Behind the Grey Clouds

 Until today, I would be hard pressed to say that anything good has come from this awful Pandemic. And frankly, as I headed out this morning (of course, there was a bit of a snowfall last night, and the streets were still snow covered) to the dreaded Missouri Department of Transportation Office, to renew my car license plates, I was absolutely anticipating the worst. 

I was remembering that once, years ago, I had such difficulty registering a car, that even after three trips, to and from the office and nearly bursting into tears, I finally got the job done.  It's always a case of not having the right forms or money or other paperwork. The lines are horrific. Hours can be spent waiting until your number is called. The clerks are, to a person, nasty and unpleasant. And, the place is usually littered with used paper cups and whatever trash the clients leave behind....or thrown down in disgust! And, it smells!

I had been told, by a friend to make an appointment on line, and I made sure that I was there, not too early, but right on time. A nice young woman greeted me at the door. She politely asked me what I needed and I told her. She replied with, "I can help you right here." Four minutes later, I was headed out the door, with my new stickers. 

It was necessary for me to sit in my car, for a few minutes, while I processed the whole event. What a great experience. The Pandemic had forced an annually horrible ordeal, into a pleasurable chore. The new DVM was clean, organized, full of helpful clerks, and I wasn't in tears!

I just knew something good had to come out of all of the misery, of the past 9 months!.

God. We always try to thank you for our blessings. Sometimes we need to look for the silver linings. We need to appreciate that some good things can come from the bad. We are blessed in many ways.

"a poem as lovely as a tree."

 Welcome to the middle of January, Midwest style. Outside, there are the remnant piles, left from the latest snow storm, lining the edges of our driveway. Spring is a distant hope. Christmas ornaments and artificial greenery have been stashed away in closets, until next year. By now, most folks have pitched their dead or dying, foil encrusted, hot-house Poinsettias, into post-holiday trash sacks.

Our living room still sports a tree. We can say that because of its woody stem and its 3 foot height. All of this greenery now emanates from the once spindly little plant, which was given to us, over a year ago. We haven't figured how to dispose of our rapidly growing Poinsettia tree. 

Last Spring, when I realized that our Poinsettia had remained alive all during the Winter, I decided to let it continue to grow outside. So, I put it in a larger pot, gave it some more soil  and put it on the deck to fend for itself. My philosophy has always been, to practice the "let-it-alone" system of plant care. It continued to grow, until the weather got too cold to leave it outside. By then it resembled a well groomed topiary tree. I watered it, brought it inside and set it on our hearth. In November, some of its leaves had turned bright red. Over night, we had a marvelous piece of Yuletide cheer.

But now what? We don't want to give it too much attention, or it will surely die. How big will it get? We don't have room for a 4 foot plant. Are there 10 gallon flower pots? And, to top it all off, somebody gave us another little Poinsettia, this past Christmas. 

Gracious God, we thank you for the beauties of nature. Our blessings are many. Help us to keep growing our Faith in You. 

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day..."

 Retiring from my job, the last day of the year, my plan was to begin a new phase of my life's journey, on the same day as the new year began. No more rising before dawn and doing my grocery shopping and errands, after working at a desk all day. I planned to begin a life of randomness and spontaneity. No routines.

However, I have written many times about making plans. My philosophy has always been....We can make all the plans we want, but we are not in charge. God makes the plans!

So, to quote someone.....my best laid plans have gone awry. Unfortunately, I'm not really very good at listening to myself! First of all, it snowed about 5 inches, on a weekend. The city does not clear streets on the weekend. So, we were essentially snowed in. There were no random trips...anywhere, for a while. Then, after waking up every day, for years, at 6 a.m., I find that the habit is hard to break. It seems my inner clock is set around 5:30. 

Yesterday, I was at the grocery store at 8 a.m. I was the first one there. The first parking spot, in front of the door, was vacant. Once inside, I discovered that half of the shelves were empty. It was to early for the stocking to have taken place. Next week, my shopping trip will be planned for later in the day.

Either this retirement thing, is not all it's cracked up to be, or I am going to have to work harder to adapt to this life of leisure.

Dear Lord. Change is growth. We live best when we adapt to life, as it is. We know that life does not adapt to us. Guide us through this journey. You are our constant.