Doubly Blessed

I arranged these two bouquets last evening, they graced the altar at church this morning. I come from the tradition, in a large church, where, when it was the Sunday that you dedicated the altar flowers, they were ordered for you by the church secretary and just showed up, arranged and delivered by a local florist to the specific norms adopted by the church. And then there was Grace, our mission church. We meet in the chapel of a funeral home and, until fairly recently, we trotted out the same silk arrangements every week. A few months back we adopted the precious tradition of signing up for a particular week and bringing flowers from home. There are no stipulations, they can be as elaborate or as simple as the donor chooses; anything from professionally arranged florist bouquets to cut flowers from one's own garden or even potted, flowering plants. It's exciting each week to see what fellow members choose to bring, since it's a personal choice we learn more about each other through this service opportunity; it's always interesting to me to see what someone may bring on a particular Sunday and why. Today was our Sunday, I signed up weeks ago, these flowers were dedicated to my mother and father this morning as they are celebrating doubly: today being both Father's Day and my mother's birthday! It is a joy-filled day, our family is doubly blessed. So, back to the arrangements being readied last evening, I thought for a moment about how we could transport two vases in the car without spilling water. I cut two holes in a shipping box after taping it shut all around and slipped the vases inside. Voilà! (I haven't lived with an engineer for over forty-two years without picking up a trick or two.) It worked out just perfectly.

Happy birthday, Mom, happy Father's Day, Dad.

These altar flowers today are dedicated to the glory of God in your honor.

Life is Good!