Rising again from sorrow’s ashes.
Coming up from the drowning of dreams.
Grasping for the hand of God, who had never for a second,
forgotten me in my sorrow.
Clinging to God who loves me; resting in God who rescued me from the drowning of my dreams.
Jenny W. Andrews copyright 2024
In my garden the flowers are being scorched by the late June sun. We are in a drought season meteorologists are saying. That is no lie. With the exception of some tropical flowers, the rest of my garden is wilting under the weight of the sun’s heat.
But. . .
There is always that flower that survives the scorching heat. It rallies despite the stress of the sun.
My roses are rallying although some of them quickly lose their petals.
Then there are my zinnias who bend, but, alas never truly break. They just keep adding stems and buds.
My sunflower has bent toward the sandy soil and has lost its lemony petals.
But. . .
Each flower is managing to fight to survive despite the challenges each faces.
My deep ruby-red calla lilies are staying strong with their beautiful curvy emerald green petals.
What’s amazing about these roses, calla lilies and zinnias is that each had faded last fall,
Now they are making a comeback.
So, beneath the cold earth of winter and the scorching sun of summer they have rallied.
They have rallied because that is what nature does.
God has set his own clock for the rhythm of this life.
I choose to be like a flower.
I choose to be resilient and to rally in spite of the elements that threaten to destroy me.
There will always be a hot sun bearing down on me (on all of us).
There will always be the cold grip of sadness and despair that will chill us to the bone.
But, like the rose and like all of nature, we can all rally and survive and make a come back despite the setbacks.
God is in control. He reminds us in scripture how he cares for us. He is the Creator and everything in this life has its own rhythm.
There will be sunny days; they will be stormy days.
There will be weeds in my garden; then they will be an abundance of pink roses, ruby-red calla lilies, and pink zinnias.
There is always hope.
Despite the weeds.
Jenny W. Andrews copyright 2024
Photography original work of the author.
These yellow flowers are called Wild Senna. I planted them early last spring, 2022. They only recently reappeared. The branches had seemingly scorched and blackened during the oppressively hot summer. I snipped some of the branches in early September in hopes they would regrow, and finally one morning I stepped out on my patio and saw the beginning of small yellow flowers.
New life; new hope.
It got me thinking that when it appears that all is lost, there is always hope. Deep within the soil God has provided each and every plant all it needs to survive and to thrive no matter what the difficult environments it may encounter.
Of course, some inevitably wither to never return, but I believe that remnants of that plant always remain because of the seeds that birds and insects have grafted and transported on the wind and into the soil.
Such it is with humanity. No matter how destructive this life can be, there is always hope that we will rise from the ashes of destruction. It is in our DNA. We carry the remnants of who we are, who our ancestors were, within our very blood.
We are forever rooted in this very earth upon which we exist.
We leave remnants of who we are to our children and our children’s children until infinity.
So, what to do with our short time on this earth? What shall we leave as our time in the sun fades?
Like the Wild Senna, we bloom for a short time, but even after that short time, our roots re-emerge and can branch out and blossom.
We never truly leave this earth. We leave behind whispers of our broken and discarded dreams; we leave behind our maddening hubris; we leave behind scars that mar future generations.
What for?
This life is temporary, but our actions reverberate through the milennia.
Yes, on this quiet Sunday morning in late November, I stand at the window and look out at the beautiful cluster of yellow Wild Senna and ponder the decades ahead and wonder if in the fall of 2053 who will find a tiny yellow flower poking through the sidewalk and ponder how it had blossomed there.
Such is this life; such is the remnants of humanity.
Mama said to me long ago, you reap what you sow. It comes from Galatians 6:7 in the Holy Bible:
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
As 2024 looms on the horizon, ask yourself what you want to sow.
Do you want to build up others, or do you want to destroy others?
Do you want to plant seeds of love, peace, and joy, or do you want to sow seeds of hate and destruction?
Each word that proceeds from your mouth can either destroy or comfort.
What remnant do you want to leave in your short time on this earth?
Never forget that God is still on His throne and will be forever. God will not be mocked.
We reap what we sow.
So, in the coming year 2024, ask in prayer how you can leave this earth in better condition than you found it.
How can you be the change for love, kindness, and peace that you want to see?
Rather than tear down, build up.
Rather than hate, love.
God is, after all, love.
Love.
Plant seeds of love, beauty, and peace.
After all, what you leave never leaves this earth.
We are forever rooted here.
God bless. Pray for peace.
Jenny W. Andrews copyright 2023.
Photography, copyright 2023 Jenny W. Andrews
As all my readers well know by now, I love to walk in gardens and take photos. Just the other day I posted a beautiful flower. On that day, I also took a photo of this beautiful holly tree. It is such a Christmas classic-red holly berries against deep green leaves.
No doubt, Christmas can bring sadness when it dredges up bad memories. Not everyone’s family reflects love and compassion; some are the walking wounded for whom this time of year is a painful reminder of cruelty, criticism and abandonment.
But, there is a family that does reflect love and compassion. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph reminds us that we who are believers in Christ’s promises are members of the eternal family of God.
In this family, we find joy and and assurance that no matter how dark the night, there is a light in that darkness that shines for all eternity for those who believe in Christ.
His light shines upon us and leads us to a peaceful place in our souls.
Christmas is a season that reminds me of that light in the darkness; that star high above me that shines with God’s eternal and infinite love and compassion.
Christ promises us rest in Matthew 11:28 when he says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
Rest.
Rest.
Don’t we all need rest? Haven’t we all grown quite weary with the burdens of the past few years? To say we have all been traumatized is indeed an understatement.
In this Christmas season, look towards the light that shines in the darkness. Look towards Christ and be assured that wherever you are or whoever you are that you are loved beyond human measure. Be assured that you belong to the family of God, that you are loved.
Listen to Christ’s promise: “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
And believe.
Merry Christmas!
Jenny w. Andrews copyright 2022
It’s been a very long four and half months since I’ve actually taught in the classroom. This morning I returned, but this time with a mask and social distancing. Trust me, that’s difficult when you’re trying to explain a concept and a student asks if you can check their grammar in the paragraph you’ve just assigned. My student and I giggled as we sprayed our hands with antibacterial spray and carefully handled the sheet of paper as if it were a grenade. Our masks obscured our noses and mouths. It felt as if we were either having an early Halloween, an educational masquerade ball, or were extras from the old television show Batman and Robin or the soap opera General Hospital.
While we both were a bit stressed about returning to face to face instruction, we both followed the protocol and actually enjoyed our class. I made sure to disinfect everything as much as possible. It was our first day back and it was successful.
Photography makes me happy. Looking at photos of nature and animals calm me. I wanted to share these with you all. The first picture is a beautiful white duck that used to live in a marsh next to the lake near my house. I love the calming effect of blue and white along with the orange bill of this duck.
The second photo is in Cobh, Republic of Ireland. I took this photo from the window of a tour bus. I thought it was so calming with the soft silvery shadows falling against the late afternoon sky and calm waters.
The third photo is a colorful window box attached to a a happy pink cottage in Bunratty Folk Park, Republic of Ireland.
The fourth photo is a sweet little donkey at Ring of Kerry, the Republic of Ireland.
This fifth and final photo is of a beautiful white pony at Newtown Farm Guesthouse in Youghal, Republic of Ireland.
Looking at beauty lifts my spirits. As I said, these past few months have been challenging. I feel better getting back into my routine although it is modified. Looking back at these happy memories from my trip to the Republic of Ireland lifts my spirits. They remind me that there is still a beautiful world out there. I can go and see this beautiful world if I choose to. Protocol might be modified, but I have to believe that it will all be better sooner than later. I have to continue to hope and to believe in the future.
I thank all of you for your encouragement during these challenging months.
There is hope for tomorrow. I have to believe that. As soon as I can, I am going to return to the Republic of Ireland and retrace my steps and walk new paths to places I didn’t explore the last time I visited.
Here’s to tomorrow! Never give up hope. Never.
Copyright Jenny W. Andrews 2020
Years ago, I used watercolor to paint this sunflower.
Now that I am at home all the time I have decided to revisit the stacks of artwork I have around my house.
Who knows? I might be a Van Gogh. Well, maybe not a Van Gogh. But, with all the time on my hands I might well be able to perfect my artistic skills and at least. . .I don’t think I will ever be Van Gogh, but I am having fun with returning to my artwork.
I guess with staying home I have decided to make the best of a bad situation and develop my creative skills in both art and writing. I have also found some great websites on how to learn to speak French. I have a notebook that I am taking my French notes in and I am listening to websites in French and reading in French as much as possible.
I am looking ahead to when I can go to France and visit Monet’s garden. I love flowers and Monet’s garden is absolutely exquisite. I have only seen it in photos, but I plan to go as soon as possible. I will take my sketch pad and spend several days just enjoying France.
All this we are going through right now will eventually pass.
There is always tomorrow; there is always hope.
There will always be sunflowers.
Go out tomorrow morning and draw one.
That’s what I plan to do.
Jenny W. Andrews Copyright 2020
Jenny Grace's Poetry and Creative Writing Techniques 