Pages

Monday, May 7, 2012

Protection

P1012321P1012323

The fog is hovering over the fish in our pond like a soft, wet blanket of cover, and they are unhindered in movement.  It is a picture of their natural state, often unseen when they have detected my presence in the garden.  Their pond is fashioned in sections, and a water barrel filters and pours into a middle pond, where most of them reside.  Its gentle flow spills over a waterway into a deeper third section, divided by a stone bridge.  Some small fry have been found there and my assumption is that freshly laid eggs have tumbled  through the waterway, finding shelter under the reticulating pump cover.  There is safety there from the danger of predators, as the pond is host to toads, peepers, untold numbers of birds and an occasional water snake.  These little fishes are allowed to grow in safety.

I am reminded of the parable of seed sown.  Wheat can grow among tares, as small fry can grow even in the presence of predators.  (Matt. 13:36-43)

Another picture is unfolding even now in the fog, of protected growth.  A bulb, long forgotten, presented new growth and a stalk rising up toward windows light in a dark basement, found on a day of storms when spring warmth had given way to returned cold.  Bulb became flower in an unlikely display of beauty, protected, thriving in a place not conducive to growth to bring encouragement, even on the darkest of days.

I am reminded of a Son petitioning a Father, even for brothers and sisters that live in the world but are not of it, that they might be protected, as I look upon  flora and fish. (Jn. 17:15)