Flowers and funerals...

Things are blooming over here...

Growing up in this house we didn't have as many flower beds...

{I do remember having to weed the few we had

and I'm sure I complained the whole time}

But, maybe it was when my sister and I left to start our own families

that mom decided she needed a project

 grass became mulch

and 

a few plants became many.

 And as a result,

last week I cut bunches of these

and this week, 

bunches of these

I wish you could see how HUGE some of these peony blooms are

they don't have much of a scent

but I do enjoy seeing them scattered all over the house.

"God loved the flowers and invented soil.  Man loved the flowers and invented vases." 

Jacques Deval

It appears as though next week these will be gracing the house...

"I'd rather have roses on my table

 than diamonds on my neck."  

Emma Goldman

They're really beautiful..and I can take no credit whatsoever for them.

I often say that all the good stuff you see around here was inherited.

{Thanks, mom!}

It strikes me how like our own lives these flowers are.

Beautiful

and

Fragile

and 

short-lived

Even the most prolific gardener cannot create a crop that holds life and blooms on forever.

Though they are appreciated and enjoyed,

all blooms fade and die eventually.

On Wednesday I attended my FOURTH funeral in the last four months.

Two of them in one week.

All four were great women of faith who left quite a legacy for their families and friends.

I've had enough death for the year.

I'd like it very much if I didn't attend another funeral ever..

or at least for a long time.

 But, there is something about sitting at a funeral that makes you put life into perspective.

It is so short, so unexpected.

And we waste so much time thinking that this is all there is.

But what if it's not...

what if we labor hard

and stress out much

what if we spend our life seeking the next

treasure 

or 

pleasure

and, in an instant we are suddenly gone

and all that we poured our energy into

stays behind.

What then?

What if the world expends energy on trying to disprove the existence of 

God

and 

Heaven

and succeeds in taking all mention of them out of our lives...

and it is wrong - all of it just a trick to get our minds off of what is True.

What then?

Will we regret the things we gave our 

time

attention

money

worship

praise

hearts

and wish we had listened to the Voice of Truth instead?

 Sadly, it'll be too late to change our minds

we will have already chosen our path.

I've already made my choice

and I'm quite confident it is the Right One.

But so many around me have not...

and how I live my life from birth to death may affect the way they see the Right One.

The end comes for all of us

sometimes we have the blessing of planning it all out

and sometimes we don't.

But, the one thing we all have in common

is that it WILL come.

So how will we spend our days of waiting?

What will we do with our remaining time?