I LOVE FLOWERS!

The flowers above were sent to me by my dear friend Aimee last week (Thursday, March 20^th) to let me know that she was thinking of me. That was SOOOO sweet of her.

I LOVE FLOWERS! Yes, I know they die, and they are a luxury, but I still love them, and I'm always thankful when I receive them (which doesn't happen often, but it only takes once to make me happy!). When Green and I met, he brought me those gorgeous roses all the way from New England, so I've been very blessed with flowers in the past year!

I am one of those girls who loves flowers and floral arrangements. I'm not a garden gal. I definitely don't have a green thumb. I like the flowers when they are already in a nice arrangement. Oh, I do appreciate flowers in a garden, but I have no interest in keeping and maintaining a garden myself. Make sense?

When JLee received flowers after her surgery, she posted a picture of her flower arrangement, so I'm doing the same. I posted the picture of the roses that Green got me back in November, so that picture is there as well.

As you can see, I included a picture of my Riley "smelling the tulip." I think he would have liked to have eaten the tulip, but I just let him smell the flowers. He REALLY enjoyed smelling those flowers! REALLY, REALLY enjoyed it! Westies are actually known for their "Terrier-desire" to eat flower gardens, but my lovely arrangement was not his dinner or dessert. Thank goodness! : )

For those of you who reached out to me after my Father's death, let me say Thank You again. I really appreciate your kindness. Your words were like verbal flowers! Those are the everlasting flowers that create a bouquet in the heart!

THE PARADOX: LIFE GOES ON

The picture of Riley and me was taken yesterday. We were just goofing off with the camera. He was more interested in retrieving his tennis ball, and that was what he was looking at.

The glass frames are new, because I had had my other lenses and frames for over four years, and I just couldn't see out of them anymore. I was even having double vision which turned out to be the non-glare coating on my old lenses breaking down. Who knew that the lens coating starts breaking down after a year? My new optometrist in this area told me that he doesn't even offer the coating on the glasses he sells for that very reason. Who knew?

Note to Green: I tried several pairs of the no-frame glass types, and they didn't look right on me. The frameless glasses just looked "blah" on me, even though you look terrific and so handsome in yours. ; ) Even the two assistances said that I look better with the "pop" of color from the frames, and I know they weren't saying that for monetary reasons, because the frames I bought were actually less expensive than the frameless. Those frameless glasses aren't inexpensive.

I got the glasses on Monday, before my Father passed away on Tuesday, February 25th.

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As to my Father's passing, I included the picture of the beach bucket by the ocean because I felt like the visual vignette was a gift from God yesterday. The image was taken yesterday, March 1st on the stretch of beach where I walk regularly.

The image of the beach bucket has significance for this reason:

A respected female minister named Dr. Fuschia Pickett has an autobiography entitled Stones of Remembrance. That book is a wonderful read. Dr. Pickett died about two years ago in her 90s, but she was a powerful woman of God in her time.

In the book she talks about a time when the Lord showed her a vision of the choice of having relationship with Him. The Lord showed her a little girl on the beach with a beach bucket. The little girl goes into the surf and gathers water in the beach bucket. She comes safely back to the shore with her bucket, and then God asked Fuschia a question. He asked her if the little girl could say that what was in her bucket was the ocean. Fuschia says, "Of course." The Lord then asked if what was in that bucket was "all" of the ocean. Her response was "Of course not."

The Lord then explained to her that we all have that kind of choice, and God presented her with the options. We can stay safely on the shore with our "bucket of ocean" and call that the ocean, and that is actually correct. That small bucket is the ocean, but it is not the totality of the ocean - just a small portion, but that little portion is "happiness" for a child. The other option is to put the bucket down and rush head first and head-long into the vastness of the ocean. This experience is exhilirating, adventurous, and eternal. We can never run out of exploring this ocean. There are limitless things to see and experience here. THIS is the ocean.

I have returned to this story many times in my life. It has so much application and meaning to me.

When I saw the purple bucket on the ocean yesterday, I knew it had meaning for me - a gift from God, but I now realize that I didn't even fully understand its total implication until today. I know that the bucket was a comforting reminder from the Lord that I do run head-long into the ocean in my love and search for Him. I felt that the bucket was a confirmation from God that He is and always was and will be my Father.

The other way I realized the bucket's meaning was in terms of my own earthly Father. I feel like the Lord was saying to me that Dad put down that "limited bucket of God" when he passed on this week and ran head-long into the arms and ocean of God's love. It was as if I saw my Father experience "abandon" for the first time. It was like I saw my Father as a happy and carefree child. It was a large comfort.

Thank you for letting me share this with you.

Here's to abandon and that glorious, expansive "ocean" of a loving heart we can call Abba Father.

My prayer is that we all get "lost" in that love.