Beauty with a subtext of pandemic: April in 30 photos

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
    a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
    a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
    a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
    a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart… – Ecclesiastes 3:1-11a

30 days in April; 30 images. This will be a visual journey through what has been a most unusual month.

Despite the coronavirus, April was a month to remember in many ways. It involved highlights of spectacular springtime color, web-based worship and a host of creative ministry initiatives, sad goodbyes, Easter celebration, blooming gardens, unusual birds, some amazing food, keeping up with (and missing terribly) our family in Miami and Dresden, and life on lockdown.

We are, regardless of the circumstances, God’s children living as faithfully and creatively as we can. Life may well be challenging and difficult at times, but life is beautiful. It is as The Teacher writes in Ecclesiastes: “There is a time for everything…” and, “God has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Amen to that! And I pray that the month of May will be a rich experience of grace for all of you – DEREK