gracious lord

The Path of No Regrets

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments
US Navy 050709-N-0000X-001 Satellite image tak...

US Navy satellite image of Hurricane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tropical Storm Debby passed close enough to our area this week to be a reminder that hurricane season is here. It was interesting that early in the process the various computer-forecasting models didn’t agree. Some predicted the storm would head west to Texas, some said it would hit Florida, and one had it wobbling around in a loop in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

That reminded me of a television show about hurricane forecasting. In one segment, a forecaster described the process of recommending when, where and to what level to have coastal evacuations when a hurricane approaches. The uncertainty of the path (especially if the models disagree), and varying strength of the storm several days out, can make it difficult to determine what to do. Waiting too long may not leave enough time for the people to leave and can be disastrous. It can have that same result if a weak storm suddenly jumps up a couple of categories in strength just before it hits land.

Calling for an evacuation only to have the hurricane go elsewhere or fizzle out makes for unnecessary disruption, costs money and leaves many frustrated and angry people. It also increases the tendency to disregard the next call for evacuation – which may be the storm that does hit at full force.

With all that variability, what did he say they strive for?

“We want to take the path of least regret.”

That sounds like no matter which choice they make there will be some regret. Even if an evacuation is called and the storm hits as predicted, there are probably still some thoughts that it should have been a smaller (or larger) evacuation. On the other side, it’s clear that not calling an evacuation and having a strong storm hit an area is the worst possible outcome with much regret.

As Christians, we also make choices on the paths we take. Hopefully, we don’t use the “least regret” philosophy, but strive to follow God’s path for our lives. (“Show me your ways, O Lord; Teach me your paths.” Psalms 25:4 NKJV).

That doesn’t mean God’s path for us will always be straight and easy. In some ways, it may be harder than taking our own path – but choosing our own path is guaranteed to have regrets.

The Lord speaks in a wonderful assurance verse in Isaiah that relates to the paths we follow:

“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16 NKJV.

God’s paths can make us struggle at times – and sometimes they’re meant to. We may blindly struggle in the darkness (remembering we all were once spiritually blind and in darkness) but as we trust in God, the light becomes clearer. As we follow Him where we’ve never been, we notice the crooked ways straightening out. And, as we reach the end of a journey and look back, while we may have some regrets of our own missteps, we can see God’s faithfulness. He has truly done what He said and has not forsaken us. Then we can praise His Name, and declare “Thank you, Lord. I have no regrets for following You!”

Pondering My Garden (and King Nebuchadnezzar)

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments

The Guara – bobs up and down with the weight of bumblebees

Since gardening season is well underway, I thought I would post an article I had published in “Keys for Living Magazine” last summer. Hope you enjoy it:

I marveled at our backyard’s beauty. The phlox beamed beside the weathered picket fence. The hibiscus was nearly eight feet tall and was smothered in pink blooms. Long tendrils of the guara held out their flowers and danced as the bumblebees did touch and go landings. Cardinals and bluebirds were bright spots of color at the feeders.

Several years earlier the yard was just an expanse of pasture. Over time I built the garden’s structure and established the flower beds. The fence came first and defined the back of the yard. I think I actually applauded in satisfaction when the gate’s latch clicked in place and fit perfectly.

A working gate deserved more than a dirt path, so a walkway of red concrete pavers came next. The addition of a pump house with a barn style roof and weathervane on top added a rustic touch to the scene.

The bahia grass in the old pasture was so thick that my tiller just dragged me along as it bounced over the top. I’m sure it was comical to watch, but to me it was frustrating. With that obstacle, it became a struggle to transform sections into flower beds. Many exhausting sessions of hand work were required but the transformation did occur.

The histories of many of the plants also came to mind. The oak leaf hydrangea was 12 inches tall when planted. Now it covered an area twenty five feet across.

I bought the pagoda plant sight-unseen. What a surprise we had when it produced spectacular orange blooms over a foot tall that did look like a Chinese pagoda – with multiple stems and flowers in layers that decreased in circumference from the bottom to the top. And they were like butterfly magnets.

Pagoda Plant with Butterflies

Pagoda Plant with Butterflies

Standing there, remembering the years of work that had been involved, I could have shouted “Look at this great garden I have built!” Thankfully, I thought better of it and didn’t.

I thought of King Nebuchadnezzar who gazed at his city and said: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? (Daniel 4:30 KJV) At that moment God showed him who had the power and majesty. The King spent the next seven years eating grass like an ox.

I didn’t mimic his words. Not from fear of having to eat grass, but from the realization that without God I could have done nothing. I praised Him for the beautiful flowers and birds He created. I thanked Him for the strength to build the fence. I thanked Him for the time, resources and opportunities He had provided.

That day I knew what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote that he had planted and Apollos had watered but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). Paul was writing of spiritual growth, but in my physical garden I understood that while I may have built and planted and watered, it was God alone Who, in His power and majesty, had completed it and made it beautiful!

Really, Really Bad Spring Fever

/ Bill Jones / 2 Comments
Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Spring has been busting out all over for several weeks now, and the season did officially change last week. So, spring fever is rampant. It’s been a struggle to stay inside working while the weather has been so great. I kept eying the postcard that announced the Georgia Southern University Botanical Gardens spring festival and plant sale was at hand. They hold that on a Saturday, but they also have a preview sale the day before for members. Since at the preview you get first pickings, and they usually have a lot of unusual plants, I decided to take the afternoon off and take advantage of that.

The postcard said the preview was from 3 to 6 PM, and I arrived a couple minutes before 3. There were only a few cars in the parking lot and not many people around. I took a hand pulled wagon, and started around the tents and lines of plants for sale. There was one woman there who also had her wagon. She noted we seemed to be playing leap frog as we took turns moving a little and stopping to check out the plants, while the other one went around. There were very few others looking at the plants, so I was thinking it was still early and the crowd would increase as time went on.

The woman stopped her wagon under the checkout tent and told the guy there she needed another one and left to get it. I pulled mine next to hers and looked to the “checkout” guy.

“Are you with Susan?” he asked.

“I guess not, since I don’t know who Susan is.” (I now assume Susan was the woman with the other wagon)

He looked confused and quizzical and asked if I was a member. I replied that I was and asked “It was from 3 to 6 wasn’t it?”

“Well, it will be that time…tomorrow afternoon.”

Wow! Somehow, my spring fever had taken hold enough to make it Friday afternoon in my mind, when it was actually still Thursday.

I apologized and explained that since I had taken the afternoon off, I must have started thinking it was Friday already. We worked it out pleasantly and he was kind enough to allow me to purchase the plants I had loaded in the wagon. As I apologized once more, thanked him and began leaving, he said “Since it’s Friday, don’t forget and go into work tomorrow!” We both laughed and parted ways.

Several things worked together to cause my miscue. I work out of our house, and for some reason, in that situation, it’s easy to forget what day it is (more on that some other time). I also have a one track mind – I had been debating throughout the week whether to take Friday off, and then I decided to take two afternoons off instead of a whole day – but I guess that wasn’t on the track my mind stayed on. However, most of all, I really, really had spring fever, and really, really wanted it to be Friday.

I guess the lesson is that God worked it out for me, even though I wasn’t paying attention. We find that happening often, because our God is so gracious and merciful!

“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.” Psalms 116:5

As Charlene Darling Said, Songs Can Make Us Cry

/ Bill Jones / 4 Comments
English: it is picture of the sheet of the son...

Image via Wikipedia

Many years ago, I attempted song writing. None was worthy of publishing and most have mercifully faded from memory. However, there are two I remember (at least the titles). One was a soulful ballad about commitment, titled: “If I Don’t Leave, Then I Guess I’ll Stay”. The other was a heart-tugging song about unrequited love: “I Did a Belly-Buster in the Swimming Pool of Love”. (Charlene Darling of the old “Andy Griffith Show” would have certainly lamented “Don’t play that one, Pa, it always makes me cry!”)

Several years after those, when our son, Daniel, was still a baby, I made this one up to sing as I tried to get him to sleep (sung to any baby melody you choose):

“All the little gophers in gopher town, they all get together when the sun goes down.

They build a little fire, and dance round and round, all the little gophers in go..pher..town!”

Still probably not worthy of publishing, but I was pleased with the imagery, and Daniel seemed to enjoy it.

It’s difficult to write a good song, especially considering you need to have lyrics and an appropriate melody to go with them. It seems impossible to write a great one. That is one of the reasons so many hymns, old and new, are amazing. The words touch our hearts with their praise for our great and gracious God, pictures of unshakeable faith, and prayers for God’s continuing help. Their accompanying music, whether soaring and broad or simple and quiet, fits perfectly to complement the message.

The background of some of these songs makes them even more amazing: From the well known story of H. G. Spafford writing “It Is Well” on an ocean liner after it passed the spot where his four daughters had recently drowned, to the lesser known circumstances behind Thomas A. Dorsey writing “Precious Lord” after hearing his wife had died in childbirth and the baby had not survived, or “Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus” being written by Louisa Stead after her husband drowned trying to save a young boy.

These stories reveal the unshakeable faith of the composers. However, above that, especially when considered with the lyrics of the songs themselves, they reveal the love, mercy, and grace of our God.

All the little gophers in gopher town don’t really get together and dance around the fire after sundown (at least I don’t think they do). But, the Lord’s love, mercy and grace is real. It’s shown clearly when we hear that whether we’re in peace like a river, or in sorrows like a stormy sea, God makes us able to say: “It is well with my soul”; or, we cry out to the Lord to take our hand because we’re tired, weary and worn; or we affirm that it truly is sweet to trust in Jesus and know He is with us to the end. And, when God takes the song and reinforces that reality in our heart at just the right moment and for just the right reason, it can make us cry.