"Nickolas Herman was a second-century
French cook who came to faith in Jesus at the age of eighteen. He saw a bare tree in winter. He stopped and marveled that it would soon be full of flowers and fruit. He was so overwhelmed with God's goodness that he simply fell in love" - Living Prayerfully by Jared Brook.
Religion points to that area of human experience where man comes upon mystery and an overwhelming sense of the divine.
"Real prayer comes not by gritting our teeth but from falling in love." -Richard Foster.
Nickolas would later, after fighting in a war, become a monastery cook and he choose the name of Brother Lawrence. He wanted to be drawn close to this presence he had experienced and after reading many spiritual books decided that the only way to do it was to practice and be aware of the presence of God no matter what he was doing. It could be cooking or serving or washing dishes.
I think if I could do this I would be a better dishwasher. Or I can let dad and Kim do the dishwashing.
His letters to a friend would later become a book called : "The Practice of the Presence of God".
This happened after his death and against his wishes but it has touched many, many lives over the years.
I would like to go back and take this picture in the summer after the miracle called spring would bring new life to these barren branches. I am always amazed at how growth occurs in the hidden and unseen parts of our lives.
Carol surprised us with a visit in the afternoon. Dad had just gone for an out door bike ride and we were finishing up lunch. I had made a lemon cake but left out the oil but we ate it with her as Carol likes lemon. It was almost like I knew she was coming but I didn't.
God works in an unseen realm to renew our energy and change us on the inside so that even though our circumstances are the same we can cope with them.
2 comments:
Mmmmm lemon is one of my favourites. I made lemon cookies for Carl, that had icing in between two cookies and they were soooo good. I just had to try them and made myself sick.
A lovely thought about the tree with it's bare branches and how amazing it is to see it come to life with blossoms and leaves.
I once wrote a poem about the red willow....Have you even seen the Red Willow, with it's branches reaching through the snow, waiting for the warmth of the sun to re-new it's life once more. I forget the rest...it is on paper somewhere.
It was a family supper day, our Granddaughter drove out from school in Winnipeg. I made two pots of cabbage rolls and some perogies. We had her Dad, Mark and our other son Bob for supper too. Lots of fun and good laughs. She is almost through first year engineering.
It was a beautiful spring day with lots of melting and the overnight temp is above 0....the snow is going quickly.
wishing you a lovely evening,
Love Nancy
No I have not seen the Red Willow must be something to see it above the snow.
So you write poems, paint and play music Amazing! And you cook too.
I have no real flour in the house so it is GF or store bought.
Have another fun day saying good-bye to the snow.!
Love Beth
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