Month: December 2024

Merry Christmas

Thank you for taking a moment amid all the celebration to join me in the Victory Garden.

Years ago, a favorite pastor reminded us that the Lord who lived for nine months in Mary’s womb, lives eternally in those of us who call him Lord.

Take a moment and let that sink in.

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The Spirit of God lives in us.

And I wilk ask the Father, and he will give to you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. John 14:16-17.

And just as any mother must take care of the life growing within her, we need to take care of the holy life abiding within us. Feed, nurture, listen to that being’s needs, desires, urgings.

The baby Jesus left Mary’s body, but His Holy Spirit leads ours into an ever-closer relationship with God and Jesus, into an eternal life with our God.

If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through the holy Spirit that dwells in you. Romans 8:11.

And just as Mary brought Jesus into the world, we are privileged to bring His love into the world around us. The Holy Spirit has come upon us (Luke 1:35), and we are bearing the fruit of His presence, extending His kingdom with our obedience to his calling.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit from God, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19.

The Spirit of God lives in us who profess Jesus as Lord. Hallelujah. Christ the Lord is born today. Where meek souls will receive him, the dear Christ enters in.

Merry Christmas!

Love in Christ, Betsy

Buried Garlic

The cold damp air stings my cheeks. Soon it will start to rain, that miserable 40-degree cold rain that signals winter in the South.

The garlic needs to be planted this morning, before the rain, before Christmas. I poke holes in the cardboard and bury my unwrapped cloves in the dirt. The scent of wet dirt fills the air and competes with the tang of the garlic.

Poor little garlic cloves. I have separated them from their families, stripped away all their protective layers, and buried them in the cold, dark earth alone. Do they know this is the only way they can grow and reproduce and expand their presence in the world? Probably not. If they feel, they feel vulnerable and lonely and exposed. Perhaps they are scared and doubt that what held true for previous generations will still hold true for them. Will God turn them into big, beautiful garlic bulbs?

Life can be scary sometimes. Occasionally, we are led to do things in direct contrast to what we want to achieve. It makes no sense to us. Sometimes, to become a beautiful gift to the world, we must strip ourselves of our protective layers and sit alone in the dark for a while.

Think of the nine months when the creator of the universe grew in Mary’s womb, subject to her diet, her sleep patterns, her movements, and her health. Think of the caterpillar hidden in a confined cocoon. Time and God alone will make the transformation, create the growth, enable the blessing to break free.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Matthew 17:1-2.

Sometimes what we see is not all there is, even within ourselves. God can transfigure even garlic cloves into what they have the potential to be. He transfigured Jesus to show His radiant glory, and He can transfigure us to share that glory with others. He can turn us into our best selves, if only we take the time to be alone with Him.

I was in a centering prayer group for years until it disbanded. Now, I have found a new one, and I marvel at the blessing it brings. Just to sit in the presence of God in silence for twenty minutes. No demands, no wishes, no praises even, just silence in the presence of the almighty and loving God. I sense His Spirit within me needs this communion. I sense I need this vulnerable and exposed time alone with my Savior.

Some of you may feel your life is on the spin cycle. Perhaps the washer is shaking with the load. Turn it off for a few minutes. Just stop and sit in silence with your friend Jesus for a little while. It may feel scary. You may doubt that God will do for you what He has done for previous generations. You may feel vulnerable and exposed.

Have faith, dear friend. Just as the garlic needs this time in the dark, you may need this time for God to transform you into your best self, a gift to the world.

And the one who is seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5.

Christmas is a week from today. Too often it is marked by stress and activity and chaos and travel and eating and drinking. Take a moment to strip away your protective layer, poke a hole in your veneer, and sit alone in the dark with God. You may not see the results for a while, but God will use that moment, and any more you give Him, to make you into something new.

Love in Christ, Betsy

The Unknown and the Constant

I took advantage of the warm sunny afternoon to prepare more of my garden for the coming months. The recent freeze had killed the weeds which still grew along the edges of the tomato garden, and I wanted to extend the cardboard under the fence before the weeds grew back.

The weather was perfect. Bright sun elevated my spirit, cool weather kept me from overheating, birds twittered from the hedgerow, commenting on my progress. A wonderful way to spend an hour before the big game started.

How different gardening has become in the years since my husband passed. Nick never touched the garden once hunting season started. Now, tomatoes grow into October, and I spread the winterizing of the garden over months. Nick tilled every spring, an arduous task that I am learning how to avoid. If I can improve my weed prevention techniques, perhaps I can maintain a no-till garden.

I wonder, though, if perhaps the old ways were better. My creeks will flood again. They do so every ten years or so. I depend on it to refresh the garden soil. If the garden is covered, how will the soil be replenished? Perhaps I will need to vary the methods, pull up the cardboard around the plants and use weed cloth, let the garden go to grass every few years and till it. Maybe I will need to have a fallow year. (What would I write about!!)

It seems the future of my garden is full of unknowns. Even if I did all the research for best practices, the weather is different every year, the soil is different, my availability is different. My garlic was to be planted in November after the first freeze, but we didn’t freeze until December, green grass still covers my yard, and the garlic bulbs sit by the door. They need cold earth to propagate. I may have already waited too late, but I will bury the bulbs soon no matter the weather.

Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:14-15.

I have lost two friends suddenly in the past month, as well as the mother of another friend. Life is one way, and then that way changes. The patterns I have established for my life change, not because I want them to, but because the world around me has changed. Just like my garden is different now. I adapt. We all do. The option to not adapt is there, but the results aren’t pretty.

Maybe that is the beauty of our faith in an Eternal God. He is our constant while the world around us changes. He is our north star when we are lost, our point of focus when we are spinning. He is with us, not only here and now, but also as we change from this life to the next. What a gift! What a blessing to have an eternal God beside us, before us, behind us, and through the gift of His Spirit, within us.

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness is to all generations. Psalm 100:5.

Christmas is in two weeks. It won’t look like what it used to look like for me. Maybe it won’t for you either. It’s okay to miss the way things used to be. It’s okay to adopt new patterns. It’s okay to change them around every year based on the situation at hand. The point is to keep our focus on God, on His incarnation as Jesus, on His presence as the Holy Spirit.

What a beautiful Christmas gift!

Love in Christ, Betsy

A Moment of Calm

Silence. My home has been buzzing with family and friends and cooking and cleaning and taking down and putting up. And amid all this chaos, I have been given a moment of calm.

I drink my coffee and marvel at how the frost sparkles in the sunlight. How big the birds seem all fluffed up against the sudden chill. When was the last time my grass was still green in December? Does this mean we will have big snows in March? What freedom to let my mind wander and wonder and leave it all in God’s hands.

The melody drifts through my thoughts. He has the whole world in His hands. He has you and me, brother, in His hands. There is plenty to do; there always will be plenty to do; but we can be calm and rest in the confidence that God has this.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 26:33.

I find it so easy to be caught up in the drama of the world. Little personal dramas of those I love. Political dramas which may or may not affect my life in the coming years. International dramas in which I have no role at all. If all that fails, there’s football.

At some level, I think I like the stress, the drama, even the chaos of family and friends and coming and going and taking down and putting up. Relationships are important. Purpose is important. I have a role – mother, grandmother, hostess, friend. I want to do my best in those roles.

But this moment of calm, what a gift!

In this moment of calm, I remember that my first relationship is to God the Father, Son, and Spirit. My primary purpose is to share His love with others.

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33.

Advent has begun. For many of us that signals an increase in activity. Church services, performances, luncheons, parties, family gatherings, decorating, shopping, cooking. Advent can be an emotional time as well as we long for Christmases past with people who have left us or remember situations we’d rather forget.

The Church tells us that advent is a time of quiet preparation, a time when we contemplate Christ’s incarnation. Imagine what it must have been like to move from creator of the universe, able to speak worlds into existence, to helpless infant, unable to speak at all. He considered a relationship with me, with you, with that annoying person down the street, important enough that He would give up everything to tell us He loves us. Amazing.

I am taking this moment of calm to let that thought soak in. Do I love anyone enough to give up all my abilities, all my possessions, all my identity to tell them I love them? How sad that even after doing all that, some refuse to believe Him.

What an amazing gift – His birth, His life as a human, His presence. How can I begin to thank Him for that? What could I ever give Him in return?

By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35.

As advent begins, dear friends, take a moment to sit calmly with God. All those other things can wait for a while. Let you mind wander and wonder. Think on the beauty of the world and the incredible gift of God’s incarnation. Let go of the chaos for a minute or two. God is good. God has overcome the world. God loves you. God loves every one of us.

God is with us. Christ be with you.

Betsy