One Thousand Gifts: The Plum Tree

Spring is in full swing here in the Ozarks.  It seems like everybody keeps holding their breathe for one last winter storm, but each day gets a little warmer, and each day winter seems more and more like a thing of the past. 

A couple of weeks ago, our plum tree started blooming.  Last spring I was enthralled with all of the blooming trees and flowers springing up everywhere you looked.  Spring in the Ozarks truly is a magical time.  But last spring, I didn’t have the plum tree.  In wonder I watched as the buds began to form, and then started to open into the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.  And oh, how they smelled sweet!

Each morning I would sit at my kitchen table, gazing out at that plum tree.  It was like a fairy tree revealing all its mysterious glory.  I couldn’t help but thank God every time I saw that tree.  After all, what does it reveal about Him, that He would craft something so entirely captivating? 

The blooms are starting to fall and the leaves are branching out.  The enchanted look of the tree has now faded into the background.  My gaze is onto the next thing to spring up or bloom.  Yet, in my memory I hold the image of that lovely tree…and the promise of what each spring will hold.
 
261. Spring, the time when I see His handiwork most clearly here in the Ozarks.
262. Getting to gaze out my window at plum trees and flowers blooming, instead of concrete and cars.
263. The magical effect of daffodils springing up along every ditch.
264. The earthy smell that pervades our yard after rain.
265. True friends and fellowship.
266. Joining hands with brothers and sisters in Christ to serve the Lord by cleaning up yards for people who need it.
267. Another good report about baby…just one more week and we get to find out if Baby Baker is a him or a her!
268. Feeling Baby Baker move all the time now…and Andy being able to feel it too!
269. Another sweet cousin for our own baby, due in October.  Congrats to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law!
270. Another week to spend living the life God has given me.