AARRGGHHH!

As I have indicated, I go nowhere without my camera. I am also unorganized at times. On the way back from San Angelo to Seguin three weeks ago, I stopped along the way and photographed a gorgeous sunset, a flowing creek and some lovely flowers on the roadside. Also I photographed my lovely daughter for her prom last weekend.

Saturday night as I was working on the computer, I inadvertently pressed a VERY wrong button and ALL of the photos on my computer are now gone :(

I have taken it to the compudoctor but to no avail. The good side is that I did have the foresight to back up everything on March 26th. the bad side is that, although the photos I have taken over the last month can be replaced by some of equal beauty, the photos of my daughter last Saturday prior to prom are gone. I spent a lot of time today worrying about the consequences and realized that although the photos were taken on a specific day at a specific time, I can recreate the shot, but not the moment. (sigh)

I have once again had a wake up call. Having my camera with me at all times gives me the chance to capture some awesome moments, yet nothing is worth the stress I tend to put myself through. At times I need to step back and focus on things which fill my life with joy and set aside those things which may leave empty spots. It is those empty spots which tend to fill with guilt, worry, sadness, anger, and unworthyness if I allow them.

During times of doubt/frustration, I will take a walk on our place, find a quite spot nestled amongst a grove of trees and reflect and observe. The light dances on the tree leaves as they sway in the wind, the song filled birds flit from branch to branch, flowers bloom as they invite the butterflies to enjoy the nectar before fluttering away, and the sweet scent of the Huiscache in bloom envelopes the air. Yes, sitting in my thin place allows me to be still and feel God's presence envelope me and to let go of the negative.

I write and tell children's sermons and my experience today reminded me of one of the sermons sent to me during a difficult time in my life several years ago. As I share this with whomever has come across this blog, I say, thank you for taking the time to read one of the stories I have been called upon to write.

This one is called
"Father's Garden"

The sun shined in the sky. A little girl and her father walked hand in hand in the field. They often took walks down the path that led to the garden the father had created many years ago. They would sit by the stream and watch the animals as they came for a drink. They loved the flowers, the green trees and the peace they felt while in the garden.

On this day, when the girl and her father came upon the garden, they could not see it. “Father, where is the garden?” she asked.
“It is behind the weeds that have grown around it. If you want to see the garden, you need to remove the weeds.”

The girl went to the weeds and tried and tried to pull them out of the ground. They were really big and hard for her to pull from the ground.

“Please help me, Father, I cannot remove the weeds by myself.”

A short time later, with the help of her father, the little girl had removed the weeds. She was happy, because now she could enjoy the garden she loved.

Sometimes we cannot see the beauty of God’s world because we have weeds in our hearts. They choke out the goodness in our lives. Anger, guilt, envy, and selfishness are some of the weeds that can block the happy things from our hearts.

Just as the father took away the weeds from the garden, God wants to help us. If we want bad feelings in our hearts to go away, we just need to call upon God, and He will help remove them.
AMEN.

This week let the beauty of the Lord fill your hearts and have a wonderfully SON filled week.