GRIT and GRACE

The Colorado Columbine is our state flower and my very favorite flower.  It just speaks to me of "grit" and "grace" as it grows in our Colorado Rocky mountains.  Its beauty is delicate and intricate and it can grow in very adverse circumstances.  I've seen them in the shadows under the spruce or aspen trees and I've seen them growing up through cracks in rocks above timberline where it could be cold and windblown.

One definition of "grit" means strength of character, courage and resolve, especially in the face of difficult or painful situations.  A definition of "grace" would be elegance, poise, dignity, refinement, and finesse.

Our character is molded by the way we respond to situations, particularly those that are difficult, such as health challenges, financial struggles, family difficulties, etc.  I believe the Lord has purpose for everything we are faced with.  I believe that, even though it's painful, unwanted and a difficult journey, my health challenges of the past few years have the Lord's purpose.  I don't know what that is and I may never know but I want to face it with "GRIT" and "GRACE as only the Lord Jesus Christ can give me.  I KNOW HE IS FAITHFUL and HE LOVES ME!!!

SNOW, SNOW and MORE SNOW

Winter of 2015-2016 brought us major snow but it was about a month earlier than this January 2017.  For most of January we had warmer temperatures, snow every now and then of 3-4 inches and the rain in between.  This repeated itself over and over and it was WET, SOGGY, MUCKY and MUDDY!  

Then Friday night, January 20th it snowed about  four inches and then on Saturday the 21st proceeded to cover that up with another eight inches!  Things didn't change much for a couple of days except for a flurry or two and then on Tuesday the 24th it just kept snowing and snowing and laid down another approximate 12 inches.  Sooooooo, then the plows, brooms, shovels and tall boots had to come out.  I shoveled hundreds of pound of snow last week!  And with that insulating cover of snow, the ground hasn't frozen, so it's still soggy under there.  But we need the water for summer irrigation!!  I think I heard that our mountain snowpack is 135% of normal!!