Reunion - M. Laycock

Shades of fresh new green billow across the landscape interspersed with patches of tawny stubble and dark earth waiting for rain beneath scudding clouds and blue sky. Hawks skim the ground or perch on fence posts, eyes ever searching for prey. Here and there cattle graze, wandering down centuries old pathways grooved into the side of low hills. It's springtime in Alberta. The long wait for winter to end has passed but now a new anticipation hovers in the soft air. Will the rains come? Will the crops sprout and yield their harvest? The potential for either feast or famine is there, walking the tightrope of weather forecasts and mechanical failures. 

I feel the tight coil of waiting inside me. Thoughts of "what if" press it down hard until the whisper, "I am with you," breaks through and the tension eases again. Then the distraction of time spent with old friends brings laughter and tears. The sweet sweet song of two young girls, smiling as they sing about Jesus catches in my throat and eye contact with a friend brings a knowing smile. Walking the dirt roads of a country town on a tranquil evening, the joy of discovering new places together makes us giddy and the unexpected certainty that God is walking with us tingles my spine.

All too soon it's time to pack up with hugs all round to say good-bye as we step out into a cooling shower. Blessings falling on us all, on the land. The seeds will yield their fruit. Though weather may turn and machines may fail, the harvest will come. He is with us.

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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone and also has two devotional books in print. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Marcia's second novel, A Tumbled Stone has just been short listed in the contemporary fiction category of The Word Awards. Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded here. Visit Marcia's website