Sunday, October 3, 2010

When You Start to Feel Old

After church, I'm chopping vegetables to add to my pasta sauce, and I remember my garden.  I haven't harvested in weeks because the season's over.  The peppers are surely past their prime, so why bother?  Those peppers are old, withered, and done.  

It's cold outside.  The leaves are changing.  The garden is no more. 

But something nags at me to check the garden just in case.  I run out into the crisp fall air, doubtful. 
End-of-Season Garden Peppers

Then, I get the camera.   


Whoever said a season's over or that something (or someone) is past her prime hasn't seen my peppers.

These Peppers Still Blossom in Old Age
I'm out there, knee deep in glorious peppers, and I'm laughing about all the hope out here in my garden.  I recall the verse in Psalm 92 about folks "planted in the house of the Lord."  The psalmist writes: "They will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green."

And these peppers aren't finished.  They still blossom!  They still send out new leaves!  Defiant!  Prolific!  

Living with flair means I know nobody's too old or past her prime.  Things can happen and hope can live no matter what season, no matter what age, and no matter how long it's been.

6 comments:

Jeedoo said...

Great analogy. We're not done until God takes us home. If we are still here, He has a purpose for us!

LivewithFlair said...

Oh, I just love that, Jeedoo! If I'm here, there's a purpose and fruit to bear indeed!

Patricia said...

Hi Heather,

That passage from Psalm 92 has become a great source of encouragement in recent years...as I cared for my aging mother and again as I approached my 60th birthday...a season that caused me to teeter a bit. I have clung to that verse and the purpose for which the Lord says I will stay "evergreen" (emphasis mine)..."They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."

Love analogies from nature...as you might have guessed from my Pollywog Creek.

May your week ahead be blessed with all things good.

Monster Librarian said...

We harvested ours after the frost and they made it too! I roasted our peppers and we are pickling them. Thanks for always posting positive! I really look forward to reading your blog--thanks!

Mike and Katie said...

Hi Heather,

Can I ask you another grammar question? I'm helping my husband proofread his papers and I'm not sure of some things.

"Multiple networks gave way to a prime universal network, NSFNET which supported ARPANET's exisiting infrastructure, insuring cohesive usability between the two."

"In 1993, Mosaic, software allowing graphical access to web content, was released, creating the first Internet web browser."

It is correct to use those verbals, insuring and creating, after the commas like that? Would those phrases be considered appositives?

Thanks! :)

LivewithFlair said...

Dear Mike and Katie,

Yes! These are all perfect uses of commas. Technically, you would need a comma after NSFNET because the phrase, "which supported ARPANET's existing infrastruture, should be set apart. You could also add some flair there and put that phrase in parentheses. And for more readability on the second sentence, I'd write: "In 1993, Mosaic, a software program allowing..." The article "a" makes it easier for me to understand I think.