Yesterday afternoon we jumped in the car to drive Chloe to the Austin airport for her biannual trip to see her favorite aunt and uncle in Seattle. Seattle is a beautiful city filled with health conscious people and art, lots of art. Chloe doesn't care about the art or the healthy eats, she is truly invested in the people she visits. She returns home wishing to be an only child or to permanently relocate to their house.
Chloe's plane departs without much incident (late) and we head to dinner with a very special woman. Almost two years ago she was widowed in her fifties when her precious husband lost his battle to brain cancer. Sitting at dinner with her you cannot imagine all the things that are still so fresh in her loss. Her life is filled with much activity and some health adjustments, but without her beloved husband it feels so lonely.
Dinner goes by quickly and we close the restaurant. While we are visiting at an outside table, the weather could not be more perfect. A warm breeze gently moves our hair without disturbing our conversation. I think the topic of the beautiful evening returns three different times during our visit. Texas can be sweltering in the day yet the nights offer warmth with a side of light breeze.
Brett is off in the nearby woods finding rocks and sticks. His hands are filthy from the collecting and multiple attempts at fire starting. He makes friends with other children who leave when their families finish dinner. He is now playing alone in the woods when he comes running to show me the cactus splinters resembling tiny porcupine quills sticking out of his fingers. Today he does not have his Swiss Army knife...of all the days. Using my husband's phone's flashlight and my teeth, I begin to remove the minuscule thorns from his small dirty hands. I ask why he touched a cactus later in the car and he says he was feeling around in the dark woods for supplies and he accidentally found a cactus. ” I'm not stupid Mom. I didn't say 'oh cactus come here so I can touch you.'” I tried not to laugh, but I laughed so hard it hurt my belly.
I started to think about what happened to Brett. Sometimes we are in the dark looking for something and we stumble upon a cactus. If you walk in the LIGHT you will never stumble upon a cactus. Cacti comes in many forms. Can you identify the cactus in your life?
John 8:12
”...I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
Chloe's plane departs without much incident (late) and we head to dinner with a very special woman. Almost two years ago she was widowed in her fifties when her precious husband lost his battle to brain cancer. Sitting at dinner with her you cannot imagine all the things that are still so fresh in her loss. Her life is filled with much activity and some health adjustments, but without her beloved husband it feels so lonely.
Dinner goes by quickly and we close the restaurant. While we are visiting at an outside table, the weather could not be more perfect. A warm breeze gently moves our hair without disturbing our conversation. I think the topic of the beautiful evening returns three different times during our visit. Texas can be sweltering in the day yet the nights offer warmth with a side of light breeze.
Brett is off in the nearby woods finding rocks and sticks. His hands are filthy from the collecting and multiple attempts at fire starting. He makes friends with other children who leave when their families finish dinner. He is now playing alone in the woods when he comes running to show me the cactus splinters resembling tiny porcupine quills sticking out of his fingers. Today he does not have his Swiss Army knife...of all the days. Using my husband's phone's flashlight and my teeth, I begin to remove the minuscule thorns from his small dirty hands. I ask why he touched a cactus later in the car and he says he was feeling around in the dark woods for supplies and he accidentally found a cactus. ” I'm not stupid Mom. I didn't say 'oh cactus come here so I can touch you.'” I tried not to laugh, but I laughed so hard it hurt my belly.
I started to think about what happened to Brett. Sometimes we are in the dark looking for something and we stumble upon a cactus. If you walk in the LIGHT you will never stumble upon a cactus. Cacti comes in many forms. Can you identify the cactus in your life?
John 8:12
”...I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
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