“What is THAT? STOP!”
He jerks to a stop right there in the road. I fumble for my camera while I keep my focus on Lake Abby.
I snap a couple of pictures of the black and white bird that floats in the center.
We have no idea what it is.
Pastor talks about the church today. And how we are His workmanship, his handiwork, His masterpieces.
One-of-a-kind works of art, each with our own part to play.
Our own place to shine.
Stained glass shimmers, and I think how each of us is stained and broken.
Shattered shards.
Scooped and shaped into works of art designed to do good works.
Not to earn His favor but to spill His grace.
To bleed His colors.
Some days I feel trapped. Glued to a life I didn’t plan or anticipate.
You’d think someone my age would have more freedom.
But I’m not sure how to break loose, to fly.
Or if I even should.
Or want to.
So I just try to stay in the center.
Anyway, After church and lunch, we see the whatever-it-is still floats in the pond.
Waiting for me.
I don high boots to make my way over broken corn and cattail stalks and squish through mud for a closer look. I ignore the brush of teasel that snags my slacks.
A pair of geese sound their disapproval as I approach.
It’s some kind of duck. All alone. It floats and dives. Makes it hard to focus. I snap until the camera battery dies.
Later we look it up in the Audubon Field Guide. There it is. A bufflehead duck–short for buffalo head. A small little guy with an odd-shaped head. Only weighs about a pound, we read. Stunning in its black and white. It paddles and dives in the center of our pond all day.
A masterpiece of creation who could take off and fly away at will. But whose only purpose and work today seems to be to give me joy.
I could take a lesson from that duck.
Counting the Gifts.
A slice of lemon meringue pie.
Summer in March.
Night sounds through open windows. Is this really Michigan?
A pair of mallards in the back yard.
Swinging with a grandgirl.
Yellow forsythia in bloom.
Girls playing with a hose.
More new books.
A tall glass of iced green tea.
Cooking on the grill.
The sound of a lawnmower.
Grandgirl kisses.
An ever-changing morning sky.
The cross.
I wrote about vacationing birds today as well…’tis the season…oh, you’ve made me hungry for pie now…thanks.
Not just any pie. Lemon meringue. I have to confess. There’re weren’t many slices on the buffet table at church, and the real food line was so long, and we were at the end of the line and so–I had to get dessert first…
Remarkable photos … and thoughts!
Coming from you, Susan. That blesses me. Can’t wait to show you what was on the “lake” this morning. I’m thinking Saturday’s post…if I can wait that long.
You refresh me, Sandy.
🙂 🙂
Ah for forsythia and bleeding his colors.
~ Wendy
And soon…lilacs!
Cool images miss Sandy. I have a thing for teasel, especially talking teasel (that’s another story though).
And why do you feel trapped? Is this not the place God has put you? I reckon you fly more than you realize. 😉
Blessings.
Talking teasel?
That trapped feeling. Yep, He’s put me here. Or allowed it. And I’m still looking for ways to stay put and fly, too. 🙂
I love those gifts, given in the moment, that seem to have no other purpose than to give me joy. I know, somewhere in my head, that they probably hold other purposes as well. But in the moment, knowing those isn’t necessary to my happiness.
Enjoying summer in New England in March as well. Bring it!
There are so many gifts given in our moments. We just have to pause to notice, yes?
This resonates Sandy. I thought so many things about what this season of life would hold. We simply can’t know what His plans are, but staying centered….that’s the secret I think.
The pictures are stunning. I love that sweet duck. Yes, they can teach us so much.
Staying centered–in the center. Did you notice the cross in the center of the stained glass. And I ended the post with a cross. I didn’t realize that.
Only God could make a buffalo head duck….just to make us smile. I love how you weave wonder in between all those other thinking-hard words.
beautiful photos!
I wonder what Adam would have named that duck…
You bless me, Jody.
Keep staying close to Him, and sharing your thoughts and photos with us…Thank you, Sandy 🙂
Thank you, Dolly, for your sweet encouragement.
I love the way you take the moments and seasons and spell out beauty from the “scattered shards.”
He is an amazing duck – thanks for sharing the gift with us.
Thanks for those words, Maureen. They bless me more than you know.
Really love your pics. Amazing that you got close enough to snap them, and that the bufflehead continued to “be in the picture” for so long. What a thoughtful post! We are blessed to have so many God-incidences in our lives, nice surprises to turn our hearts to Him.
The Lord watch over you today.
Ahhh. I didn’t get all that close. I had my “big girl” camera. 🙂
I just love this pond. I’ve mentioned before how it’s an “accident.” The result of a broken county drain that we have to pay to fix if we want to farm that spot. But we’re not willing to spend the money. 🙂
Oh, I have a post very similar to this one just percolating away in here. And you KNOW I just love bird (and duck) talk. Lovely, lovely, Sandy. And reading your list of things to be grateful for – well that puts me right smack in the center: swinging/grandgirl kisses and glimpses of summer. Yes, that’s just about right. And every piece of that helps with that trapped feeling somehow.
Do you think God knew we needed an early spring to raise our souls from winter?
I like what you said: created to do good works. Not to earn His favor but spill His grace.
So often we are trying to earn what we already have …
Love your list of blessings as well… of course, now I want pie … and grilled food …
Trying to earn what we already have…That’s deep and wide, Jerralea.
I enjoyed the fact that you seek the “center” of things and can focus on what you see and find the beauty of a small duck that brings you a lesson of how to view life and what God wants us in our life.
I’m trying to develop the eyes that see. So many gifts He scatters right in front of us. Thank you, Kathy.
Oh, friend this:
Some days I feel trapped. Glued to a life I didn’t plan or anticipate.
You’d think someone my age would have more freedom.
But I’m not sure how to break loose, to fly.
Or if I even should.
Or want to.
So I just try to stay in the center.
Thank you. I too, need to learn from the duck!
He’s given us a wide open classroom. It’s just a matter of stepping outside and looking. Although there are plenty of places inside to find Him if we center. Love to you, Alyssa.
That duck is spectacular and you remind me of me with the camera. Stopping at will to get a good photo. And I could use the lesson from that duck too.
Ha! Today I stopped in the road, accidentally laid on the horn while retrieving my camera, and when I was done snapping, I looked in my rearview mirror to see a car behind me–patiently waiting.
something about that duck just makes me smile. he’s looking at me. or you. you know, sometimes it feels like the older i get, the less free i am. i’m purposely shaking off those fetters today, Sandy. Thanks for the inspiration to do so.
That last picture–the expression on his little cocked head–like he’s asking “what’s up?” or “what are you looking at?”–just tickled me. One of those things you don’t see until you process the picture. That’s what I love about my camera. Why I think I fly with it. 🙂
I love the photos! And the analogy with stained glass. I find it hard to embrace the work of art that I am, thank you for this post!
Repeat after me.
I. Am. Art.
I. Am. Beautiful.
I’m saying those words right along with you, friend.