether it was like Dick and Jane’s and mine, or a milieu totally different. Whatever the setting of our growing up, all of us have undoubtedly faced hardships, disappointments, and certainly surprises! It's just not the way we pictured it!" We may need to be reminded that the world of our early spiritual formation, the world when we went to our first real job, and the world of our honeymoon marriage no longer exists. That world has changed, and so have we. “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” (I Corinthians 13:11) We are better and wiser and stronger now.

The world we live in today is complicated, and sometimes frightening. Cutthroat competition, natural disasters, crime, dreadful diseases, war and terrorism exist here. But we will survive and thrive in this world as well. “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38, 40)

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Mrs. Noah and the Ark

Most mothers get to share their living space with various members of the animal kingdom as they see their children through the nurturing years: a fish tank of guppies, a stray mongrel, a surprise litter of kittens. And the extraordinary as well: a fledgling hawk or a baby skunk, a pocketful of roly-poly bugs or a lizard. Yes, many mothers put up with pets, but surely Mrs. Noah was the champion of them all! She is another of the little-known Bible women that evoke my interest.

Noah and his family had maintained their integrity even while all around them wickedness increased beyond description. One day God spoke to Noah. “I am sorry that I gave the earth to man to care for. Every intent of their hearts is only evil continually. I am going to destroy what I so recently created by a great flood of waters on the earth, but I will establish my covenant with you—you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives.”

“I want you to make an ark,” God continued, and He described with exact dimensions the vessel that He wanted Noah to build. As well as the eight in Noah’s family, God instructed him to keep alive in the ark two of every sort of living thing—all birds, all animals, all creeping things. And there would have to be provisions for the family and for all the animals. Talk about the care and feeding of pets! Noah and his sons went to work. As it took shape, the ark must have looked like an apartment complex, its stalls and roosts being prepared for occupancy. Storerooms took shape too, some for provisions, some for waste. Ewww! Poor Mrs. Noah.

The day finally came when the work was finished. Then God told Noah, “Come, you and all your family, here to the ark. Then every sort of breathing animal will come to you. Take a pair of each, a male and a female to ensure that every kind of creature will survive the flood. Of the beasts and birds that are approved for eating and for sacrifice, take seven pairs. One week from today, I will begin forty days and forty nights of rain. I will wash the earth clean by destroying all the living things I have created.” That procession of animals lasted for seven days, then Noah’s family followed them into the ark, and God secured the door.

And it began to rain. Like a waterfall suddenly loosed over the sill of heaven’s window, the rain poured down, and underground waters gushed forth. Inside, the family was safe and dry—and busy too, feeding and watering the animals and cleaning out their stalls (although all the creatures may have been in a state of semi-hibernation—eating and drinking little and excreting little, their predatory natures suspended along with their territorial and mate selection habits).

After the fortieth night, there was an unnerving silence—no rain pounding on the roof. But even though it had stopped raining, those inside would have to wait until the waters receded before they could leave their boat. How long, how long? After 150 days afloat—maybe Mrs. Noah made marks beside the door?—there was a jolt and the motion of the boat ceased. They had landed! Another two and a half months of waiting, and they were able to see the very tops of mountains. Finally, a full year and ten days after they entered the ark, God told Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you. Release the animals and birds so they can reproduce in great numbers.”

As the animals crept and ran and hopped and flew by on their way to freedom, Noah caught some of those that were approved for offering to the Lord. Before he ever dug a well or built a fire pit, he erected an altar of gratitude to God for escape from the floodwaters and release from the clutches of the evil society that had so completely surrounded them. No doubt they knew that the human race would become wicked again, but they had the promise of God’s mercy, “I will never again curse the earth, bringing a flood to destroy all living things. As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.” They looked up and there, from horizon to horizon, was an arch in the heavens, glowing with brilliant colors.

God is making a covenant with us,” Noah explained, “and with our descendants, and with all these birds and livestock and wild animals. He solemnly promises that He will never send another flood that destroys the earth. God has said, ‘I am giving you evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I will send rain clouds over the earth, but I will place my there also. When I see the rainbow in the clouds I will remember my covenant with you and with everything that lives.’ ”

So does the Eternal One need something to cause His remembrance? Hardly. But because we are the ones who need reminding, He gives a sign testifying to His faithfulness. While we are remembering, He is with us, also remembering. He will always be aware of His covenant, and when we see the rainbow, we will be aware too of His covenant loyalty.

Mrs. Noah couldn’t have known then what we know now. From heaven’s perspective, the rainbow, seen on earth as an arc, is a perfect, unbroken circle. God’s love and God’s faithfulness and God’s provision, viewed from His eternal perspective, are complete and perfect. That would have been hard to see when Noah was mocked during the long years of boatbuilding. It would not be easy to keep that in mind when seasickness and animal smells and sleeping in the dormitory made the voyage seem long. It would be especially hard to believe it when later the family structure was torn by Ham’s impudent pleasure at seeing his father drunken and naked. But God always remembers.

When we wonder, sometimes, why things turn out as they do, we can look at the rainbow and have our hope restored. God does all things well. All earth has a promise; all creation groans for redemption. If we wait long enough, we will see it. He will without fail cause the “ark” of our lives to ride high during the turbulent storm. He will eventually open wide the closed door. He will bring us out of a closed-up circumstance to a new and fruitful place. And then He will fling the rainbow into the sky to tell us, “See, I told you!”

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Summer and Winter, Day and Night

The days are noticeably shorter now that we have passed the summer solstice, the day in June when there are the greatest number of hours between sunrise and sunset. Autumn will soon be here, followed by winter. Spring will come, and then summer again. We can count on it, and that is a marvelous thing!

What if the Kansas farmers decided to plant rice instead of winter wheat, but still hoped for a harvest in June? What if the tomato seedlings we set out this summer suddenly changed their growth habit and needed to be in a cool, shady spot? What if polar bears suddenly appeared in Iowa and flamingoes migrated to Antarctica? How confusing!

The earth, in spite of concern about the changes occurring, is still quite orderly. God made it so, and that was specifically for our benefit. After the great flood that destroyed all living things except Noah’s family and the creatures on the ark, God said to Himself, "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:22 NIV) Did God need that promise to Himself so as to keep His power under control? No, it was for us. We need that order. We need the structure in our lives of sunrise and sunset and the turning of the seasons. The alternating of day and night is not the same everywhere, nor is the progression of the seasons. The North and South Poles have long, long nights and then long days. Some places on earth have a rainy season followed by a dry one; some have a warm or blazing hot season and then cool or absolutely frigid. All are alike in having some measurements along the way as time passes. Even destructive abnormalities of weather have some predictability: We have tornado season, hurricane season, dry forest-fire season.

Here in the Midwest, “I’ll be glad when it’s not so hot,” is followed soon enough by, “I wish we’d get past this terrible, cold weather.” That’s just it: we can depend on the orderly progression of the earth’s time indicators. They testify to us of God’s care for His creation!

Scripture quoted from The New International Bible is used by permission.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com