The Mourning Dove

Mother's Day was celebrated by everyone recently. I stopped to consider what it is about mothers that is so unique. There was an excellent illustration of what that quality is, sitting on a high level part of our gas meter in the backyard. For the second year, a mourning dove had built her nest in that area and was sitting quietly on it.

One might think that the environment she had selected was peaceful and quiet, thus making it easy for her to sit on her egg/eggs until hatched....and that would be wrong. It was extremely loud and noisy which might have led us to think it would upset her. That would also be wrong. One day the yard workers were back there pruning all the trees, grinding the limbs, and shouting in Spanish, and making a variety of noises. This activity was extremely near the nest. And the mother dove was sitting stoically still, somehow with a visible, mysterious resolve to complete her life purpose.

She did this for several days, and one day a baby bird was sitting next to her, healthy and bright. After a few days, they were both gone...an empty nest. Why? How did she learn this process? How was this bird moved to lay her eggs, care for her young, and teach it to fly? When we observe this quality of motherhood throughout time, even stronger in human beings, it is easy to know that God is the only reason and answer. The mystique of creation...who can fathom its complexity?

The Hydrangea

I learned a lesson today...taught to me by a flower. Recently when we were having a dinner party, I picked up some flowers for the house. After all, it is May when flowers are in their prime, and there is nothing better to give beauty and energy to a room. The color of this blossom was a deep, hot pink, and after the party I put it on the front porch. It provided a special welcoming feature for anyone who might come to visit.

When I went out to get the morning paper today, I looked down at my new plant expecting to see more of its color. Surprise, surprise! There were two masses of very wilted petals that had turned a brownish color, and I was sure that the life of this plant was over. I took it to the patio and gave it a plentiful drink of water and anticipated the later necessity to dispose of it.

About an hour later, I looked out my kitchen window and saw a completely restored and vibrant plant. Its name is very significant.....hydrangea....and part of it means "water." Eureka! The flower told me that it needed water, albeit with "body language." It will be planted in a bed and given lots lots of water. A lesson learned from a plant!

Dallas Mavericks versus Denver Nuggets

Members of our family who have moved to Colorado were once avid fans of the Dallas Mavericks. One would think that such allegiance would last a lifetime, but I have my doubts now that these two teams are facing each other in the NBA playoffs.

And I hope that each one saw the games between the Mavs and the Spurs recently. Perhaps that will help you realize what you are up against. Dirk, Jet, Jason Kidd, Howard, and even Dampier are ready. And so are we! May the best team win....and we know who that is!

Perimeter Musings

For the mature individual, awareness and appreciation of God's blessings are fairly easy to bring to mind. However, their profundity, intensity, richness, wisdom, fulfilling capacity, and timeless applications become overwhelming, and then there are those ever-present qualities of listing and counting.....impossible to do. Bottom line: God has filled our lives with immeasurable goodness and fulfillment, and we can only continue to make our feeble attempts at gratitude.

Then, this realization: some things come to an end, and many others change. During these periods of transitions, we find ourselves facing changes with an uncertainty about our personal value. Value in the past has been closely related to and involved in situations which have now come to an end. It becomes a temptation to deal with some frustration about that and wonder what we will do with skills no longer needed and time no longer automatically filled.

I heard an elderly and wise woman once say: "I have remade myself not once, but several times. I hope I can keep remembering that." She expressed an important formula for all of us as we move into different life stages. God helped us as we began our life and showered us with unbelievable and innumerable blessings throughout time; He has also given us the ability to deal with whatever challenges we face. Why should we ever doubt that He will continue to do that daily as we move on?