Like a Butterfly...(or, Beneath a Beaming Breadth of Sky)

How sacredly grief keens awareness 

to the preciousness of 

what we sometimes call Ordinary.

How it stuns us, as we realize 

it is Love!

and, what we once considered 'little things' 

are in reality the big things;

the hymn of touch, 

a smile, a hug, a card, a bloom,

a handshake, 'hello', a child, a chick,

an autumn afternoon,

a cup of tea, a meal and 'small-talk' shared, 

a breath-prayer, a holy pause

to marvel at God's infinite supply of mercies 

and then to thank Him, because

no matter what was or will be

He loves and cares for you and me 

***

It's so hard to accurately describe the beauty

of compassion from family, neighbors and friends;

 how your/their tender love strangely sweetens 

sorrow's most bitter parts

Thank-you to each and every one of you

as you remind/teach me anew

 1 Cor. 13:13

And now these three remain: 

faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.

***

Love never fails;

it turns heart-wrenching loss

into a startling gift

we would never choose

or know;

a gift, God-breathed to heal

grief's brutal wounds

as love's tears flow...

***

Ps.147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

***

Isa.52:7

How beautiful on the mountains (or in a barnyard) 

are the feet of those who bring good news, 

who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, 

who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 

“Your God reigns!”

These youngsters (blurred to protect privacy)

 overflowed with sympathy, questions and conversation

at the farm where I buy our fresh-as-they-come eggs

(often they run to gather them, still warm with the touch of God!)

SO many gentle moments to cherish...

Beneath a beaming breadth of sky

Life feels like a cheek, kissed

As Time wafts, like a butterfly

To bygone’s croft of mist

As joy and sorrow’s interplay

Composes Bittersweet

Arrangements, strewn like petal-fray

That flutters to the street

Where Fleeting Footfalls thrum and fade

Through seasons come, to pass

Like subtle arpeggios played

On keys of breeze and grass

Where children romp, their innocence

Cradles oblivion

To the brute strength of mere moments

Ever-so-deftly spun

Like threads, into a work of art

As tears and laughter meld

Love’s precious glints of heart-to-heart

That we so briefly held

Beneath a beaming breadth of sky

Where Today/lifetimes seem/s so small

As we waft like a butterfly

Toward Dusk’s shadow fall

Beneath a beaming breadth of sky

By faith we humbly hear

God, kindly whisper, 'here am I

To catch each falling tear'

© Janet Martin

My neighbour, walking from her house to mine, bringing last night's supper 💝

and last but not least

this morning's kind reminder devotion from the book

Springs in the Valley by Mrs. Chas E. Cowman