Blooming

I’m flying home from Alaska today. Wow 😮 it was an amazing trip to see wonderful life-long friends. As my first solo adventure post treatment it was a celebration of my healing in addition to shocking my friend, Terah Lites, who was celebrating her birthday. Her family kept the secret well and we delivered an EPIC surprise 😆

The Lites live in Palmer, AK. The town has lots of amenities like lots of small towns but when you look up, you see ginormous mountains. The mountains are so splendid that it feels unreal to be going about every day business in their presence. It seems like they must be a national park, but it’s just the everyday landscape there.

The weather just started warming up to daytime temperatures in the 40’s to 50’s so snow covers the ground in most places and the mountains are covered in snow. Barren trees enhance the view of the peaks allowing you to see through them instead of green leaves blocking the way.

Soon those trees will quickly leaf out and wild flowers will appear. Fireweed will abound as part of that transition. A beautiful fuchsia flower, it is one of the first flowers to bloom after wildfire. Fire actually helps it germinate. Many souvenirs feature the flower because it symbolizes Alaska- the beauty amidst the rugged.

I was recently reminded how wild flowers are a symbol of God’s care for us. They are “here today and tomorrow are thrown into the fire.”and their beautiful petals encourage us, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Matt 6:30-34)”

Life is always offering us new reasons to worry. It can be hard to let go and trust instead. The writer of Psalm 121 put it this way, “I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (V 1-2)”

I felt His sustaining power this week as I traveled. My feet which are sore with the increased neuropathy from chemotherapy let me do some shopping and got me up and down the stairs in my friends’ home. I also saw a lot of beautiful sights from the car. I’m grateful for the wheelchair service at the airport.

It can be hard not worry about how these feet will carry me into the future. What will my mobility look like? Will I get back to what I had pre cancer, or will it always be diminished? Regardless, God assures me that He’s got this.

None of us know the future. Worrying about what’s coming can drive us crazy. Instead let’s come out of the fire stronger, with trust blooming. I watched God take care of my needs daily during treatment, and He isn’t going to abandon me now or ever. You either!

Look up- see the hills? See any beautiful flowers blooming this spring?Let’s let them remind us of their Maker and His help that is ever present.