Perspective

Southwest Virginia hasn’t seen a winter this cold and snowy for many years. We’ve been having the kind of weather that wreaks havoc with my heating bills and, not to get political, kills the whole global warming argument for me.

Weather like this demands that I change the way I think about everyday living. For instance, if it snows during the night will I be able to get to work in the morning? Will I lose electricity, and if so, how will I stay warm? What will I eat and drink in the interim? Once I have all of the questions answered in my head (Hannah’s jeep until she goes back to Radford…the woodstove and a beautiful load of dry cherry from Larry…canned food and bottled water, or wine if I’ve planned really well), I can rest a little easier. But in spite of the fact that we rarely think about food and shelter most days, it gets down to basics really quickly when the weather gets bad.

Virginians also have short memories, and forget how to drive in snow. The first really bad storm of the season came exactly a week before Christmas and it took me seven hours to make the 25 minute trip from work to home. At one point I’d been stuck on the bridge over the north fork of the Holston River for hours and I was down to less than a quarter of a tank of gas. I had one bar on my cell phone, my windshield wipers had quit working, and I knew the electricity was already off at my house. I was less than 2 miles from home, but it may as well have been 2,000. Eventually I took a leap of faith and made it to our friends’ house, where Hannah was, by taking the river road. I was there for almost 24 hours and can’t remember when I’ve been so thankful for a fire and friendship. You could say it changed my perspective.

On New Year’s Day I had another perspective altering experience, this time the result of a conversation I had with my friend Steve. Regular readers will remember Steve, who bikes around the country witnessing to Jesus’ love and faithfulness to everyone he meets. I’m always a little ashamed of my self-centeredness and the ease with which I take the gifts in my life for granted when I talk with Steve. But it’s never because he makes me feel that way. In fact, he’s always truly glad to hear from me or see me, and, because he loves to talk, he usually fills our conversation with praises to God for blessings I would surely miss…a new bike and cart in which to carry all of his earthly belongings…an extended stay in a shelter in Dalton, Georgia….a network of friends who keep track of him and his travels, and who keep him in their hearts and prayers.

I’m thankful to be in that network, because I have a connection with Steve now and always want to know how he’s doing. But selfishly, I’m also thankful for the perspective knowing him gives me. I have much but am often ungrateful, while he has little, and is always grateful.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. – Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ… – Colossians 4:2-3 (NIV)

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire. – Hebrews 12:28-29

Father God, please continue to bless Steve richly, giving him food and shelter in the cold weather, strengthening his faith, opening the door for him to share your message...and Lord, please shake up my perspective anytime you see fit.

Some Serious Pruning

Isn’t it funny how a 55º day in early May or mid-October can send us to the sofa with a blanket and a good book, but the same conditions in February are cause to celebrate outside? And if there’s a winter storm on the horizon, it’s all the more reason to get out of the house and enjoy a healthy dose of fresh air and sunshine. After all, who knows how long it will be before we get another nice day?

I’ve been waiting on a reasonably warm weekend to pick up sticks. I live in the woods (or, as Ben once announced in kindergarten, “I live in a big old forest!”), so when I say sticks, I mean twigs, branches, limbs, and what feels like the occasional log scattered around our property. They’re the victims of winter’s war, brutally slain by wind, ice, and wet, heavy snow. My yard is a battlefield, and someone has to clean it up.

So today I slipped on a light jacket and my gardening gloves, plugged into my iPod and set to work. For awhile I’m working with the music, getting into the rhythm of bending over, scooping up as many twigs and branches as I can carry, trekking up to the woods’ edge, and slinging them on top of the existing brush pyramid.

About 20 minutes into my work, this thought appears unbidden: God has been doing some serious pruning here. I start to dwell on that idea for awhile and the correlation to His work in our lives is hard to miss.

We’re promised in the Bible that there will be pruning. Just as He prunes the forest, He will prune His children:

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ~ John 15:2

Although His purpose is to produce an abundance of fruit in our lives, the pruning process itself is never pleasant. It often happens in the dead of winter, the seasons of our lives that are bitter cold and gray, devoid of color and growth. We hunker down and hope to make it to spring, but sometimes we can’t even see as far as then next warm day, much less to a whole new season of life.

But here’s the most amazing thing about winter… Even when we can’t see signs of life and the ground beneath our feet feels as though it’s frozen solid, God’s at work in us, His Holy Spirit coaxing new growth to the surface in our lives. His creation is stirring below my seemingly dead, limb-strewn lawn, and there is no doubt that this season of winter will end and spring will come. All of creation will glorify the Creator, and fruit blossoms will one day begin to appear.

In the meantime, I take a break from my now tedious chore and poke around under the leaves, looking for signs of growth where I know bulbs are buried in my yard. Sure enough, I find a tiny hyacinth sprout and I can almost smell the sweet fragrance it will share in April. I cover it back up (remembering this week’s winter storm warning), and keep searching until I find four hearty iris shoots. My heart is encouraged and winter storm or not, I know spring is on the way. As my dear friend Debbie often reminds me, “God is faithful.”



Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Summer and winter and 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.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Hope Springs Eternal

As surely as Winter keeps fighting to keep its “Current Season” title this time of year, out of nowhere the crocus will pop up, defying the calendar and coaching Spring, a brash young amateur contender slipping through the ropes to take on the heavyweight titleholder. Winter scoffs at Spring and desperately trys to hold its own, strutting around the ring for a few more rounds and throwing a few good punches. But Spring always rises from the mat before the count of 10, and inevitably, an exhausted and out of shape Winter grudgingly gives over the title belt to a fresh new season...and the fans go wild!

At least, that’s what I imagine began to happen this week. On Tuesday my friend Debbie forwarded these pictures by local photographer Frank Renault, and they were balm for my winter-weary heart. Then, on the heels of this sure sign of spring, the temperature took a dive, it snowed for two days, and my daughter got an unexpected (but much appreciated) vacation from school.

Still, it’s those little signs of spring that keep hope alive this time of year. I cheer on the bulbs braving the elements, but for me it’s the “peepers” that signal the end of winter. When I can stand on my deck on a warm evening in early spring (or late winter) and hear the loud chorus of tiny tree frogs, I know spring has finally arrived.

Another friend heralded the arrival of a robin in her yard last week. But according to one website I visited,

“The American Robin actually spends the winter in much of its breeding range. However, because they spend less time in yards and congregate in large flocks during winter, you're much less likely to see them. The number of robins present in the northern parts of the range varies each year with the local conditions.”

So I’m sticking with my peepers. And depending on a groundhog to predict the end of winter makes far less sense than any of these other signs. So why does Puxatawny Phil get so much press coverage? He must have a great agent. After all, he did land a leading role in that movie with Bill Murray…

But a better question would be, why do we need hope so badly as winter’s end draws near? My faith doesn’t waver during the cold, dark winter months, although I sometimes catch myself wanting to hibernate, rather than venture out to church on Wednesday night, or deliver breakfasts early on Saturday morning. But even though my faith remains strong and I know the seasons are bound to change, every sign of spring is a welcomed visual and tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness.

Young actress Dakota Fanning’s even younger sister Elle Fanning recently made her acting debut in the movie, “Phoebe in Wonderland.” At one point in the film, Fanning’s character asks her therapist, “Are you always supposed to feel hope?”

I thought that was an excellent question, seeing as there ere are days when I’m not sure I “feel” anything at all. But thank God it’s not about what we feel, or even what we see.

It seems far too often these days that I’m writing about friends who’ve died, and I lost another one in a tragic accident this past Valentine’s Day. I worked with Jeff Owen for 17 years, and he was one of the kindest, most humble men I’ve ever known. He loved nature, his family, and the Lord, and when I approached his casket, my heart was warmed to see his Bible opened to the book of Hebrews, with this verse marked, “favorite verse”…

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” ~ Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

I remember Jeff sharing that very verse with me years ago, and I know his faith has been realized now, his hope finally revealed so that he can see what he could only imagine before.

So I have faith that spring will follow winter, and summer after that. And even if the seasons cease, I have faith in God, and trust that He has faith in me.


Frank Renault, who also took this photograph of a dog in Italy, tells me there will be a photography exhibit at the Bristol Library in March, a joint exhibit of the Highlands Camera Club of Abingdon between and the Kingsport Senior Center Photo Group and Highlands Camera Club of Abingdon. “Border to Border — In Focus,” on display through March 28, will feature nearly 40 photographs taken by members from both clubs. There is no cost to view the exhibit, and there will be an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. this Sunday, March 2. For more information, visit: http://www.gotricities.com/content/article.dna?idNumber=5322