Almost Friday…

You’ve seen those memes, right?

With images of clinging koalas/dancing ferrets/fist-pumping babies… or (my personal favorite):

Lionel Richie wearing a smile and a “Friday” nametag… and sporting a caption that reads:

Hello… is it me you’re looking for?

Almost Friday means… you’re about to get a breather, a break, a blessed respite from the drudgery of the daily grind. Almost Friday signals stress relief… freedom!… sweet celebration.

We get 52 Fridays included with every trip around the sun.

(Pretty great.)

So if you’ve had a rough week, chin up. Soon the dismal/ dreadful/ disappointing/ disastrous events of the last few days will be in the rearview mirror… and everything above the dashboard will be looking oh-so-bright and beautiful.

If you’ve had a rough year (or life), take heart.

Because tomorrow isn’t just any Friday.

It’s guaranteed…

Good.

Tomorrow marks the most beguiling/ bewildering/ bewitching day in all of human history. That single, life-changing, earth-shaking Friday was both celestial and cataclysmic.

Heavenly and horrifying.

Divine and deadly.

(It was unthinkably brutal… bloody… barbaric, really.)

And yet we call it Good.

Why?

Because it harkens back, looks forward, and wraps up in the present all the best things in life:

Debts cancelled.

Evil overcome.

Mercy sprinkled.

Injustice overturned.

Sins forgiven. (Even the ugliest and worst.)

Grace gifted.

Death defeated, once and for all… for all who dare to believe. (That Jesus is who he said he is. And did what he said he would. And will do all he’s promised.)

The hero prevails.

The villain slinks back into the shadows.

And every one of us who’s desperate to be cherished… knows… now… and forever… we are.

The One who embodies love… offered up his body.

The One who loves us to death… died.

The One who breathes life itself… breathed his last. For you and me.

Because love compelled him to.

Jesus.

Loves.

You.

It’s not a fearful, flimsy love. It’s fierce, firm. It’s not fleeting.

It’s forever.

It’s the stuff of dreams-come-true and happily-ever-after… but it is not a fairy tale.

Real love isn’t the story arc of a two-hour rom-com. It sticks around a whole lot longer. (And it’s far more practical, capable, durable, valuable than anything Hollywood could dream up.)

Real love looks closely, tenderly. And it overlooks.

It listens carefully and hears – between, beneath, beyond – what’s spoken out loud.

Real love has grit, strength, steely resolve.

And it (eventually, always) requires sacrifice.

Selflessness.

It gets its hands dirty… pulls up out of the muck… or sits weeping together in it.

It’s the kind of love that’s willing to lay it all down.

Even when the beloved is unlovely.

Unworthy.

Ungrateful.

(Like me.)

Now, would anyone dare to die for the sake of a wicked person?  We can all understand if someone was willing to die for a truly noble person. But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!

And there is still much more to say of his unfailing love for us!  ~ Romans 5:7-9 (TPT)

Real love will bear the worst, believe the best, wait expectantly when everything in sight tells it to abandon hope… and endure beyond the bitter end…

Anticipating a fresh new beginning.

That kind of lay-down-your-life love is a force. It has resurrection power. It breathes life into dead things.

Dreams.

Relationships.

Futures.

Forever afters.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture…

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. ~ Romans 8:31-39 (The Message)

The human mind can scarcely comprehend that kind of love.

It’s inexplicable.

Unsurpassable.

Flawless.

And… finished.

Yes, friend.

It.

Is.

Finished.

Ready, waiting, yours for the asking.

I know… because I’m the blessed recipient of that kind of crazy love. And I pray that you are – or will be (today?) – too.

We want all sorts of things in life. But what we need isn’t something. It’s someone. And when we look for him and find him, we gain everything.

Looking for truth? A way through? The meaning of life? Jesus really is…

All that.

He’s the one you’re looking for. (It’s been him all along.)

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ~ John 14:6 (NLT)

A Father’s love, a Son’s obedience, a sinner’s pardon.

Relief… freedom!… and sweet celebration.

That’s what Good Friday looks like.

T.G.I.F.

Wendy

P.S. Sunday’s coming. Tomb’s empty. Love wins.

Every Blooming Thing

My dear reader,

Stop right now and look outside.

Do you see that?!

GREEN.

After all the dull and dreary and dead, finally, thankfully, the great outdoors has begun to bud/bloom/blossom. (Unless you happen to live in Iceland or Death Valley. In which case I suggest you stop reading altogether… and relocate.)

Spring has been a loooooong time coming. March didn’t deliver. April didn’t either. It did bring those showers it always promises. Along with snow, sleet, hail and high winds. (Which is different than hail and high water, though we did get a couple flood warnings.) And a tornado watch too. After that, I stopped following our local meteorologist on Twitter. Because she was blowing up my feed.

Just when it seemed we’d fallen under some nefarious Narnian endless-winter spell, spring up-and-SPRUNG!

I got the first glimpse when my pale yellow daffodils peeked out from the snow-dusted earth. Shortly thereafter, the snow melted and the purple crocuses sprouted and splayed.

Then a lovely little magnolia stole the show.

Not to be outdone, the Redbud blossoms burst on the scene the very next day.

(Attention grabbers.)

But that’s not all, folks. The coming attractions include scents of lilac and lavender, honeysuckle and heliotrope. (< If you don’t have some, get some. The fragrance is heavenly.)

Early-bird specials to late bloomers, full-sun or shady characters, I wholeheartedly agree with Claude Monet: “I must have flowers, always, and always.”

Shrinking violets and knockout roses. Bee balm and butterfly bushes. Dianthus and dahlias and daisies… oh my!

Moonflowers and sunflowers, snapdragons and sweet pea. Pansies, petunias and peonies. All in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of colors and designs.

Hello, gorgeous.

My mom was a flower child. So I guess it isn’t all that surprising that I’d grow to love every blooming thing. (Yes, including dandelions. Especially when they’re twisted into a handmade garland by happy little fingers. What could be more lovely?)

From my very first seeds-sprinkled-in-a-styrofoam-cup-of-soggy-dirt kindergarten horticulture lesson… through years of planting/pruning/weeding/watering under the tutelage of my dear friend Jo… to becoming a full-fledged member of Newfields just so I can stroll the gardens whenever I please, I’ve been completely smitten by…

Flower power.

Flowers remind us that even when s%*t happens, something beautiful can come of it. (If only we will let God work when we’re deep in it.)

I think Lady Bird Johnson said it best:

Where flowers bloom, so does hope. 

Why? Because flowers just do what they’re made to do.

Beautify. (Every view – and vase – they grace.)

Gratify. (Gardeners, photographers, florists and prom dates.)

Glorify… God Himself.

If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (Matthew 6:25-33, The Message)

Morning glories… and HALLELUJAH! He’s got you/me/us covered, clothed, and completely taken care of. Like every blooming thing.

You take care of the earth and send rain to help the soil grow all kinds of crops. Your rivers never run dry, and you prepare the earth to produce much grain. You water all of its fields and level the lumpy ground. You send showers of rain to soften the soil and help the plants sprout. Wherever your footsteps touch the earth, a rich harvest is gathered. Desert pastures blossom, and mountains celebrate. Meadows are filled with sheep and goats; valleys overflow with grain and echo with joyful songs. (Psalm 65:9-13, CEV)

Cultivate beauty. It’ll make the world a better place. Get your hands dirty. It’ll make your heart happy. Do a little weeding. In your garden… and your life.

What are you waiting for? Get growing!

Wendy

P.S. Just for you… a little SPRING FLING contest! 1. Comment your favorite flower(s) or gardening tip(s). 2. Follow my blog – or if you’re already following, share the link via email or social media. 3. You’ll be automatically entered to win an assortment of annual and perennial seed packets selected by yours truly. (Winner will be announced May 11.)

Ready, set, grow!