s t l u d A s r o i
Sen
April showers bring May flowers! We’ve heard that cheerful phrase since we were children. This is the time of year when the fruit trees explode into bursts of color, the birds are busy with their fledglings, and children wake up knowing exactly how many days of school are left before the summer break begins. But that’s not the end of the story! As the month progresses and the bees perform their duties, many of those flowers will give way to small fruits. Eventually, we’ll joyfully welcome the cherries, peaches, grapes, apples, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons, to mention only a few items that grow well in our rich valley. Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 tells us there is a time for everything. That is a particularly wonderful passage to re-read if you haven’t encountered it lately---especially for those of us who are vintage folks. Our youth culture is nervous about aging, but many of us who qualify for senior discounts, have found some delightful perks as we hit our fifties and beyond. Even though we are constantly bombarded by commercials encouraging us to use their products to prevent wrinkles and gray hair, many of us have found our later years to be the very best time in our life yet! We’ve survived rains (Sometimes we’ve even joyfully danced in them!), we’ve bloomed, and now is a time when we can share the fruits of our lives. With our families grown and our careers drawing to a close, we have the precious gift of time to reflect and enjoy the blessings the Good Lord has bestowed upon us. At our age we’re hoping that we can finally tell the mountains from the mole hills. We’ve even learned that a little dust on the coffee table is tolerable every now and then. In fact, we tell ourselves that it saves paper as one can make a quick note there without felling another tree. (Dust seems to be a renewable resource. It’ll appear again shortly even if we make a daily swipe with a cloth. So, why get all fluffed over it?)
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Pastor Jim Erixson Pastor of Congregational Care jim.erixson@fpcyakima.com
When we were children, we used to lie on the grass and watch the clouds change shapes. We enjoyed splashing in puddles and then listening to the wonderful “squooshing” sound that our wet socks made. We played with little bugs that would roll into balls in the palms of our hands. We carried rocks in our pockets that held a bit of sparkle in the sunlight. We wondered at the world. Then we grew up, and we became BUSY. Clouds passed unnoticed. Puddles meant additional and unwanted loads of laundry. Roses unfolded --unwatched and unappreciated-- as we went from one responsibility to the next. Now, we ‘seasoned souls’ are at a new point in life. We have more free time available than we did twenty years ago, and God has a new job for us. We are now to enjoy life and to share with others what He has done for us. We’ve reached the ‘fruit’ stage. We need to nurture others who might be experiencing rain. We need to share the joy we feel knowing that we are God’s children and that we have inherited His kingdom. So…DO take the time to stop and smell the roses…and then share His wonderful message—at the library, at the supermarket, at the gas pump, in a doctor’s office, at church, and across the fence— wherever He leads you. There’s still important work to be done. We all remember those childhood words—TAG! You’re IT! Well, that’s true here, as well. TAG! You’re IT! Share His word!
Carolyn Mason