The oleanders are fully in bloom! My yard is scented with a honey-like aroma that stuns me with its warm headiness. I inhale deeply, unable to breathe in enough of the scent, as attracted as a bee to the sweet fragrance. Lovely as the masses of white, pink, and fuchsia colors may be, it is the scent, which most attracts me. When I lived in Michigan, spring meant lily of the valley, lilacs, and hyacinth. I feared I’d have to sacrifice those fragrances, but now I see that I have been given a different but no less lovely scent to enjoy. And so God works in my life. I surrender sources of happiness, committing them to my memory bank, but receive others unexpectedly. Oleander was an unknown plant; its sweet perfume something I could never have anticipated. Thank you, Lord, for continuing to bless me in ways I could never anticipate, allowing me to hold unto the best of the past, and showering me with fresh gifts each new day. Amen.
An After-Easter Prayer “Behind him [John] came Simon Peter, and he went straight into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth which had been around
The sand cliffs were being steadily eroded by the approaching tide, sharply outlined and then crumbling under the advancing waves. From where I walked I could see the waves had
