Bathed

I have mentioned before that cardinals are special to me. For me they are a true icon. Wait, before you go shaking your head and “tsk”ing at me, look it up. An icon can be something that represents God or Christ – an image, picture or representation of some sort. But it is also anything that draws our minds toward God.

And I’m sure my thing about cardinals comes as no surprise to God. In fact He has often drawn me to Him through these beautiful birds. We have a pair that live somewhere just out our back door. They are constant companions to each other and friends to us. I raised my kitchen blinds one day and there was the male, tucked in the corner, looking at me and saying, “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)

I know their calls now and I look for them, as I seek Him as well. The funny thing is that, though the male is the really colorful and more beautiful of the pair (don’t get me started…), I have found myself drawn more and more to the female. She seems braver and more willing to visit with me. Of course, she also knows that the male is keeping a watchful eye on her.

Imagine my delight when I was sitting down to supper with Steve and I looked out and saw her on the crepe myrtle just outside the window. The sprinklers were spraying and she was in their direct path. And there she sat! Unmoving but quivering and shaking her feathers. She would relax until the next spray doused her. She was enjoying her bath but the flood was too much for her to take. She flew over to the gardenia and sat for a minute and then plunged back into the water.

Yeah, I know this one is too obvious. But that flood of cleansing water! And it’s so clean and so pure and so holy! And sometimes it’s just too much! Surely you’ve felt it. When you’ve been humble about something, and God Himself has lifted you up – you want to run and hide! It’s too much. When the pure joy of your salvation is overwhelming. It’s just too much and we’re torn between feeling inadequate and wanting to hide, and wanting to jump in and drown in it.

Acts 22:16; Psalm 51:7b; Isaiah 1:18
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name… Wash me and I will be whiter than snow… “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool….”

Ride on down the Highway

I had another sweet Virginia friend stop in yesterday to sit on my porch and drink a little sweet tea. I don’t flatter myself. I live on the 95 corridor; so the world does pass close to me and frequently enough. But can I just say how very much it means to me to be able to share my gentle world down here with my dear friends from up there?

Friendship is surely one of God’s kindest creations. I have books with nothing but sweet sentiments that could fill several blogs. But Christian friendship? Oh, that is the best. There is some common ground there that immediately turns us into a “cord of three strands”. We laugh and pray together and we both know that we hold the most important Person in history on the highest ground. And it’s always a rewarding time.

So this is a short one today. I just felt the need to say thanks, Donna, for a lively cart ride and to remind all my Virginia friends (and my Arkansas family) that we’re close to 95, easy to get to – until you leave the interstate at least – and there’s always a pitcher of tea waiting. You brighten my world. Only thing better would be to get you all together with my South Carolina friends. You would enrich each other; but I’ll see to that in Heaven.

Ecclesiastes 4:10, 12
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.