Diamonds in the Trees

Yesterday morning at sunrise I received a gift from God. He met with me. We talked about a lot of things, but one of the things we talked about was the magnificent display that He had placed before me. I have stared out this bedroom window for years and watched the seasons go by, but I have never seen or appreciated the beauty that was there for me yesterday morning. As I look out from this vantage point, there are loads of tree branches. That's how I describe it in words. But yesterday at sunrise, He put diamonds on those trees for me. Tiny raindrops still on the trees from an overnight rain caught the early sun's rays and it was incredible. Then he sat two plump peach-bellied mourning doves in the trees, perfectly placed as a center of interest as in a well planned painting. A gray-brown squirrel scampered on one of the back-lighted trees in the scene. We talked about His art. He gave me the gift of these artist eyes so I could see His beauty. He did all this in shades of the gray-brown of the criss crossing naked tree branches of mid-march. As a colorist, I could never appropriate that in paint. The joy I experienced after days of mourning can only be described as supernatural and surreal. I just camped there for awhile... with Him.

Heartpunch

On Tuesday morning, February 27, a woman left her home and started off to work. There was black ice on her road, and she lost control of her car and it spun around and went into a tree. She was killed instantly. Her husband is my professor and counselor. I never thought I could be in this much pain for someone else. It's probably still too close to the event to figure out why this hurts so much, but we are processing this as a group. I have experienced the death of someone close to me before, and I am preparing for a career as a grief and trauma counselor. I should not be such a stranger to this land, but God is taking me places where I have never been in grief, because He has expanded my capacity to love.

Good things will come of this horrible tragedy for myself and for more people than I will ever know. The funeral yesterday was an amazing testimony to the power of God in the midst of sudden death. A wonderful wife and mother was ripped from this world and it is so painful for those who loved her and love her husband to know that he and his family will have the searing pain of this extreme loss for a significant time to come. He knows that his beloved is presently and forever with the Lord Jesus, and that will be comfort food for his heart in these dark days. I pray that God will continue to bless him, and be near him in such a way so that he can feel the very presence of God. So many people need this Shepherd.