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.