Two Miracles (part IV)

Four days later, I returned to see if I could capture another photograph of the hummingbird feeding off the iris.  I got to the botanical garden early and ran into Shelly in the parking lot.  I asked him about the iris, and he told me the bloom had died, and he picked it off.  He said there must have been another bloom underneath it because a new bloom opened.

I was excited about photographing the new bloom, and I hoped the hummingbird would come back.  I got all of my equipment set and waited.  It began to drizzle a little bit, but I was determined to stay.  I waited about 15 minutes in the rain and for some reason I did not have my face to the back of the camera.  The hummingbird let her presence be known by the roar of her wings.  But it was too late.  She buzzed around the flower very briefly then flew away.  I was so disappointed that I did not get the shot.

I waited for probably an hour and a half more and she never came back.  It had been raining lightly the whole time but luckily I had something to throw over my shoulders to keep me dry.  I found another worker I know and told her Shelly should get the first bloom and press it for Jason’s mom.  I left disappointed, but I think I may have one more try before the bloom is gone. 

I went back today, and the bloom had closed and wilted.  Again, I was disappointed, but I knew ahead of time that when the Lord allows me to photograph His divine appointments, it has always been a one-time shot.  I am thankful for the two miracles He allowed me to document, and I will never forget the story! 

Two Miracles (part III)

A short time later Shelly walked up.  He said the flower had bloomed the day before.  I told him I had been crying, and then showed him the image on the back of my camera.  To add to the miracle, he said he has never seen a hummingbird in the Iris garden!  That doesn't surprise me.

He said he was going to call Jason’s mom, and I told him to please give her my email.  I want to print and mat the photo and give it to her.

Shelly walked away and the next thing I know, he was bringing a few workers to the Iris garden.  I had met two of the workers before and showed them the image.  Shelly had already told them the story of the hummingbird.   

I wanted to learn a little about Jason.  I found an article about the wreck and his page from the funeral home’s website.  I cried as I read the sweet things friends and family wrote about him.  I read about the great guy Shelly told me about.  From what I read, he personally knew the Lord, so he is Heaven with Jesus experiencing an incredible life!

Two Miracles (part II)

 

I was very touched by the story and knew this was one of God’s many miracles that He still performs today.  I wanted to photograph the iris and put the story on my blog.  When I first photographed the flower, it had not opened yet.  I came back another time and again it had not opened. 

Today, September 20^th, 2013, I noticed the iris had opened.  I was so excited!  Dew decorated its petals, and it was early in the morning, so the light was beautiful.  I kept saying “It’s coming….it’s coming.”  I knew the perfect light was coming, and I needed to be ready.

I had my camera and long lens mounted on a tripod and set my camera to have a two second delay after I clicked the shutter, so I wouldn’t cause any vibrations.  After the camera captured the photograph, I would look on the back of the camera to see the photo I captured.  I did this several times and used several different angles. 

I realized the second miracle as I looked at the back of my camera.  It had happened without any sound or warning. The miracle was the biggest blessing to me, and I started to cry!  As I looked at the camera, I was in disbelief.  Did I see what I thought I saw?  Yes, I did…..it was a hummingbird feeding from the flower!  Calculate that miracle with numbers:  me setting up my camera on a tripod with a two second delay, me never seeing or hearing the hummingbird, and in those two seconds after I pressed the shutter release, a hummingbird slipped into the photo while I was photographing the first miracle!

I just sat there and cried.  I did not feel worthy of capturing that photograph and said so out loud.  The Lord knows hummingbirds are my favorite bird to photograph.  I believe I can recall thinking how it would be neat if a hummingbird came by and it did.

This is pretty much the original framed shot.  I cropped in a little bit, but this is all of the hummer the photo captured.

Two Miracles (part I)

Just this week I learned about a neat story.  A curator, Shelly, at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, knew about my blog and thought I would like to hear a story.  He wanted to show me something in the Iris garden, so I followed.  He walked me to an iris that was blooming and about to open.

He told me about the flower and the amazing story behind it.  What could be so neat about an iris in the garden?  This story is of one miracle that turned into two.  The story of the flower is special because of a young man named Jason who worked in the garden in the past, and the Japanese iris was his favorite.

Jason was killed in a car wreck on September 18, 2012.  Shelly took Jason’s mom some iris plants and planted them at her house the month after he died.  Shelly told me Jason was the greatest person you would ever meet.

The first miracle of the story is the flower bloomed a year and one day after he passed away, but there is more.  There are no other iris flowers blooming anywhere else in the garden.  That one flower stood amongst hundreds of other iris plants with no blooms at all.  To add to the miracle, Shelly said that particular plant had been in the ground at least four or five years and has never bloomed in September.

Being a servant (part II)

So, today I showed up at her house again.  I knew her husband went back to work today.  I told her it wasn’t my fault (about me being there), and I told her about the blog I read stating to be there.  She also said she probably wouldn’t have called.

This time I had a bucket of cleaning materials with me, and I wanted to clean her bathrooms and kitchen, then dust, and Swiffer.  I talked with her a little while I was cleaning the kitchen.  I moved the coffee pot and found two things behind it.  One of the things I found was a tithing envelope that had her son’s name on it with a dollar amount written on it.  I showed it to her in case she did not know it was there.  She said it was in his pocket (when he died) and she was going to take it to the church.  I think that is really neat!

I was able to finish cleaning their house and was glad I could minister to them in this way.  I also found out the middle and high school students at our church brought in pantry items for the family.  She had a large plastic shelving unit filled with all kinds of food.  What a great idea.

U  Having written this chapter….Do you think this was the right approach to helping a grieving person or would a person that is very private perhaps need the time and space to grieve?  What is your experience with this situation?  I know each person is different.  U

Being a servant

 

I wanted to minister to my friend, and the only way I knew how was to serve her.  I cleaned my sister's house after her newborn son passed away, and I knew cleaning house was not high on my friend's priority list. 

I went over to her house twice within the last week to see if I could persuade her to let me clean her house.  She did not know I was coming either time.  As I was pulling into her driveway the first time I went to her house, another car was also pulling in.  It was the middle school pastor and his family.  When I got to her back door, her husband greeted us.  I asked him if I was intruding on anything.  He told me they were going to see their son’s truck and get his stuff out of it.  The pastor was going with them and his wife and kids were staying at their house to watch over Grandmother.

I told my friend that I wanted to minister to her, and I brought my million dollar vacuum to clean their house.  So while they were gone, I began vacuuming their house.  I asked her before she left if she wanted me to do her son’s room.  She said it was okay.  When I got to her son’s room, I thought about the words on the song “We Are Standing on Holy Ground.”  Not that it was Holy ground, but I was trying to be respectful while being in his room.  I can’t really put it into words of how I was feeling.  On his desk were a lot of thing….his name tag from work, a graduation card, and graduation pictures.

They came back from seeing his truck.  She said it was hard, but both she and her husband commented that seeing the truck helped them to understand things better.  The door frame and windshield had bucked in near the headrest which caused their son’s fatal head and neck injuries.

I wanted to clean more, but I needed to go help Aunt June.  I told her to call me.  I knew she probably wouldn’t.  This thought got reconfirmed when I read a lady’s blog this week.  The lady wrote on her blog things not to say to someone who has lost a loved one.  This lady knew this all too well because she also lost her son.  She didn’t want people to say to call if they needed anything.  What she meant by this statement was instead of leaving a message saying that they were here, for them to actually show up to the door and be here.  She was saying to follow up with our words.

A special devotion

I went to Shari’s house to drop off my devotion book and a sympathy card.

     "People at the funeral home told me many neat things I hadn't known about Nathan. Several people said Nathan was the only person who would speak to their child. Another person said he stopped to tutor a child while he was out riding his bike," she said.

     Nathan was a servant and wanted to avoid being in the spotlight. There were so many people at the visitation. It was supposed to be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., but she left a few minutes before midnight.

Nathan's Funeral

The next day was the funeral. I prayed for grace, peace, and mercy for the family and people to come to know Christ during the funeral. It was neat to see all the people there. Nathan’s life had touched many people. There were a lot of students from several schools. Several pastors spoke, including the children’s, middle school, high school, and senior pastor. 

     I did not know Nathan well, so my grief was different. My grief was for Shari and what she and her family were going through; it was real, nonetheless. It made me think of believers as the body of Christ.

     “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad” (1 Corinthians 12:26, NLT).

The visitation (part II)

 

Shari and her husband were standing at the head of Nathan’s casket.

     “Can you imagine if that were your son?” A lady behind me asked.

     “No, I can’t.” 

     As I approached his casket, I noticed Nathan was wearing a trendy rubber bracelet imprinted with the words “CLASS OF 2013.”

      I hugged Shari and gave her my condolences.  

     “Thank you for the flowers.” 

     “You are welcome.” 

     “I think of you when I look at them.”

     “I woke at four in the morning ... ” 

     I couldn’t utter another word as my throat clamped shut like a vice grip. I put my hands together to symbolize prayer and began crying.

     I was able to finish what I was trying to say. 

     “I stayed awake until 5:00 a.m.” 

     “I am glad because that was when I needed prayer.”

     We’ve been in the same Sunday school class for over ten years and have endured many rough times. I hugged her husband and spoke to him.

     “I have something for you,” he said.

     He reached in his pocket and pulled out a mint. We laughed. I brought mints to Sunday school to share.

The Visitation (part I)

I haven’t gone to a service where the ushers sat you because so many people stood in line. As the line shortened, they moved a few rows of seated people to the line of people standing. The pews were almost full when we approached the front of the line. Many students from his school were there, as were many older people.

     As we entered the room where the family was, the high school minister from our church stood in the doorway. 

     “Are you the official door greeter?” I asked.

     He laughed.

     “I’ve never had a student die. It’s been hard.” 

     He had gone to the family’s house and prayed with Nathan’s dad. He prayed three words and couldn’t pray anything else because of his emotions. 

     “I have been praying for the students coming to the service,” I said.

     “There are so many people praying.” 

     “I don’t know if I will be able to articulate what I needed to say during the service.” 

     “You will do fine.”