Hymn to a Summer Day

The park is quiet; the swings hang vacant,
the slide deserted. Walking to a bench
in the shade, the turtledove sings softly
of the ways of the Lord. The happy grass
eavesdrops on the gossiping crickets,
the dew winks to the traveling clouds,
the hackberry branches sway in time
to the rapping woodpecker in a hollow
tree, and the hands of the honey locust
flutter in conversation with the elms. Wind
nudges the glossy leaves on the cottonwoods,
creating ripples of greetings to the sky.

A jay, in his soldier blue jacket, jeers to the
acres of green grass, "Nothing under the sun
can tie me down!" The pulsing lawn sprinklers
hiss their defensive warning to the jay, then
continues oscillating in half-moon circles.

The gentle dove croons "Grace. Grace. Grace,"
into the silence, a silence in which another
voice may speak, before the onslaught of children
later to come; and the humble grass stands
attentive, as if to say: Let the children be
children, and hinder them not. Let them come.

~Tami Vrbas
2009

Remind Me

One of my friends finds reminders of God's love in a beautiful rainbow. He says they always appear when he is down and depressed. Then he'll be going along, and there will be a rainbow to remind him that God loves him. Another friend finds the same thing when he finds dimes on the ground. One day he found 6 of them, each at different times of the day. As it happened, he was having a very discouraging day, and each time he found a dime, he felt warmed by this reminder that he was loved. His day got better each time. At least, he didn't feel he was all alone trying to handle it, from then on.

I noticed when both friends talked about it, they got quite excited, and it got me to thinking that these were small gifts that might seem quite ordinary to other people, but my friend really loves rainbows and the other money, and each found inspiration when these ordinary things appeared. The result was they felt they had been kissed by God.

I have my own "kiss from God." I find bird feathers tucked in the grass, or in the garden. This morning, I planned to spread the red mulch in my flower bed, and as I walked up to the flower bed, I had to smile. There was a light grey bird feather on the ground, where I planned to start working. I found one yesterday in my garden, between the tomato cages and the sunflowers. I had walked through there 5 or 6 times and had not seen it until my eyes were stinging from the sweat running down my face and into my eyes. It wasn't laying there until I was really needing it. Then, voila! Last year, I found 3 feathers. I had goosebumps, for it was the day after we had to have our beloved dog put to sleep.

I guess this could sound a little lame to some, or coincidental at best, but these things get me through the day, and never fail to help me to focus on something bigger than me and my petty little things that could discourage or pull me down. I am reminded He is always with me. Each time, I feel warm with thanks to the Lord, for inhabiting my life. My heart feels full, and every morning when I get up, I wonder where I will find my little gifts from God's heart today.

At the Carwash ?

Yesterday we had a family cookout, with our kids, grandkids and my mother here for Sunday lunch. Later, after everyone left, I walked past the fountain I have set up on the south side of our new porch. I did a double-take, for I think the little boys couldn't resist all the sawdust laying nearby on the ground. When I went to dump it, so the sawdust wouldn't clog up the pump on the fountain, there were more surprises! Out came 3 matchbox cars, too! I really had to laugh, at the surprise the grandsons left for me! They were just washing their cars the best way they knew how! Too cute! That was my giggle for the day!

Bambi and Red

In the Frenchman Valley, where I live, the land is a bit flat, especially in comparison to the canyons and hills north of town. Driving on Route 25, threading my car over the curves and turns through the deep canyons and steep hills in Hayes County, you can usually see wildlife of some kind or another,
something other than fresh roadkill, that is. Last Tuesday, I spotted two big bucks wading through the ripening wheat beside the highway. The wheat was chest high, nearly combine ready.

The week before I had seen a small fawn jump out of the brome grass beside the road, and scamper across to be swallowed up, in the tall grass on the other side. It happened so quickly, I just happened to be in the right place to witness this scene. I breathed a big sigh of relief when he was safe.

But, I think my favorite creature to look for is the red-tailed hawk that hangs out at the top of the hill near a ravine a few miles from town. Several times, it has flown across the road, just in front of me, and I have held my breath, hoping it did not fly into my vehicle, for both our sakes. I don't want the repair bill, and he doesn't need to take that kind of suicide flight. Sometimes, I spot him perched on a fencepost, his eyes peeled for a moving violation by a rodent of some sorts. Other times, he is soaring in the wind over the sunflowers, that just began to bloom late in June.