06.10.2024 | Ordinary Monday

“How brave a ladybug must be! Each drop of rain is big as she. Can you imagine what you’d do, if raindrops fell as big as you?” – Aileen Fisher

​Tiny but with a bold exterior, ladybugs are one of the few beetles we don’t get scared of or run away from at first sight.  Ladybugs almost always equate to having good fortune, happiness, innocence, and true love.  They’re sweet little critters that hold a lot of value and meaning.

A beautiful, sunny morning here in the Carondelet Garden as the Ladybugs came out to play.  The little Garden Doodle is fascinated by bugs right now and this one is no exception.  So happy she didn't try to eat it!

The sermon series at church these past few weeks has been on "Half-Truths."  This week's half-truth was the old chestnut, which we hear way too often, that "God will never give you more than you can handle."  We know that is not the case.  Read the Psalms and laments of David and you know he had more than his share of overwhelming problems.  We all have moments when we are literally and figuratively overwhelmed with things this world throws at us.  The thing we do have is the love of a Creator who promises to be with us in our sorrow and pain.  That doesn't mean we aren't overwhelmed.  That simply means we are not alone in being overwhelmed.  That helps.  Doesn't always fix it, but it helps.

It's been an overwhelming year for so many of us.  Illness, surgery, family strife, and everything else you can think of.  We often feel overwhelmed.  We don't have the answers.  The only thing we have is the knowledge that we aren't alone.  

Here's a bit of faith, hope and love sent to you from an old gardener in South Saint Louis.  Be good and be kind to yourself and others on this Monday morning in June.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.