Archives at Zinester: "See spring in everything". "I Believe in You!".

???See spring in everything???
by Bob Perks

???I love the look of spring skies,??? the man said.

I looked up and saw clouds.

???It is far from spring, my friend. Summer is nearing the end and we
still have winter ahead.???

???Oh, I understand,??? he said. ???I hope one day you??™ll see spring in everything.???

He walked away.

He was a hit and run messenger.

God knows I don??™t have much of an attention span. He also knows that
patience is not one of my virtues. So, when He needs to drive home a
point with me, He uses the element of surprise, like a quick one-two punch
driven by some of the most unlikely messengers.

I call them "drive by enlightenments."

This man appeared to come out of nowhere.

He was well dressed, one of the guys I call "suits." The executive types or
wanna be's normally flock together rubbing elbows, making business contacts
and generally doing business every waking hour. This one was a stray in
search of something more.

The fact is, we all end up in the same place, dead somewhere along the road we
have chosen. Those who believe in the here after know the journey does not end there.
Those non-believers simply miss the opportunity to go on. The quality of our life depends
on the path we choose and the people we embrace along the way.

But sometimes we don't get to embrace the person fully, we hold onto the essence,
the spirit of the meeting, leaving us only with a bit of who they are.

In my book, "The Flight of a Lifetime," I call them "Connectors." Their job is to connect
people with people or simply to deliver a message.

While many of us are in search of big answers to seemingly overwhelming questions,
we often overlook the "drive by enlightenments" as insignificant.

I almost let this one slip by.

But God knows my ways and sent in a team of angels to drive home the point.

They all live in Australia.

I have been troubled lately by the approach of winter. Yes, I know I still have to close
out summer and make my way through autumn. I do love autumn. But winter on the horizon,
at this point in my life, is like a long journey on the flat lands only to see a huge mountain
off in the distance. The closer you get the bigger it appears. Then came the "Angels of Australia."

David and Faye, Marg and others as well as Maureen from New Zealand. They spoke of spring, hope and blossoms lifting the spirit.

They reminded me that they were already standing on the mountain top. They could see the
other side of winter. For the first time in my life I was able to see spring before it arrived. In my
mind I thought spring was nowhere to be found and yet, it was. Like being hopeless when
hope exists everywhere.

Of course winter and spring are symbolic of the challenges in my life. Our journey through
cancer are like the dark, cold days of winter. Now that we have made it through the most difficult
parts, we want to live in the light of spring.

So along came the "Connectors." The first one said, "see spring in everything." The others made
me realize that spring was always within reach.

I have found myself using that powerful example in my conversations over the last few days.

A friend has a son serving in Afghanistan. His year ends in April. Spring.

"Don't count the days until spring. I was just told it is already arriving in Australia. You can see
spring from here," I told her.

My wife, for the first time in all the years we have been together, told me yesterday that
she was depressed.

It shocked me. She raised her head and her eyes looked like two pools of darkness.

"You are never depressed!" I said.

"I know," she said quietly.

"Good!" I said.

She looked at me with surprise as she caught the first of many tears.

I suddenly realized that I was seeing spring in her depression.

"You will truly understand the great joy there is in hope. It is in the valleys that we appreciate
the view from the top of a mountain. Did you know that I saw spring yesterday?" I asked her.

She shook her head as a smile broke through.

"Some friends of mine were standing on the mountain. The "Angels of Australia."

That man would have been proud of me. I am beginning to "see spring in everything."

Dear Bob~

In the last decade...actually just about twelve years ago...I started to slow the pace down to smell the roses, as you say. Our lifestyle has changed somewhat; but somehow with less it is more enjoyable. The "things" that matter the most these days are not things.

Yes, I still want some comforts. But most days, I find a lighted candle, some time spent in the gardens, and gentle conversation with a lovely glass of wine is about all I require. Having my awesome grandbaby around is like icing on the cake. The dogs lay near my feet as I reach out to friends across the globe. Another happy sigh.

As I cleaned out the "cement pond" yesterday...actually this is a black granite pond that my hubby built several years ago...I was entranced by a beautiful green and brown spotted frog sitting amidst the mess I was cleaning up. The goldfish happily darted to and fro in the sunlight that they hadn't seen for quite some time. Many people tell me I have a green thumb. It ain't me, Bob, it's the Creator of Nature who lets me tend the gardens. Last evening found me sitting on the ledge just watching these friendly creatures swim idly by and listening to the cicadas sing their evening song.

Thank you for always bringing focus to my daily round. You are an angel designated to remind each of your readers how wonderful life is.

Love, light, and blessings~

Bama Mama T

Dear Bob and Marianne

. Is it not amazing that when we are going through hard times, God comforts us in ways we never expect.

His eye is on the sparrow and He also cares for you. We are important to Him in ways we can not fathom.

Thank you for sharing your life with us. You are in my prayers. When I was battling cancer for the second time

His presence was all around me. I was carried by the prayers of my friends and family. I know now that I am loved.

It is God's gift to me and also to you dear friends. The everlasting arms are carrying you.

Love Johanna

Good fabulous morning, Bob and others!

Your story about the sparrow is inspiring to me. I, too, have had encounters with some of God's furry or feathered little creatures. Somehow I believe all animals are angels in their own unique suits. Those of us who can talk to the animals and also appreciate each one for surviving in this somewhat harsh world, are blessed in a special way. We are the fortunate ones who get to see the sparkle in their eyes when they're vibrant with life....and we are also the ones who get to see what may be the last gaze at this earth before they reach for their "rainbow bridge." It's easy for me to cry for anyone - person or creature - who has to endure hardships in life. Somehow it humbles me and makes me more aware of how blessed I am. To see an innocent child suffer at the hands of an abuser is not much different to me than to see a helpless animal being neglected or tortured by a person - a person in either case, I believe, who is without a soul.

Yes, Bob, your story of the sparrow was indeed inspiring to me. I'm just a simple person living a simple life.....a life I cherish.

Sincerely,
Carol

Mr. Bob, That is just heavenly. I feel the same way. Exactly the same way about life, GOD'S creations. You have a true meaning of life.......I understand totally. May GOD Richly Bless You. You have been a true blessing to me. Keep writing. It is a GOD send. Glenda

Hi Bob,

I truly believe animals are one way that we can connect with God and those that don't understand that are the lesser for it. How do I know, our new kitten K.C. told me after we recently lost our 11 year old black male cat Dickens. She found us in a grocery store parking lot.

Take care and God bless,

Helen O.

Bob, I think the bird was God letting you know He is with you and loves you.

Sue

Dear Bob,

First of all, thank you for keeping us updated on Marianne. You both are in my prayers.

Today's story hit home. Each year, I find more and more injured or just plain 'too young to be out of the nest' birds in my yard. As our trees grow, there is more room for nests. My neighbor and I do what we can for the birds, but we now have found a woman in our town that rehabilitates and releases the birds. She has a much better success rate than we do as she knows how to handle them. I brought her a dove last week - she said the wind probably knocked him out of the nest. He looked healthy, but she said he will go on a heating pad for a bit. I gave her an un-asked for donation which she gladly accepted. I was just happy to find someone to help our feathered friends.

Bev

Today your story truly touched me deep inside.

I have a son who is fifteen years old, we have been blessed with him. He is a fine young man, honest, compassionate, caring, he knows about right and wrong and lives his life that way or tries to the best he can. He struggles in school but I have found that we all struggle somewhere in life. Even though he struggles he keeps on trying, he is special.

About a year ago he was riding our four wheeler on our property, we own about twenty four acres so there are many trails and also many animals that occupy our land. He came home to tell me that he had seen a mother and her fawn making their way across in front of him and not wanting to scare them he drove slowly behind them. The mother continued on but the fawn laid down in the tall grass, obviously quite frightened. He stopped the four wheeler, shut it off and proceeded to walk up to the baby fawn, he knelt down beside it and petted it slowly. The fawn let him and actually seemed to enjoy it. I was worried about the mother accepting the fawn back but when he rose to leave it, the fawn got up and ran to its mother and they continued on. In this world, this is, for the most part a hard story to believe, but my son was adamant that it had happened that way and how "cool" he thought it was that he was able to get so close to mother nature in that way. Many children, especially boys, tend to have a way of wanting to not purposely hurt animals, but in their way of exploring tend to hurt them. I was so proud of how he had handled himself and how special he had felt being able to do so. It was a miraculous moment to say the least in his world.

Thanks for a great newsletter,,,,my prayers with you daily..

I truly wish you enough. Lori

BOB~

A few years back I was driving on one of our city streets (a busy one).
THERE in the middle was a RED BIRD (CARDINAL)

I knew it had been injured and pulled over to see if I could get it out
of the road...

I had a new pair of shoes in the car and took the box with me (minus the
shoes). PICKED up the little bird and put it in the box. I felt at
least I could give it a safe haven....out on our street~

I could hear it moving about and trying to get out of the box. I drove
onto our street and pulled over to the side, where there are many trees
and much grass. I took the box out, opened the lid and the CARDINAL was
looking pretty good. I picked it up and set it on a tree branch.

It didn't fly or look like it was going to, so I sadly put the empty box
in the car and drove on home. THINKING that I had the perfect PHOTO
opt, with the CARDINAL being so close ...I got my camera and drove back
to the tree~

THERE he was...sitting on the branch ...waiting for me~

I got the camera out, put the flash on ...and snapped the photo. THE
CARDINAL hesitated a moment and then flew happily away~

A KODAK moment for sure`

MADE me feel good about taking the time to help the little guy~

Every time I see a CARDINAL, I think it might be my SNAP SHOT BIRD~

SHARON G..in EVANSVILLE, Indiana

Dear Bob. I found your message lovely today, I feed lots of birds to ,My son Jaret, 1.4.82-10.1.98 nick mane was bird, the other day early evening, a humming bird thought I was there to give him a shower as he kept getting closer on each pass though the hose he almost made it to my hand It was Amazing, my spirit felt such grace and comfort thank for telling your stories they always make a point in my like Jaret's Mom Val

Valerie