Thursday, April 24, 2014

Learning More and Dots Connecting

Have you wondered much what 
God's been up to throughout your life... 
-Maybe asked Him why He created you to like certain things
or wired you for something that you maybe
haven't figured out why ... yet?
I've had a lot of questions.
I'm sure many I won't know the answers to
this side of heaven.
But some... have been unfolding
abit "more."
Dots are connecting and 
as my Mentor describes it to me
it's like those dot to dot pictures where you 
draw a line from 1 to 2 to 3 and so on... 
with the revealing of a bigger 
beautiful picture over a lifetime.

Well recently through a series of dots...
I "came upon"   One Life Maps.
(God thing) 
It's a portfolio of maps that I'm 
prayerfully working and journaling through.

The night I started I was actually home alone 
and our power had went out.  
So; I sat by candlelight by myself and "began."  
I say by myself but in reality .. I can't exclude the company of a toteful of chirping 
baby chicklets away from their brooder heat lamp... 
oh and two pembroke welsh corgis.  
grin

I'm  sharing  this because 
when you find something "so good" 
it should be  shared don't you think?  

To date I'm now mapping the fourth one
which is called "Valley" experiences.  
So part of where I've been lately hasn't been
just gardening... but also
"mapping," 
Mapping with the Lord.
One of the first things to do is 
a timeline.  It was hard for me?
But through it... God's showing me 
connections.  Connections and 
these eyes are opening more
to my story.


 This is my most favorite photo of  Momma 
and me.  Through doing the peak experiences map
I also discovered it's a peak period for me.
Like... 
love for feathers....
that carried through.... 
then til now.

And how around the same point in life,
He placed me near a driveway or dirt road unlike any
I've lived around since.  It  was special. 
At around five years of age I became a rockhound.
No toy or doll could ever compare to the hunt of agates.  
I remember coffee cans full of agates.  
And at such a young age without knowing I was learning it-
I was discovering that something beautiful could be found on the 
inside of  the seemingly plain.  
My eyes became trained in spotting 
the special ones; even if the ordinary rock side
was all that was exposed.  
Didn't realize any of this until God used the maps 
to make me aware.  
Funny how every chance I get to go on a hike
still has me loading up
And I wonder now, ... 
how He might use all this 
still yet to come?
It's possible that He will.
And in these little dotted ways
I see that He "is." 







It's crazy really... 
Crazy and exciting all at the same
time.  


Another peak in those early years--
 ....Ordinary days filled playing with frogs,
toads, clams and crawdads as I 
walked  alone to the bay
at Clear Lake. No not alone... - I only thought I was.  
Because looking at a time line across life,
what I see most of all was that God was with me 
through it all.  

 Never lonely; never bored... 
but amused, filled uP and this adventure grew
deep... somehow carrying through
to 
today.



The love I have of the great outdoors
 feeds this soul 
and


 Frogs, toads and 
crawdads are still 
etched deep within.
?  
Why? ... so much I don't know...
and I wonder more... 

Mapping brought me 
back to bicycle rides that stirred 
several peaks together.
Around 7 years of age I'd ride my bike 
to the swimming pool and afterwards would 
walk next door to the library.  
Books like Sitting Bull, Sacajawea, and
Daniel Boone found their way  into my basket and were
pedal-ed home.  Sometimes with kings, queens and 
aces thrumming in the spokes; held in place
with wooden clothespins.
Once home, these delicious reads would be carried
to a hollowed out area in the middle of lilac bushes.
There;  in sweet fragrance grew a love for words, 
reading, writing, and plants.
 
 Within that era...
God began more
growing of this girl.

Through a series of events... 
gardening got planted.
Grandma Ruby had a big garden and 
often  had flowers growing by her doors.

Cockscomb, apple trees, zinnias-... and it was her garden
that I have as a first memory of gardening. 
All these little things were used ... 
in my growing... uP.
Things ... DOTS ... connecting...even
full circle to my own Lilac Bush...
More unique experiences 
happening....
and connecting... 
together.
Even to a New year's anchor verse... 
with my one word:
HEART. 
-- Oh yeah and the rock thing too.
so many tiny little dots...
growing... into another... 
making something seemingly insignificant
and ordinary...
to extraordinary. 
A couple days ago 
I planted snapdragons again.  
Once again, mapping turned them into another dot I could see.
A dot that I shared with my neighbor ...
and now all of you 
too.  
You're a dot now... 
:)  
My dots. 
And I'm yours.
cool huh?
Sorry; back to the story... 
It's the story of my very first 
garden ever!
I was 17ish.   Momma and I lived in a basement 
apartment together in Rapid City SD.  
For a surprise to her I cut a bit of  sod in our rented backyard
into the shape of...
yeah...it was a HEART.  
After digging all the sod/grass out of it... I planted it 
all in snapdragons.  It actually turned out pretty cool and she loved it.
Looking out the kitchen window ... you could see this big colorful snappy heart.
Heart.  
My very first garden was a 
all "heart."  
That just gets me.  And I know with everything in me God's  been drawing and growing 
me right to Himself through this whole journey.
Every step of the way.

All  this has been on my mind
and heart this week planting
and mulching.

I use newspapers for mulch 
wetting them first then layering about five thicknesses for a weed barrier.
You know how distracting it is for someone who likes to read
to lay out all these papers?
It's alot of words.   lol 
The lilac bush was in full bloom too so the memories 
of my favorite reading spot... 
well; good thing I'm not any smaller or I may have
holed right up with a book and wouldn't have gotten a thing done.
This week mapping in the mornings and then
getting my work done out here could really become another 
peak.  It was simple yet  big and uplifting... 
just so much of Him 
everywhere.  
Who knows what could  become of things...
... what "is" becoming ... 


The heart of this all
is real. 

 God is ever  moving...
and I'm so thankful.

5 comments:

Cora from Hidden Riches said...

Lea, as I read your post, I felt so happy! It seemed that all that you wrote was a HUGE illustration of Philippians 1:6 --- All things work together for good to them that love God. A while back, I went through the process of writing about all the people in my life from as far back as I could remember. It was amazing to see how, what I thought was so insignificant at times, was so used by God to form and shape and direct my life. To see you doing something similar is so thrilling to see. It does take all the "randomness" out of life, doesn't it????

Anonymous said...

It is still the middle of the night for you Lea, and morning here, but I got up and came over to visit the Potting Shed and am soooo glad. No matter how heavy I feel, you always lift me up. I am glad to be a dot and am thankful that God joined me up with you. Snapdragons remind me when I was young my Dad would gently squeeze the head and said, doesn't it look like a little rabbit feeding, I still do that now when I see them. I just love the pic of you holding the little toad, he is so cute!! Thank you for sharing all these blessings (and dots).
Jeanie

Denise said...

Such a blessing of a post, so glad you shared my friend. I love you.

Paula said...

Thank you for being my DOT!!!

Debra said...

Oh dear- reading your story I feel so connected-one of your dots. I too loved rocks, frogs and reading books and writing stories out in my little special places under trees. Amazing how God brings us together, how we can share things even from our childhoods.
Beautiful post-I loved it.