The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks
at the sky and sings.
~Joyce Kilmer
I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. ~Psalm 145:1-3 ✝
I know a garden with a loveliness
Deeper than eye can see or indrawn breath
Can measure rightly. Ancient centuries press
Against its walls till time is gone and death
Is lost in fragrance of the lavender
That grows serenely by a lichened stile.
Basil, rosemary, marjoram are there,
And savory, whose blossoms lift a smile
Beside a dripping pool. There silver sage
And lads-love, that all our mothers knew
And pressed for us in many a yellow-page.
Woodruff is there, mint, caraway, and rue.
Old flowers are lovely, lovelier still are these
Sweet scented herbs near box and cedar trees.
~Catherine Coblentz
Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden that is fragrances may be wafted abroad. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. ~Song of Solomon 4:16 ✝
**photos via Pinterest
Who loves a garden loves a greenhouse too.
For unconscious of a less propitious clime,
There blooms beauty, warm and snug,
While the winds whistle and the snows descend.
All peep through foliage at the storm,
And seem to smile at what they need not fear.
~Edited excerpt from a poem by William Cowper
Flowers…have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music. They relax the tenseness of the mind. ~Henry Ward Beecher
…just as I (God) gave you the green plants, I give you everything. ~Genesis 9:3 ✝
Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others,
and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t’were his own.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and Politician
One of my fellow bloggers commented today about the beauty in one of my posts and said she needed the joy. It was such a blessing to know that I had spread some joy in the life of another. So tonight I thought I would share some thoughts about joy. And since this week is A.A. Milne’s birthday I decided to use some illustrations from his book to help do that. Milne was the English author who brought so much joy not only to children but also to those of us fortunate enough to have read the Winnie the Pooh stories to our children.
Joy is not in things; it is in us. ~Richard Wagner, German composer
The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy. ~Henry Ward Beecher, Congregational minister
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. ~Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Monk and Writer
He who has never looked on sorrow will never see joy. ~Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese born American philosophical Essayist, Novelist, Poet
Joy is the net of love by which you can catch souls. ~Mother Teresa, Missionary
Joy delights in joy. ~William Shakespeare, English Dramatist, Playwright, Poet
But let all who take refuge in you(God) rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult you. ~Psalm 5:10-12 ✝
I paid a dime for a package of seeds
And the clerk tossed them out with a flip.
“We’ve got ‘em assorted for every man’s needs,”
He said with a smile on his lip.
“Pansies and poppies and asters and peas!
Ten cents a package and pick as you please!”
Now seeds are just dimes to the man in the store
And dimes are the things he needs;
And I’ve been to buy them in seasons before,
But have thought of them merely as seeds.
But it flashed through my mind as I took them this time
“You have purchased a miracle here for a dime!”
“You’ve a dime’s worth of power no man can create,
You’ve a dime’s worth of life in your hand!
You’ve a dime’s worth of mystery, destiny, fate,
Which the wisest cannot understand.
In this bright little package, now isn’t it odd?
You’ve a dime’s worth of something known only to God.
~Edgar A. Guest
Nowadays a packet of seeds costs more than a dime; yet one can still buy a packet of “miracles” for a reasonable sum. And the initial investment is small compared to the potential yield not only from the generous number of seeds in each packet but also from the seeds that those plants ultimately produce. I know because my garden is full of plants started from seeds I never bought. Not only that but lots of birds eat well on the excess “birdseed” I don’t have to buy. So it is that in nurturing I am nurtured. By becoming a part of the “cosmic consciousness,” I get to participate in the sacred dance of life.
The Book of Genesis tells us that on the third day the Lord created seed-bearing plants and trees. And from the moment He spoke those words, countless seasons have come and gone and the soil in any given garden has quaked with life from seeds forming in its dark wombs. As the trembling in “dark wintry beds” increased, an impetus not unlike labor pains pushed roots downward and tiny green shoots upwards toward the light until at last new “miracles” became stable,visible, and tangible. As more and more darkness melted away in the blaze of lengthening days and intensifying sunlight, the warp and woof of nature began weaving another springtime into existence. And when the shroud of gloom, winter’s drab garment, was finally sloughed off it was replaced by spring’s brilliant, gauzy garments, garments as colorful as the “silks of Samarkand.”
Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. ~Genesis 26:12 ✝
That soft autumnal time…
The year’s last, loveliest smile,
Thou comest to fill with hope the human heart,
And strengthen it to bear the storms a while,
Till winter days depart…
Far in a shelter’d nook
I’ve met, in these calm days, a smiling flower,
A lonely aster, trembling by a brook…
~John Howard Bryant
In autumn the Maker’s pigments turn from the soft pastels of springtime to emboldened, jewel tones. Glad witnesses are we to the green leaves on shining sumac, flowering dogwoods, Bradford pears, sweet gums, Shumard oaks, and crape myrtles changing to mixtures of burgundy, crimson, orange, and gold. Other treats are setting buds for next year’s blossoms among the fiery red, ripening fruits of the dogwoods, and the deeper shades of blues and pinks that adorn the thickened petals of hydrangeas. And if that is not enough to make the year smile, there are the willow leaves, among the other falling foliage, that rain down golden glory in one wave after the other like confetti from a ticker-tape parade. In the gusting winds they litter the streets, and as cars pass by the multicolored leafage gives a festive look to curbs and lawns. But again, that’s not all. Roses bloom in deeper hues than before, the red fruits on the Prairifire crabapples shine forth, and sweet purple asters with their bright yellow eyes provide a closing feast for hordes of humming bees. So smile on, lovely Autumn, and fill my heart with the hope I need to be strengthened against winter’s gathering storms.
Faithfulness spring’s forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. ~Psalm 85:11-12 ✝
Yet one smile more, departing, distant sun!
One mellow smile through the soft vapory air. . .
Yet a few sunny days, in which the bee
Shall murmur by the hedge that skirts the way,
The cricket chirp upon the russet lea,
And man delight to linger in thy ray.
Yet one rich smile, and we will try to bear
The piercing winter frost, and winds, and darkened air.
~William Cullen Bryant
What a season of contrasts autumn is! Many of its striking contradistinctions and “mellow smiles” can be seen on a single day, and yesterday was a fascinating example of Fall’s many faces. Early in the morning the sky was a clear, brilliant blue, and as I wandered the yard I found a butterfly prettily perched on the leaves of a climbing rose. Then the winds picked up and threatening clouds blew in. About 30 minutes later, a narrow band of rain clouds passed over us leaving not a single drop, however, in their wake. Afterwards the sun sat smiling again in the sapphire sky, but it was streaked with a few bands of Cirrus clouds. Not too long after that the stormy/clear scenario repeated itself. Finally late in the afternoon a blustery wind blew down like rain more of the yellow leaves off the willow tree as it chased the sun away for good. What had been an almost balmy day in the mid-70‘s had rapidly changed, and the bite of the chilling north wind stung my unsuitably-clad body when I went out to unplug the fountain and close up the greenhouse.
He(God) wraps us the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. ~Job 26:8 ✝
What a desolate place would be
a world without a flower!
It would be a face without a smile,
a feast without a welcome.
~A .J. Balfour
With its delicate tendrils the striking, lacy pink coral vine rapidly climbs up, over, and on anything it can find. Because it is a vigorous vine upon which masses of flowers are situated, it needs support to produce the masses of green heart-shaped leaves and large branching flower stalks. Once it reaches high enough and the dainty pink blooms appear, the sweet of it delights the bees. And of course like all flowering vines it feeds my soul.
Return to us, God Almighty! Look down and see! Watch over this vine. . . ~Psalm 80:14 ✝
Sacred Touches 