I have enjoyed Autumn this year more than I can remember. There have been some wonderful surprises. Each day seems to bring something that makes me smile and delights my heart. I can't help it, I just feel so thankful. Even on blustery days. Thankfulness is one of the most beautiful gifts that storms bring to us. They help us to better recognize the beauty that is around us. I am grateful for this time of beauty. One day after our first snow I noticed my yellow roses blooming. It came as a surprise to me and blessed me, their fragrance extra sweet. Autumn has been like that for me.
The little bread promise box that holds scriptures that belonged to my mother sits on my kitchen window sill. I almost put Psalm 149:4 back to get another but decided to ponder it. It's meaning has been like the November roses to me. Unexpected and sweet. Meek is a funny word. I don't know about you, but at first glance I wanted to skip by it because I really didn't know what it meant, exactly. It's not an every day word we use. Jesus was known to be meek and yet He was strong. Once I remember a teacher spoke on Jesus being meek. He described this Great and Powerful God, the Creator of the universe coming down in the form of a baby, choosing to be submissive and placed in the arms of the very people that He had formed, becoming as helpless as a new born baby because of His deep love that we might know Him.
Meek in the dictionary reads to be
1. humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others
2. overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame
3. gentle; kind.
I have experienced this kind of tenderness and it is changing me. Through the lives of others and experiencing Christ in them towards me, they have helped to make me a stronger and better person in difficulties. I have seen in others how I want to live the rest of my life. I began to really notice meekness in others while I was in the hospital and in doctor visits, especially while I was healing, when I was the most vulnerable, and the most submissive. I have met many beautiful people and I have personally experienced great compassion and understanding when I have needed it. The beauty I have found in unexpected places has saved me on more than one occassion. Saved me from anxiety. Saved me from keeping my eyes too focused on the negitive and reminding me to keep looking for the good in this life because it was there no matter what I was going through.
My friend Mokihana wrote a comment on my blog about mushrooms. She wrote, "God gives beauty even in the midst of a pile of dead leaves and in the midst of dark times. I remind myself that I have to be more aware, more open to seeing that beauty."
Me, too. And like roses blooming in the winter, one never knows when the next glimpse of beauty will appear for us to enjoy and to share with others. I can't tell you just how happy I was to decorate my sister's birthday cake with some of these fragrant roses from my yard!
As for today, it looks like November roses are becoming December roses!
