We're leaving town this afternoon to sing at a wedding and also stay with friends at a cabin along the Colorado River on the western slope (we're on the eastern slope). Been thinking it's going to be a beautiful drive. Though our own trees aren't turning yet, when out-and-about I can see the golden aspens on the hillsides. And the name Colorado (color red) shows more when driving around the state. We don't have red maple trees, but scrub oaks and other bushes on hillsides can be quite colorful some years.
And since we're leaving, I can't post tomorrow on Michaelmas day. Ever hear of Michaelmas Daisies? They are perennials we can plant that are fall blooming every year. We have wildflower daisies that are purple with yellow centers that bloom in our area all fall--one of the last flowers of the year.
I made a felted dragon that I pull out this time of year. It sits on a rock in the center of the kitchen table. And then a white sheep wool angel with gold threading and a sword, hangs over the table. This visual is for reminding my heart of stories to remember and give prayers of thanks.
"A woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and crowned with a garland of twelve stars, was giving birth to a child crying out in pain. There was also a huge dragon...in front of the woman in childbirth, waiting, ready to eat up the child as soon as it was born...War broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought the dragon..."
What a fantastic story! It reads like Greek mythology...Read Revelation 12:1-9. Archangel Michael is mentioned throughout scripture. Like Daniel was praying for three weeks and on the 24th day he was surprised by "a man dressed in linen with a belt of pure gold. His body glistening and as if sculpted from the precious stone beryl. His face radiated light like lightening, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like polished bronze, and his voice sounded like a huge choir of voices." He had been detained in spiritual warfare which is beyond our vision.
If all the mentions of angels in scripture--bringing good news, warning of danger, guarding from evil, guiding and protecting, nourishing, and instructing--functioned as such then, wouldn't they still be doing this on into today?! Do we live believing this? Each year I give a special focus to this piece of my faith in God, and thank him for his angels.
Michaelmas is one of the four cardinal points of the year, opposite the Resurrection. In art, Michael is sometimes depicted with balance scales as if he's weighing the souls of men. Do we have our own dragons in our lives? An art piece has Michael gazing at the child lying in an animal feed trough. The child that asks to be born in each human soul. It's a time for contemplation and resurrection of the soul, new beginnings, as with this Jewish season I've been posting about.
"Thank you God for your awesome provision for me. Help me see the realities of the spiritual realm all around me."
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