Wildflowers in Colorado

Praise the Lord!
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
    for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
    he casts the wicked to the ground.

Psalm 147:1-6

If you missed Sunday’s service, join us by watching here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/xGPLnkyoz_M?si=vBMN3g-f_0SGuLUh

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How is your summer going? Where are you finding God? What questions have you asked of God? What are your prayers? Kathy continues to share about her summer adventures in Colorado and how she is discovering God and asking questions of God throughout her time away.

They say perspective is everything. Your vantage point determines how you view the world
around you. For me, I have lived almost my entire life on the east coast where rain is plentiful
and vegetation lush. Elevation above sea level in the Sandhills is usually well under 100 feet.
But this summer I am living in a much drier and higher climate in the front range of the Rocky
Mountains, and even though they are having a particularly wet summer here, it’s nothing like
North Carolina! The elevation map records the cabin at 5,846 ft, more than a mile high. And by
the way, there’s a reason they call them the “rocky” mountains. This is not a world I am familiar
with.

As is often the case in drier climates, an unusually wet summer means the wildflowers are going
crazy. We’ve watched wave after wave of various native plants bloom on the roadsides and hills
around us – from orange to purple, white to blue, all the colors of the rainbow. I’ve found joy in
seeing them grow naturally all around me, God’s free and uninhibited decoration of creation! But
then it occurred to me that for Colorado natives, they are all just weeds. Plants that grow where
we don’t plant them are defined as weeds, right? So, what might look exotic and beautiful to me,
might not be to someone else. I remember years ago when Al and I were hosting a visitor from
Hawaii who was delighted by all the squirrels running around our yard, but to me they are just
rats with bushy tails that mess up my birdfeeders! Perspective is everything.

I’m not saying anything really new here, I know, but what I realized while enjoying the
wildflowers is how easy it is to forget this particular lesson of God’s creation. What is a weed? A
weed is what I define it to be. Is that God’s perspective, though? Of course not! Of course not!
Part of my journey as a Christian is to shed the world’s definitions and seek to find God’s,
especially when it comes to the people I encounter day to day. There are no weeds in God’s
kingdom! And, perhaps when we encounter certain people in our lives, what they really need is
just a little extra “water” to turn them into something beautiful!

Update: For those of you who read my last blog, Lemmy has disappeared. I left a second story
window open and I’m guessing he climbed out somehow! He’s chipped, so hopefully someone
will find him, and we will be reunited! I am sad and worried, but we’ve done what we can and
must now wait. But to follow up with the analogy I used in the last blog, how many of us would
choose to run away from God, rather than trust in God’s love for us?
If you are so inclined, please say a prayer for Lemmy’s return.

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Young adults are invited to the home of Stephen & Mary Holly next Sunday for a Bible Study after worship. They will meet once a month. What a great way to dig into the Word of God…together.

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Coming soon…Camp Firelight!! Vacation Bible School for ages 3 to 5th grade. July 21-24th, 2024; 6:00-8:00 pm. We need volunteers to bake cookies, help with set up, and to work with the children each night. If you are able to help, please contact Pastor Joanie.