Yesterday our new horse, a lanky Thoroughbred named, Beau took the rare opportunity to trot out an open gate and help himself to a tour of the neighborhood, with me following, of course, the entire time.  I was not running, but walking (after all, the chances of a human like me catching a former racehorse by running after him are basically, nil!).

After 45 minutes, visiting several properties and trotting down several streets, Beau finally decided that the fun was over and put his head into the halter to walk with me.

I wanted to reward him for this smart choice (even if it was nearly an hour for him to get there) and I pushed down my frustration, gave him a pet and started the path to home.

Along the way, however, my curbed frustration came out in another way…. I pass a neighbor’s beautiful mountain laurel, Flowers abundant, and so fragrant and it reminded me that our mountain laurel wasn’t blooming when I last looked.  In fact (frustration building here). None of our gardens seem to be blooming, or awakening at all from the winter deadness.  My train of thought goes darker by thinking the lack of  blooms is a metaphor equating it to recurring problems in my life that no solution seems to be showing… and suddenly,  I’m stopped in my tracks, Beau nearly bumps into my shoulder: Swooshing under the brim of my baseball hat is a HUGE butterfly!  Nearly landing on my nose, he flits upward and my eyes follow him to another butterfly, and another… all loving on my mountain laurel which is now in bloom!

“God’s timing”, I think.  He knows better than we do, and just when you think something isn’t blossoming, that there may be no hope, look up and see from a different perspective!  (You might need a Monarch, or another surprise in your face to get you to raise your gaze, but take it from me, it’s a good idea to honor it and see where it will take you).

Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?”