Simply Amazing!

I woke up early this morning before 6:00 (thanks to Abby, our Schnauzer) and decided to stay up and bake some Peach Jam Scones. (The very ripe peaches on my windowsill were begging me not to throw them away! Don't let me forget to share this delicious recipe from Rebecca Rather's Pastry Queen cookbook. They are really good. Anyway...) I've just enjoyed a warm scone and a cup of coffee while watching the sun rise. And I've got to ask: What is it about this time of the day? It's so beautiful! I adore the lighting...but it's more than that. Like a kiss on the cheek, sunrise brings the promise of hope. It's a brand new day! Like I recently told my best girl friend, "with Jesus (and a pickup truck), life is a blue sky of opportunity!" Okay, disregard the 'truck part', I can say that kind of stuff to her because we go WAY back and she knows my faith has nothing to do with trucks and besides, I love to make her laugh! However, I wasn't kidding and if there is one thing I am certain of after 55 years of living, it's the reality of God and His love for each and every one of us. Believe it or not but I contend something's are true whether you believe them or not. Excuse my passion, but God is simply amazing and this past week He revealed His love in a special way and I must share His goodness.

See the rose below? On April 29Th 2010, from 1:00-5:00 I painted this rose while teaching my art class. At the very same time, much of our community was at a memorial service for policeman, Rodney Holder. A traffic officer with 28 years of service, Rodney was a well respected and loved man. His is missed dearly by all who knew him, but by none greater than his wife, son, daughter, grandchildren and family. Even though I didn't know the Holder family well, I knew of them and we had one brief but sweet conversation a few months earlier when they were walking through the neighborhood. I was touched by his kind words concerning his appreciation for my husband. While driving the football team to games, he had made some observations which he kindly shared with me, 'the coach's wife'. I was moved to tears. Rodney, was a good man.

Back to the rose and the art class. My heart wasn't in it that day. My thoughts kept drifting away to his pretty wife and young son, to his daughter.... I caught a glimpse of their pain and I prayed for them. I prayed a lot. The next morning, as I put the finishing touches on the rose I stood back to get a look at the finished painting and heard the Lord whisper, "that's a forever rose..... a forever rose for, Annemarie."

Last Thursday, I stopped to give Annemarie the painting. Her emotional response made me cry as well. During the next half hour, she shared that roses were her favorite. Especially this particular color. In fact they have several rose bushes that bloom the same deep pink and it was common for Rodney to place one in a glass vase on her night stand. She also said, that at the end of the day they had a glass of wine on their porch always tapping their special toast, "Together, forever!"
We hugged, cried, marveled at God! She shared numerous ways that He has comforted her and brought them peace in the past 10 weeks. Annemarie said they can actually feel the prayers of concerned people. Praise God! His grace is freely flowing! Simply Amazing! In countless ways He communicates His love. Through His word and all of creation, He embraces us through the arms of Jesus, with His redeeming love.