Flowers and Faith

We had tea among the roses. My friend Lynn took me to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens for my birthday. We had British style tea in the rose garden. We feasted on salmon, ginger and cucumber finger sandwiches, including a warm basket of scones. (of which I had at least 4.)



Afterwards we meandered around the expansive gardens.

At one point we noticed two people (who we like very much) but didn't want them to see us, so we had to quickly go off-path, climb a steep hill (Lynn is my hiking buddy) and step over some path-blocking chains. We found ourselves in a rural area that that I never knew existed (in the city).

A coyote scampered across the road. Among the scrubby bushes and Oak trees we found this little overgrown garden. It looked abandoned, but beautiful.




The garden reminded me of how--in life--when the road seems desolate, one will sometimes turn a corner and find an encouraging cluster of flowers. A reminder of God's presence.

This week I had two such surprises. First, we--finally--sold our 96 Explorer. I've been praying it would sell...but we had no bites. I decided to put it on the internet and after it hit, we had about 25 calls in 15 minutes. My husband wasn't home...and it was havoc, but I sold it!

The second thing that happened gave me hope in my son's situation. He has been "dead in the water" with no job (for almost a year) and no way to pay his traffic debts. Recently he decided he would like to enlist for the military (reserves)--which is a giant step in his life --but there is a problem. He must pay off his debts before they will accept him. He also needs a court date so he can talk to the judge about lowering his inflated fines.

So I prayed that God would open doors, if this was to be--but nothing...no answers. So I just kept trusting, and I did feel certain God would do something EVENTUALLY.

Well...Mozart went to pick up our taxes and when he came home...he said, "I found out today that our tax man has a second job. Guess what it is. He's a traffic court judge."

So our tax man gave some advice which C will act on. The first thing he has to do is make a payment to collections, towards his debt. But C had no money. C and me kept our eyes open for anyone needing work...ANY kind of work (yard clean-up?). I emailed my church friends, my prayer group, etc. Nobody needed anything done. One week passed.

Today after church, there was a knock at the door. It was the son of our neighbor. Shane is 10 years older than my son, has recently finished college and lives on his own. He is also unemployed...but looking. He told me he picked up a cabinet making job, and he needs help with the installation. Would C be available?

There is so much more to trust God for...but I'm learning. I'm learning that God is there, and if we are patient...He will take care of us. I tend to be impatient about matters. But God asks for my patience. He is working in a life--my son's life--and God will do it HIS way, not mine. And as I go along for the ride...He works in my life too, taking me through the growing pains of becoming more like Jesus.

And I often think of Joseph...and his l-o-n-g story. It seemed as though his life was falling apart...but God was working it all for the good.