"He Shall Feed His Flock..."

Those wooly little lambs with the sheep on the hillsides is a thrilling sight.  And I was pleasantly surprised recently when I came upon this little flock not far from where I live and of course it brought Isaiah 41:10 vividly to mind...

"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd...

...He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in his bosom...

and shall gently lead those that are with young."  

And I am comforted.  I miss my dear Al, my husband and friend.  Al left this world just over three months ago to be with the Lord.  He has been safely gathered up into the arms of the great Shepherd.  I miss him but others do too- my dear children, grandchildren, his sisters and family and friends miss him.

 I paid a short visit to his grave-site early this afternoon.  First I drove by my parents graves and thanked God for them.  They gave me a goodly and godly heritage.  Just down from there I passed my sister Erica's grave, and thanked God for her. By now I had to shed a few tears and thought that was okay.  Approaching Al's grave I took fresh courage and stood for sometime at the foot of it.  The air was warm and fresh and beautiful, fragrant with blossoming tree and shrub.  I thanked God for the terrific man He had given me for almost 46 years.  Life is not so vibrant and beautiful and fun and meaningful for me right now, living in this new dimension.  I miss the dynamics of our every day life, the ups and the downs, the comings and goings.  I miss Al's wonderful care for me, his gentle spirit, his love and his faithfulness.  Time and again when observing the Mallards on the lake I notice the drake and hen faithfully together.  Yet the other day I observed the mama duck alone with her one duckling.  I was wondering if she missed her mate. Geese apparently mate for life.  What a beautiful testament.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."  Revelation 21:4

Under His Wings

I had been watching for them.  After my first missed photo-op of these beautiful downy-coated goslings, I remembered to take my camera.  A few days later I spotted them at the far end of the pond, in fabulous formation with  mama in the lead and papa bringing up the rear and the little ones gracefully gliding along.   It was too far away and again, no picture.  But yesterday, there they were foraging for goodies near the walkway, all fourteen of them - 14- and oh the protectiveness of the parents...

...goslings, unconcerned looking for goodies...

...goose and gander both so vigilant...

...papa hissing at another goose trying to crash the party...

...an unfamiliar sound brings them all scurrying to water's edge...

...but they don't go in...

I think mama is saying,
 "Enough swimming for the day...you're nice and dry and it's almost bedtime."
 It was beautiful and reminded me of my Heavenly Father who keeps me safely under his wings. 

"He will cover you with His feathers,
 and under his wings you will find refuge;
 his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." 
 Psalm 90:4

A Saturday morning walk

What a welcome treat to have company on my walk today, a new walk on a trail I'd never done before.  I had often gone to their neighborhood park, with my grandsons, but today was special, a challenge as their Daddy said.

...Jared and Daniel leading the way down Bateman Park road...

...to Stoney Creek salmon habitat...

...beautiful bubbling brook this Stoney Creek...

 Today was special because the challenge to the boys was to ride their bikes along this trail.   So we wound our way around and over this creek...

 ...and through an amazing stand of old-growth trees...

...two diverging cedars from one root source it seems...

...a lovely shady glen...

...one tree within another...

...and even a mothering tree...here we can see four new cedars birthed from the decaying
mother tree...nature doesn't waste anything...

The boys sometimes led, sometimes followed, sometimes rode their bikes, sometimes pushed them when the climb got steep.  But such good troopers they were even when the feet involuntarily slipped into the water.

...such fun adventure for Daniel...

and Jared...

...a beautiful day for a beautiful walk in a beautiful park with two beautiful boys!

And today...

... as I stop at the park what do I see through my windshield...

 

...a wedding just starting to happen...

...children enjoying the play structure...

...in the distance, the lake...

...now as I'm walking up a hill I see the same view from the opposite side of the lake and this not through my windshield...

...a few anglers...

...a nervous red-winged blackbird trilling a beautiful song...

...bulrushes along the shore...

...today only one lone waterfowl on that whole expanse of water, a single black cormorant...

...now I've gone right around the lake and... "Here comes the Bride" and her entourage for pictures on the bridge...

...and now as evening falls, another stunning sunset taken from my balcony...

 

 

 

 

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice."  Phil. 4:4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But...

What a marvelous little word the tiny conjunction "but" can be.  In the Scripture I referenced on my last post, I put the period where it belongs - at the end of the sentence.  However, that's not the whole story...there is that redemptive little word "But" beginning the next verse...
"But the mercy of the Lord
is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
and his righteousness unto children's children..."  Psalm 103:17
...which takes the sting out of the preceding verse and brings hope and encouragement.
There's so much comfort too in the beauty all around me as I  saw again on my walk today:

Fish Trap Creek

A beautiful, natural park right in my neighbourhood.

Fish Trap Creek is in Ellwood Park and they're both part of the wonderful Discovery Trails.

Even the skunk cabbage is a beautiful addition to the flora in its rich green foliage and yellow flowers.

Split Rail fences are plentiful along the path.

Cultured Rhododendron on one of the front lawns nearby as I wend my way back home.

As I write this I see another amazing sunset from my balcony tonight.  I thank God for the beauty all around me.

...and just another great "but" ...
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 
Romans 5:8

Come With Me...

We don't always know what we'll see on life's path.  It's a good thing, a very good thing.   But on my path today I knew I would see some wonderful things since I'd walked this path before.  Come with me and you can see what I saw...

...pretty pink blossoms...

...a grand magnolia tree...

...pure and welcome dandelion in its setting...

...a welcoming path...

... to the left...

... straight ahead...

...I choose to the right...

...and everywhere Canada Geese...

...a picnic shelter...

...a memorial right on the grounds of my condo...what does it say?

... sobering, yet solacing...

...and the flowers, the beautiful encircling flowers....

...delightful tulips...

...and blue grape-hyacinths bordering it all.

"As for man, his days are like grass, 

he flourishes like a flower of the field; 

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

 and its place remembers it no more." 

 Psalm 103:15-16