Peace be with all of you -
The grass is turning green and tulips are in bloom here in Kansas City. I hope this finds each of you well and taking time this Lent season to "fast" from the things that keep you from growing closer to God.
For the girls and I, so many blessings are continually poured out on us from Him through our many friends and family. First, I have found and started a new job with a local company that will keep the girls within their support network and allow us to pay the mortgage. On the day I received the job offer an orchid that we received in July and has been dormant since suddenly bloomed -- it was like heaven was smiling on the event. The flower has since opened a total of 12 blooms and remains a reminder of looking for the wonderfully beautiful moments of His grace in our daily lives. Some of the other blooms coincided with friends birthdays, friends job offers, and many other wonderful happenings. Its color is purple - the color that represents hope.
The girls continue through school and Grace has missed much due to illnesses but seems to be back on the healthy side again. Zoe has turned 10 and has had another surgery (now 20+) and did well - what a trooper and I pray that it helps her continue to relieve pain and improve muscle functions. We are all looking forward to Grace's 1st Communion - she has a beautiful dress and thanks to helping hands of friends she will have her hair done up way beyond my skills for the event. I have wonderful girls.
Recently, I came across a quote from Alexander Graham Bell ...
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
The quote became meditation and inspiration for me as I realized that I did not want to be consumed with looking backwards at events of the past even as treasured and sacred as they were are now are behind a closed door. I am able cherish memories and times past but must move forward with the here and now - God isn't the God of I was. Nor, is He the God of I will be. He is the eternal I AM - he is here now in this very moment. I know many of you may wish Ann was still with us - holding on to the way things were. However, I believe she is serving you still now in your current moments in her capacity in heaven. Through a number of messages from above, I am receiving the clear message to see the open doors in my life. In a beautiful way, this is the message and lesson of the orchid - to be in the present and to enjoy life through serving others.
If this message finds you "regretfully looking at a closed door of your past" I pray this message of Springtime Hope may help you in some small way towards the healing you may need in your life as well.
God is so good and I am so wonderfully blessed.
May God's mercy and grace rest upon you.
Hal
