Just wanted to share what I wrote today in my new devotional. I gave it the name Good Morning Sunshine, because that is what is said every morning to my now 13 year old daughter when she is awakened for school. I love her and miss her very much.

Good Morning Sunshine! There is something incredible about Winter. Things appear to die, leaves fall, flowers wither, grass dries up and it can seem hopeless. Some things need to die, in order for them to come back stronger. Kind of like a tree that endures another hard winter, and adds another ring of life to strengthen its trunk, only to bud fresh with new leaves when the first warm air courses through its roots and branches. I remember a house we lived in briefly when I was a child. There was a blaze rose bush in the back yard. It had not been well cared for and whoever thought of wiring it up, perhaps to keep it from getting in the way of the garage door nearly killed it. It looked horrible and I didn’t know if I could salvage it. My great-grandpa had taught me a little about roses, so I cut the wire off and pruned it sharply and prayed. In a short time I began to see new blooms, it began to grow and fill back out. This rose that had been so unloved, now began to thrive. As long as we lived there the bush bloomed beautifully even into the early winter months. Same old bush, new life. If there is life or beauty in anything, it can be revived with a little love and TLC. Try it on someone not just something this season and see what happens.