Jim Reeves-------- Nostalgia

Last week, my climbing roses were at the peak of their blooming, with clusters
dark red roses cascading over the climbers they were on. Just looking at and smelling them gave great satisfaction and distraction and what struck me about it is how slowly came up
as buds, then opened up in groups and then a blast of colour at various stages. For almost two weeks, the pair presented a wonderful spectacle and each time I had a minute to look at them or pick some, I wondered about life and the fleeting nature of it.
This week, the blooms are no more, just shrivelled and drying remnants of them, which
must be trimmed off with the branches holding them to make room for the new shoots.
On two occasions, I cut some and took them to work knowing that the blooms would only last a few days.
Life becomes such a hassle that sometimes we forget to give ourselves a little break and
enjoy the very ordinary things God put in place for us, before we made our own gadgets
which actually present more problems for our lives. Thank God for all His creation which
surround us , to bless and encourage us.
The roses have faded today, but the other plants, flowers, onugbu and arimu/ahimu/nchu-anwu, spearmint, and other, are happy and exploding with growth again, with the weeds and grass in tough competition to outdo them. There is never a dull moment out there, in God's nature.
In the evening, it is the red-headed woodpecker who arrive around 5:30 pm to do his/her rap on the tall utility pole across the street---kpo-kpo-kpo-kpo-kpo-kpo-kpo- in a fast steady pecking, then a pause to pick up the carpenter ants. After watching the pecker do the job from a distance, I, one day used a bird watchers binoculars I had found at a thrift shop, adjusting it until it brought the bird so close that I could see what he was doing very well. Concentrating and working very hard, rapping on the pole with the hard beak, quick jabs, then harvest. He had no clue somebody was watching him at work, as he stops to look around to make sure he was safe. Now whenever I am home and I hear the rapping,I watch the pecker for a few minutes and many thoughts go through my mind. How God watches us when we go about our business, doing our thing, watching others or making it look like we are watching them and spreading our report, running around like little robots dizzy with activity and God follows with His ever-seeing eyes. How much we must amuse Him.
That pecker never knows how closely he gets watched sometimes and how easily he can be
aimed at. We rush and stumble through life daily forgetting how close to the edge we get. Only the hands and presence of the Almighty keep us from day to day. May His name be praised.
Enjoy this song from one of the greatest in childhood days with hits like -----My Cathedral, Dark Moon and many others, but this is the best for today------ enjoy it and have a blessed day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rKIcYgSf8Y