The holiday in Croatia was nice, but I was sick most of the time! Day 3-6 I was in bed instead of on the beach. "Better healthy in the mountains than sick by the sea" I thought to myself. I was looking forward to being at the sea so much and then the snorkeling and the air conditioning put me out of action right away because I got a bad cold. Such a bad luck! But now I'm fine again and I like being at home. Pleasant climate. Comfortable bed. Green landscape.
I went for a walk last night and looked at everything as if I were going on holiday here. It's beautiful! We have fields, a wooded stream and a beautiful mountain panorama just behind the house. The wheat field still has yellow stubble, the corn is huge and lush green, behind it the trees and the mountains in pale green and the clouds and sky in gray-blue with a last glimmer of evening light. The color combination alone is breathtaking. And when I look at individual trees and leaves, I am even more amazed.
Nature is beautiful all over the world. But we often only take a closer look while on holiday, just because we consciously seek the beautiful in unknown places and have time to explore them.
But I also want to be grateful for the everyday life at home and consciously perceive it and enjoy it what God created right here. Where I am right now. I like being at home. In my country, in our home. I don't need much to be happy. Hiking boots, a rain jacket, good drinking water.
I am glad that our home is so airy and that the things in our apartment are no longer that important to me. When the little neighbor children come to visit, I am no longer afraid that something will break. "Love people – use things." I actually like having guests now more than I used to. I don´t need things in my life to steady me anymore. And I don´t feel the pressure to impress with a tidy apartment anymore either. Somehow God managed to loosen me up and put things more in perspective. Love grows slowly. Also, to the neighbors.
Growth takes quite a long time in the garden as well, but now the first tomatoes and zucchinis are ripe. I can see tomatoes at every stage of ripening from my desk: yellow flowers, small green berries, orange tomatoes, red ripe tomatoes. Some things in my life have already matured, some still have to ripen and others still have to start growing at all. I pour my heart and drink God's Word. And then I wait and learn patience. Life sends wind and storm but also bees and sun. I want to enjoy my fruits and not be impatient with the green shoots. Some leaves have also dried up. Life is growing. And God brings us to the goal.
I have such dear neighbors! They water my tomatoes and feed the cat when we are on vacation. And I even have several of these good neighbor friends around me, not just one. I am so blessed! (Even though I was sick on vacation.)
What happens when we live God´s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
Galatians 5, 22-23, The Message