Our country road was quiet this morning except for the occasional chatter of a bluejay. Long shadows criss-crossed our path as we hastened beneath the pine grove that stood as a strong sentinel against the vast wilderness beyond. 

The leash pulled taut as Blue and I rounded a curve. A stiff breeze whipped against my face. Thoughts tumbled through my restless mind: How are we going to make ends meet? How will we provide for our family this Christmas? How will I register for Writer’s Boot Camp? What if the surgeon finds something when he checks me next week? How? Why? What if? Auurrgghh! I wanted to scream.

The wind picked up. Through tears, I looked up into a royal blue sky. I stood still long enough to let the rush of wind wash over my troubled spirit. My thoughts turned to Jesus. “Jesus…Jesus,” I whispered. I felt His Presence in the wind. Peace settled over me like a fuzzy cloak of love. 

Following the Holy Spirit’s lead, I looked at the tangled mess of brown underbrush growing along the road’s edge. Much of it was broken and splintered. Several stalks of wild flowers, now brittle from winter’s chill, leaned into the wind, refusing to lay down. 

And then I saw what He wanted me to see.

Mingled and woven into this prickly brown landscape were arches of cerulean blue, a bit frosty in nature, with undertones of scarlet. They were everywhere, looping through the bleak, tangled nod to winter. What is that? I wondered. I leaned in for a better look. “Oh my goodness!” I hollered at no one in particular. “These are the stems of the wild primroses. Wow!”

I scraped a bit of the frosty coating from one of the blue stems, revealing a deep scarlet color. I stood in awe as I recognized the symbols of God’s Presence in my life: the gorgeous blue announcing  that He is the One True God – Maker of heaven and earth; the scarlet undercoating reflecting the Blood of Jesus – the One who died to set me free from these struggles. Even the thorns along the blue stems spoke loud and clear, reminding me of my Savior’s love. 

All about me were long strands of blue, woven through this dismal sea of brown foliage.
All about me was the evidence that my God is near.

 Psalm 8:3 & 4 reads, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You give attention to him?“

The Apostle Paul once said, “If God be for me, then who can be against me?” (Romans 8:31). Indeed! If God, Who made the heavens and the earth, is mindful of little ol’ me and gives attention to my needs, then who am I to walk in the company of anxiety and despair?

I choose to walk with Jesus. 
I choose to walk with thanksgiving as I consider the wild primroses proclaiming the glory of my Lord.

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If you received Morning Glory via email, please visit the Morning Glory  page to worship with Shawn McDonald as he sings, “Beautiful”. This song will reach down and lift you out of the miry clay that keeps you bound. I promise.