Author: E.Y. Redal

hunger for Beauty

I stepped out of my kitchen door the other day and saw a bunch of tiny, white flowers blooming! They seem to be smiling at me and saying, “Look at us. It’s March!’ It is March and soon the trees will be budding out and flowers blooming. It gave my spirit a boost, even though I have enjoyed being inside sitting in my rocking chair beside the glowing wood stove. There is something inside us that loves what God has created, the trees,mountains, streams and oceans. We can be extremely thankful because America is full of these.

We hunger for beauty and we can find it just by opening the windows and letting in the fresh air. But if we open the door and walk along in our own neighborhood we can be filled. Look at the green grass, the trees which already have tiny buds on them. Look at the big evergreen trees that are waving in the breeze and the flowers just about ready to put on their show. At night we can dream by looking at the moon and the millions of stars that are shining just for us! Yes, we have beauty all around us.

I find that people aren’t looking for beauty at all. They drive their cars as fast as they can and don’t notice the beauty around them. They seem to be so interested in texting on their devices, they wouldn’t see a rose if it were blooming right in front of them. In fact, they seem to be so involved with their devices they don’t even have any feeling for the people near them.nI watched one day as four young men were sitting on a couch texting each other. I guess that seemed better then talking to one another.

So, what is the answer? That’s simple, It’s God. If we let him lead us he will open our eyes to see glimpses of truth he has for us. We will still use our devices but sparingly. We’ll be too much involved in the people around us and we definitely will look at creation. We’ll find that we will smile more readily and we will treat our family better and we will be filled with beauty. I am writing on things i know. My life is filled with God leading me, but it also is filled with times when I wasn’t so concerned  with God. You can read about that in my book, “He Leadeth me, a Grandmothers Story.” which you can find at Amazon.com.

She’s Fourteen This Week!

Sarah, my granddaughter,will be fourteen on Thursday and a fine young lady she has become too! She is a good Volleyball player and an excellent student and she has lots of friends. But I remember when it was Grandpa, Sarah and me. You see, because of family problems, Mama had to work. And I am awfully thankful that she trusted Grandpa and me to care for her.

I think often about saving scraps from the table for the chickens. Sarah wasn’t big on eating the crusts of the bread so we put them in a big bag. Grandpa and Sarah would leave every morning to “feed the chickies. (at the blessing of the owner, I might add). I never took their picture but I have one stored in my heart.  Grandpa is lifting Sarah high so she could reach over the fence and call “Here chickie, come chickie” and they would come. two of them were geese, many times bigger than Sarah.

Another thing I remember very well is playing the game of princess. She, of course, was the princess and she dressed in my small lace tablecloth and carried my knitting needle. I was the wicked queen who put our princess to sleep. The only way to wake her up was to bring her a rose and kiss her. Since we were only two people, I suddenly became the handsome prince who just happened to have a plastic rose. I knelt down beside the sleeping beauty and kissed her. And did she ever wake up! My! what antics she had, but she finally was awake and the game was over for another day.

We had a 30 foot motorhome back then, and Sarah loved to pretend to drive it. After she drove it awhile, she would hear a knock on the door. It was grandpa and grandma coming for lunch. She’d sit us down at the table and feed us wonderful pretend food. She loved to pretend the motorhome was really her home.

There are many things I remember about having Sarah, but later, little baby Megan came to stay in the daytimes too. We went to the park playground then and that was fun. But using grandpa’s lawn wagon was the most fun. I would put a blanket inside and the two girls would get in. We pretended we were on a camping trip and I’d pull them all around the park, stopping at various picnic tables, mostly because I needed a break!

But, this week Sarah will be 14! She might not even remember these things we did. I hope she does because after she is a grown woman, she can do those things with her little girl. Anyhow, on Thursday I’ll sing “Happy Birthday” and I’ll add “May God richly bless you” too.