Spotted Lake

There is a very special lake in Osoyoos called Spotted Lake. It is a mineral lake that is sacred to the local indian band for its healing properties, unique to the spots or pools. You can read more about this lake here where it is said by the natives:

“Since the dawn of history, Spotted Lake or “Ha? Ki lil xw” As we call is has been a sacred place. Indians from all tribes came to visit the Lake for the medicine the lake contains. The ceremonial cairns, too numerous to count that surround the lake testify to that. Some of these are so ancient they have sunk underground and only their tops remain above ground. Some are buried altogether. There are many stories told by our ancestors about the cures this lake has provided, physically and spiritually through its medicine powers……

.…. Its medicinal powers are not to be taken lightly. This Lake is a Chief among lakes, its powers are above the purely physical. It contains 365 circles in various shapes, sizes and depths. Each particular day of the year. Anyone who goes to this lake will find the right circle if he seeks. "

From the Destination Osoyoos website it says this:

Why is Spotted Lake spotted?
Spotted Lake, or "Klikuk," contains one of the world’s highest concentrations of minerals: magnesium sulfate, (Epsom Salts); calcium and sodium sulfates; plus 8 other minerals and traces of 4 more, including silver and titanium. In the hot sun of summer, the water of Spotted Lake evaporates and crystallizes the minerals, forming many white-rimmed circles: shallow pools that reflect the mineral content of the water in shades of blue and green. Spotted Lake is located 8.8 km west of Osoyoos and is privately owned. You may take pictures from the highway but please respect the property and do not trespass.

Regardless of its history, the beliefs that surround it or the healing minerals it contains, this lake fascinates me as one of God's clever creations. So unique to our region and so special, changing its properties throughout the course of the year. Minerals in it that heal. Its not there by accident.

O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. ~ Psalm 104:24

New Discoveries

Sunday was an absolutely glorious day. The sky was so blue & the sun was warm. The wind was rather cold though, so I knew in the morning it would be a great day for driving but a little cool for walking.

I discovered two new things on Sunday. First off, I tried a new church. My friend Barb has been inviting us to to their little church here in town for a while and I've wanted to go but just haven't had the courage to go. Its hard trying to choose a new church. After trying a few, and being disappointed, we became reluctant to try another and complacent to just 'not go'. My former church, where I used to live, was a big church. Like it had about 1200 or so people there. Easy to be there without feeling like you stand out. Easy to get involved in but also easy to disappear in. I knew I didn't want another church so big, but I was afraid of trying a TINY church. Everyone notices you all the time, no hiding there!

So, this church that I tried was indeed tiny. I think there were maybe 25 people. But WOW, were they PASSIONATE! I was quite moved in their passion & sincerity. So many churches, you can look around during the singing (my fave part) and notice that maybe less than 50% of the people are actually participating. There wasn't one person that wasn't singing here with passion. Usually the first thing I judge a church by is the singing. Its my favourite part so it had to be good. If the singing meets my needs then I judge it by the preacher. Can he feed me & inspire me? or, the honest truth, does he bore me? This preacher was FAR from boring! Enthusiasm & sincerity oozed from him. And I like a preacher that 'tells it as it is'. Very good preaching. So, last, I judge a church by its people. Can I make friends here? ie FELLOWSHIP! Well, I already know a couple people so its a start. In other words, from what I can gather from one Sunday, I think its a good little church.


After church, I had lunch with a friend & then headed out in my car to explore the beautiful day. The wind was howling so I didn't go far from my car, but I had heard rumor about a place that had some old buildings on it good for photographing. So, I head down this windy back road that I had never been on before and came upon New Discovery #2. A great little spot with an adorable tiny white church and several run-down old cabins. Something I love to photograph!


They were surrounded by beautiful healthy Ponderosa Pine trees. There was so much charm & character in these little old cabins. Maybe not so many years ago they were actually used as homes because there was still 'stuff' inside them like cloth, and tins & such things. I spent a good half hour, tip-toeing around these structures so as not to disturb a needle or twig of its charm!

And it was another one of those 'perfect clouds' day so I also enjoyed taking a number of photos up thru the brilliant colors of the pines at the sky! It is a thoroughly captivating spot for photography, that I will probably only share with a chosen few in order to preserve its charm but I know that I plan to return again.

Grass of the earth

Spring has finally arrived & glances of baby green are appearing all over the earth. Slowly, the time of brown is fading away and the renewing green is creeping over the land. I so love Spring in the Okanagan because the hills come alive with the grass of the earth. We have such a hot summer that they don't stay green for long but its in these next few months that they become the most beautiful. Some of them, covered with lush greens, like ferns & shrubs, others with thick grasses like a blanket. Still others will burst forth with flowering grasses & mosses.

Grass is referred to in the Bible as something that is renewed, that nourishes but also quickly fades away, like it does here. A promise in the Spring after the rains, a meal for the beasts & cattle, and a reminder that life is short. May you be reminded of these things as Spring arrives in your world & begins to be covered by the grass of the earth.


“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. ~ Deuteronomy 32:1-3

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ~ Genesis 1:11-12

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains. He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry. ~ Psalm 147:7-9

Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone. ~ Zechariah 10:1

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? ~ Luke 12:27-28

The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” ~ Isaiah 40: 7-8

Boundary Bay

About this time last year, my husband & I took a mini vacation to the coast & got the opportunity to visit Boundary Bay. Boundary Bay is a regional park near Tsawwassen in the Great Vancouver area. The entire beach region is shared with Washington as it is right on the Canada - USA border. But Boundary Bay is the name for the Canadian portion.


We had an amazing day here. The tide was waaay out when we got there in the morning & we spent endless hours in the sunshine, searching the tide pools, scouring for shells, poking at crabs, taking photographs & getting our feet wet.

There is an amazing selection of creatures to be seen here, especially birds. We saw some great blue herons, sand pipers, eagles, gulls and more.

Tsawwassen is a great area to visit, if you're looking to do some beach combing & get away from the hustle & bustle of the sprawling city of Vancouver. Hubby and I wanted to be near the beach so we opted for a Bed & Breakfast. We thought it would be nice & romantic, and a quick walk to tide pool heaven. Oh how deceived we were. I'm a huge fan of TripAdvisor to get reviews on places before we stay but for some reason, I trusted the BBCanada website & the lady I spoke to about the B&B. Wrong wrong wrong. There is no such thing as offering a B&B with 'peace & tranquility" when you have two children under the age of 5 in a home made with ceramic tile. This beautiful large home, offered the guest room on the bottom floor. Everything was ceramic tile. We were FREEZING. That wasn't the problem. They had two small girls, they stayed on the top floor, also ceramic tile. We snuggled into our room at about 8:00 and proceeded to listen to two little girls SCREAM and stomp in mom's high heels (did I mention the ceramic floors) for an hour & a half. My husband covered his head with a pillow. We had the laptop & tried drowning it out with music. Finally I shouted "ENOUGH". We packed up & walked out of there telling the owners they were insane to think they could offer a B&B with that kind of noise & we went & got a hotel. Honestly, I can't blame children for the noise. Kids will be kids. But I do blame the parents. Thank goodness we didn't pre-pay. I won't name the B&B because it looks like it doesn't exist anymore but I will refer anybody to TripAdvisor.com when looking for places to stay. I wrote a bad review for the B&B and a great review for the The Coast Tsawwassen Inn that rescued us in the middle of the night & provided us with a divine room that was dead silent!

Perfect clouds

Lastnight was our local photo club meeting. Every second meeting is our photo sharing night. One of the photos we bring has to follow a theme. It seems that everyone interprets these themes differently, which is a bonus! Last nights theme was clouds, but not just a photo of plain old clouds. There had to be a compositional element in the photo to be used to 'frame' the clouds. Framing like with a tree, branch, building, etc.

I was in a panic because the last two weeks have been rather 'grey sky' days for photo opportunities. But yesterday, it was that blue sky with white puffy cloud sort of day, a pefect cloud day. And I knew I'd find the shot I was looking for. I figured, everyone would use a tree in their photo because that's the most obvious sample and I was headed to my fave park to do just that.

But, on my way past our new visitors center here, the newest native sculpture caught my eye. Now THAT would be unique. So I whipped into the parking lot & over to the sculpture. It is a difficult one to photo as a whole cuz there's tonnes of stuff around it, like the buidling, flag poles, the highway etc. But if you're only trying to shoot UP then it works. I chose my angle, the sun was in the perfect spot to give that bright blue sky some nice color & the clouds, nice & white!

Anyways, the above photo is the results, obviously. I was very pleased with it because it was 'out of the ordinary' for photo styles that I normally do. I like being presented with a specific 'assignment' like that, in which I have to think outside of my box and then I learn a bit more about myself each time!

Grafting

"You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Romans 11:19

Have you ever worked in an orchard? Pruning? Thinning? Picking fruit? Clean up? An orchard is a busy place almost year round! Now that March is here, the trees are budding. Before we know it, the apricots will be blossoming, then plums & cherries, peaches & apples. Its such a place of beauty! We had the good fortune of renting a home on an orchard for a year. It was such a treat to have access to the beauty & our pick of the fresh fruits. I thought it would be a place of tranquility as well.

But the only time an orchard lies quiet is a month or two of rest in the winter. Then the clean up & pruning starts, once the buds start blossoming, then the thinning & cultivating will start. There is always something to be done in an orchard. Tractors running, sprayers spraying, fruit trucks coming & going. It was FAR from peaceful!

When I was a teenager, my brother & I worked in an apple orchard near our home for a summer. We were too young (small) to do any good for PICKING the fruit but we were involved in many odd jobs that orchard upkeep requires. For instance, we spent a day or two painting the lower trunks of new trees white. I think this had something to do with pest control. We also got to tie back branches of young trees to promote a certain growth style.

The task I remember the most was grafting. We'd take a fresh bud, cut a slit into a very young tree & seal the bud into the slit. Eventually, it would become part of the tree. Farmers do this for a few reasons, a stronger type of fruit grafted into a weaker tree can aid in strengthening the whole tree. This can also be done to create new varieties of fruit. A new flavour of apple perhaps, or even by combining two completely different fruits to produce a new one. Some grafted branches can be supported by a different type of tree but still produce the fruit they were intended to. It amazed me how a tree would accept this 'foreign invasion' and allow it to grow & be nourished, instead of killing off the area of the graft & rejecting the new branch.

Many things in life can be related to grafting. In the very literal sense, there is skin grafting for people who have had severe burns or wounds. Relationships like adoption or even marriages can be compared to grafting. The acceptance of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life also. I'll leave it open to your own analogy.

God Created Heaven - Sunday Theology

I finally received the book "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn in the mail last week & eagerly started reading it this weekend. Because I have such excitement & passion about what Heaven is going to be like, I knew that I would savour each word of his book.

I've learned so much already in just the first few chapters and it hasn't even got to the stuff that I look forward to the most, what the New Earth is going to be like where we will be living forever.

But I got to the part where Randy talks about the fact that God created Heaven and chose to dwell there. I read & re-read that part & it just sort of blows me away. Because we are finite & God is INFINITE, I have a hard time wrapping my small mortal brain around the fact that God had to create himself a place to dwell. Let me rephrase that, God does not NEED a place to dwell, because he is everywhere. He does not need a physical place, it is a place he created for both physical & spiritual. A place where we can be with him until he is ready for giving us the New Earth.

Most everyone knows how the Bible starts in Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. What my brain can't grasp is where could have God been in the eternity BEFORE he created the heavens? If my physical mind must think of things in a physical way, I find myself too limited to think of God before there was a heaven in which he dwells.

I quote from Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven" chapter 6 "God created Heaven; therefore, he did not always dwell there. Though God chooses to dwell in Heaven, he does not need a dwelling place. However, as finite humans, we do. It's no problem for the all-powerful God, a spirit, to dwell in a spiritual realm or a physical realm or a realm that includes both."

So, though I understand what this means, its still an overwhelming thought for a mind that is limited to time & space. This is no argument against the creation of heaven. I fully believe it, this is just me trying to fathom a spiritual realm, that existed, well for eternity I guess, before God created a physical realm. I searched for other discussions on this topic on the internet but didn't come up with much. I wonder if we'll understand it from God when we are in Heaven? Will our Heavenly minds be able to grasp the concept of eternity & the existance of our eternal God before He created us and why? I have so many questions but I wonder, will we just automatically know the answers in Heaven or will we have eternity to ask questions & discover the secrets & wonders of God?

Pestilences

My husband, taking a snooze after a hard-days work :)

"And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places." Matthew 24:7

"And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven." Luke 21:11

Yesterday on CNN I read this title "South Africa fighting 1,500 new HIV infections a day". You can read the actual article here. Because of my passion or fascination for Africa, I always go to the world news section. Most of it isn't good news. Wars, rumours of wars, famines, wild weather & disease top the charts of newsworthy items. I think its easy for most North Americans to keep these at an arms length when it doesn't affect home soil. Oh yes, terrorism is still real to the Americans, as is hurricanes & wild weather but what about serious disease. We pride ourselves on our top notch medical systems and teams work day & night trying to find the cure for this or that. Serious outbreaks are always on the radar as a possibility, but as yet, there isn't a debilitating disease ravaging our countries.

My husband has been battling the flu all week. Every 'flu season' vaccines are developed to include new or various strains of the influenza virus. It is recommended that people get the flu shot to prevent getting the flu, especially seniors & those who work in the medial profession, as well as those who come in contact with many people like teachers & service professionals. Neither of us got the flu shot this year (I hate needles) and a it looks like my immune system is still standing up to this strain. Why one person gets it and another doesn't is beyond me. I seem to have a constant sniffle all winter long but not usually a day where I don't feel well enough to go to work (hence, my mental health day) So, darling hubby has had the hot flashes, the freezing shivers, sweats & shakes, coughs & headaches. The flu has run the gamet thru his system as he rested & slept this week and now he seems to be on the mend.

Pestilence, according to Webster, is a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that is virulent and devastating.

I think of the pestilence like AIDs that is ravaging our Third World countries. True enough it is greatly affecting our countries as well but not in such a devastating magnitude. Countries like South Africa have long since kept this subject on the hush-hush because it wasn't something they wanted to discuss. Now that it is open & obvious, they are stepping up their efforts of education & prevention and trying to make their people more aware of 'cause and effect'.

The more we hear about diseases, the closer I think we are getting to the return of the Lord. Though it is dangerous times we live in, it isn't going to get better. We're going to keep hearing about it, seeing it around us & trying to make it all better. When a cure for one comes up, something else will be lurking around the corner. Not that I'm disease paranoid or trying to be depressing for the future outlook. It just is what it is and its drawing us nearer & nearer to that Great & Terrible Day. For that alone, I'm just a little bit excited.

In the mean time, however, millions are dying. Dying of disease, famine, war & weather. There is no respite in sight & I don't believe it will come. Sure there are charities, foundations, working missions & more and its terrific & wonderful for those doing their part to help. I commend them for their crown will be great.

It Happened!

You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;And You renew the face of the earth. ~Psalm 104:30

Joy & jubilation. Just look what I discovered in my backyard today. It seems Spring has crept up on me when I wasn't even looking for it. A couple times last week I scanned the backyard for signs of greenery to poke through (because we bought the house in the fall so everything is a surprise this year) and I guess I didn't know what crocus greens look like. It was pretty warm in the valley over the weekend I was told so these little beauties burst forth to embrace the spring sunshine! How happy I was to discover them.

Now that we have an extra hour of light in the afternoons, I might have time for some more spring photo excursions after work too. Anxious to get out my hiking poles & boots & backpack & hit the hills. A little more patience is needed and a few more sunny days to melt some spots of snow & ice.

Though the world around us is still brown & quiet, life is pushing its way through. The robins have returned, the birds are all "twitter-pated" and excited, trees are budding, lawns are being raked & mowed & precious gems like crocuses, daffodils & hyancinths are showing their true colors. The countrysides are dotted with new calves or pregnant cows. It is the time of new birth.

Is your life coming out of winter? How about your soul? Is it longing for the refreshing of Spring? Now is the time to make things new...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ~2 Corinthians 5:17

For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. ~ Song of Soloman 2: 11-12

Family Time

The whole family, at the Calgary Space & Science Center

Ah, a weekend spent with the family! Laughter, tears, fun, chaos, exasperation, joy. Its all of that & more. Lawrence & I drove up to Calgary Alberta for a few days to spend time with his entire family. We converged from north & south to meet in the middle in this great city.

It was truly a great time, despite some organization chaos, losing people in the city's biggest mall on a Saturday, a few temper tantrums by the children and a few of the men having the flu. Yes, it was still a great time. Weather was fair, & the driving roads were perfectly bare & dry. And we all got home safely lastnight only to hear that Calgary got another snowstorm over night & woke to about 6 inches this morning. Oh its good to be home!

Family is so important. Yes, every family has its 'disfunctions' and we did have fears of 'issues' happening between family members over the weekend but for the most part, I think we were all just happy to see eachother. Such a rare thing when family lives far apart & such a blessing when we are all able to get together. I will definitely cherish the memories made this past weekend!

My husband, holding up the moon :)

Hiatus

Goin on a bit of a road trip for a couple days! So I will be on a Blog Hiatus!

Have a great weekend everyone. I hope to return with a few new photos to share!

Just Keep Swimming

When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming... swimming... swimming. Just keep swimming! ~ Dorie - from Finding Nemo

Dorie has been my MSN display pic for about two weeks now. Every time I see her I think "Just Keep Swimming". And it makes me smile. Strange Disney theology but its a powerful & true message.

Sometimes, life & circumstances are crappy. Like when you're surrounded by grumpies, or if you are frustrated, impatient, sad or mad. You can't just float in one place for eternity so what's the next best option. Keep Swimming! Keep going! Carry on!

Thanks Dorie - your advice is gold!

Banff, Alberta

Today I present you with a photo tour of Banff, Alberta. This beautiful little tourist town is nestled in the Canadian Rockies. It is an adventurers launching point. Great skiing, hiking, biking, rock climbing and more can draw you to this town. Not adventurous, then maybe the breath-taking mountain views, interesting caves, or the abundant wildlife. All waiting to be discovered by you!

In the summer, its over-flowing with tourists. But all times of year can offer you the best of Banff. I took myself on a weekend getaway in June, a few years back. I did the full tourist experience. Stayed in a B&B, took the Gondola up the mountain, drove up to the ski hill, photographed wild life, hiked by the river and visited the caves.

Not trying to give your a tourism pitch, because it IS an expensive little tourist town, but just wanted to share with you one of Canada's gems. If you want specific details, check out their websites like www.banff.com or www.banff.ca

Inside the cave with warm mineral springs at the Cave & Basin National Historic Site

Black Bear in the rain

Ratty-looking female mountain sheep happily posing for me on Mt. Norquay

Elk near Banff

One of the best things to go see, as a tourist or as a guest, when you go to Banff is the Banff Springs Hotel. It is the most beautiful hotel in the area. Its free to go visit the grounds & walk inside the building. The architecture is fantastic. I highly recommend a visit here.

And, if you're slightly afraid of heights like me, a really worth-while cure is taking a ride in the gondola to the top of Sulpher Mountain. Because this was one of my 'self-discovery' weekends, I decided that a ride in a free-swining-attached-to-a-skinny-cable was just what I needed. I photographed myself in the gondola to prove to others I did it. But the top was certainly worth it! Banff Gondola






Boardwalk at the top

So, there's a short photo tour of the touristiest parts of Banff, Alberta, Canada!

Everything That Has Breath

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6

Everything that has breath, everything that breathes! All creatures, totally aware of their Maker! It amazes me. Every creature has a way they show their love & appreciation to God. Some with singing, others with their actions.

How unfortunate that some people can get so annoyed with the early morning singing of the birds. (except there are a few that have 'less than heavenly' songs) What are they doing up so early? They just can't wait to praise God for the new day, for the trees, for their food.

And what about the other creatures? Though they may not be so obvious as singing birds they still have ways of showing their praise, giving thanks to their Maker & Creator & Provider!

"Beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl...let them priase the name of the Lord" Psalm 148: 10, 13

Oh that we could learn from God's creatures. Unihibited, all out praise to the One who created us. We could run, swim, fly or sing our praises to Him.

I took many animal photos in Africa - I was amazed at the diversity there. It was truly like I had found Eden!

Heaven Fascination: Sunday Theology

Kalamalka Lake - Vernon, BC

I am fascinated with Heaven! There are so many opinions, interpretations & mysteries about the great there-after. And so many incorrect ones I think. I'm not sure about the 'heaven' we go to when we die. I think its just an intermediate place. I do believe we'll be in 'the presence of the Lord' but I don't believe its our final destination.

When Christ returns, which I believe will happen in my lifetime, He sets up His 1000 year reign on earth. Revelation 20 I think all those who have previsouly died before His return will be there too, along with all the saints who survived and were martyrred during the 7 year Tribulation. "and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus...who had not worshiped the best" Rev 20: 4

But what after the 1000 years. Then we get a new heaven & new earth. Revelation 21:1 So this is to believe we will get to live on this new earth for eternity. Others believe we'll only be living in the new city with the streets of gold and gates of pearl.

I'd like to believe the earth will be ours. The mountains, streams & oceans, clean, beautiful and unable to harm us. One author & theologian that believes such things is Randy Alcorn. I encourage you to visit his website Eternal Perspective Ministries if you also want to know more about heaven because he has some amazing thoughts & interpretations on it. Today I ordered Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven" I imagine it will take a week or two to get to me. But after I receive it, I will probably have more to say about his thoughts on Heaven.

Its too big of a topic to discuss in one blog and I have so many anticipations of this new heaven & new earth that it would be mind-boggling to discuss them all. But my belief is that this earth we are on now, is going to be our eternal home. But without all the devastation, death, disease and most of all, it will be without sin. And I can't wait. I've got big plans for some of the ways I'm going to spend eternity, and it includes a lot of my favourite things I like to do now - like hiking, rock climbing, swimming, eating great food, singing, dancing, spending time with those I love and meeting so many more that I will also love.

I love my life here on the present earth, but there are fears, hurts & dangers now. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away..."Behold I make all things new." Revelation 21:4-5

I can't find the credits for the words of this song but I will never forget its words

There will come a day when He will split the skies
And following the Lamb of God are armies dressed in white
I will join the thunder shouting "God Almighty Reigns"
Never will there be a doubt again
That Jesus is the great I Am

Not Crushed

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair." 2 Corinthians 4:8

The trees on this point in the photo above have the lake on both sides and they get just hammered by the winds in the winter & spring. It amazes me, after some harsh windstorms, that they even remain standing. They must have really strong roots.

Sometimes it seems like life can come at you from every direction. It can be frustrating, perplexing and may even feel over-whelming. But if you can 'root' your strength in the Lord, you won't be crushed & you won't need to despair!