A Well Watered Garden

Last week, those of us in Toronto, went through a heavy rain storm the like of which we have not seen in a while. It was quite the sight to see people being rescued by canoe in the heart of the city. Working for an insurance company the expected happened. The phones were jammed with people calling in with complaints of flooding and wanting the insurance company to pay for the damage. It is not easy or pleasant to explain that there is no insurance against flooding or any event that is a result of the effect of nature or also called an act of God. I wanted to say "Duh...what kind of insurance can you hope to buy against the plans of an Almighty God? Which earthly organisation could claim to offer this kind of insurance?" While I had to go over this again and again with very angry clients, it got me thinking about the biggest calamity that can hit us - death itself.  Praise God that we can have guaranteed coverage with the premium paid in full on this one!! It is even free

In the Old Testament there are a number of times when God commanded His people to set up remembrance stones - these are to be reminders of God's mercy to His people for future generations to know and remember. I have been pondering on my own remembrance stones and the "aha" moments when God has spoken to me and given me a deep and clear revelation of Himself. Was He preparing me for such a time as this? We know that His time line is not ours and that He knows the beginning from the end. As I look back now I see that He was definitely speaking to me. It was the summer of 2006 and I was going through a desert time in my own life - really burdened and parched for His Spirit. I remember waking up one morning and coming down and telling Julius who had just finished his quiet time. He told me that he had received great comfort from Psalm 78 and so I decided to read it to. Psalm 78 is  in itself an account of God's mercy to His people and their rebellious and sinful resp

 A week short of 2 months and as I look back, it seems that my deepest fears have come true and I am living in them. Fear of loneliness, of pain, of constant aching grief, of a future without Julius, of managing finances (never having paid a bill in my life), of car accidents, of making decisions without the steady calm voice of reason beside me, now in a very small group of women (or so it seems)called widows who have walked this road... Occasionally someone will say to me, 'You are a very strong person." Let me explain - I am not strong. It is Who I am tethered to that is my Strength - My Lord Jesus Christ. God gave me a beautiful visual lesson in my own garden that I hope will encourage you as you read. In the winter of 2012, we had an ice storm and I remember waking up and seeing our beautiful tall cedars completely bent to the ground with the weight of the ice. Julius looked for a gospel illustration as he always did with everything it seemed, and said that