Hope in burned-out seasons, poppies, and Wonder*FULL April

**Wonder*FULL**

April 2026

A Beautiful Pause in a Fast-Paced World

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Kevin and I spent a Saturday morning walking the Ballantine Trail, a moderate hike on Highway 87, south of Payson, Arizona. We walked in the scar of a wildfire from 2020.

Six years ago, the Bush Fire burned on these hills for over a month. Looking toward the fire in the night skies, people living in the city of Fountain Hills said the mountain appeared to be flowing with molten magma. More than 100,000 acres of pristine desert were destroyed, including thousands of centenarian saguaros.

“This makes my heart sad,” I said, pointing to a toppled giant, its wooden ribs exposed in the morning sun. It felt wrong, somehow, to be photographing what felt like a travesty. “There’s another one.”

For the first thirty minutes, we had seen one individual cacti at a time as we climbed in elevation. But then we rounded a bend in the trail and stopped. Below us was a hillside of burned sentinel giants, an entire century of lost guardians of the desert.

I knew I would never see their return in my lifetime. Neither would my children.

Focused on this sobering reality, I almost missed it—a single lupine—a stalk of purple flowers waving like a banner in the wind.

And the lupine wasn’t alone. In the shadow of the toppled saguaros, we documented twenty-seven different wildflowers growing where once had been only ash.

Purple Coulter’s lupine. Orange California poppies. White desert chicory. Pink owl’s clover.

And hundreds….no…thousands of flowering yellow brittlebush.

The roots of the flowers were holding the very dirt to the mountain that had once been tended by the saguaros.

Which is the way of the desert, with continual lessons for all in hard, burned-out seasons. There is life….beauty…for those with eyes to see.

And if the very sentinels you once leaned on have toppled, look closer. That which is overlooked as small and insignificant, is still blooming in places thought to be without hope. Bend down. Focus.

There!! In humble beginnings, growing among the rocks, bursting out with little bits of wonder, hope can be found.

So, yes.

Be one who looks for God’s beauty in this world, and once encouraged, be a giver of beauty to others who walk in the ashes of burned-out dreams.

You are a life-giver to this world. This. I believe.

Welcome to Wonder*FULL April.

INVITATION 1

Your Soul’s Backpack

A verse for your soul’s backpack:

Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord;
it is fitting for the pure to praise him.

The Lord merely spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.

Psalm 33:1,6 NLT

What do you sense God as Creator is speaking over your life? How are you using your voice to breathe creative life in others?

Loving this quote by Emily P Freeman:

“I hope you’ll take a little time to lean your head gently against the heartbeat of your life and discover what brings you joy, what feeds your soul, and how your friend Jesus might want to lead you into the next moment to come.”

INVITATION 2

Discover Beauty Where You Live

Kevin and I took our youngest grandson to D.C. in March. We had taken his siblings on previous trips, and it was his turn. While Kevin attended a conference, Ben and I saw the sites.

While there, we strolled among the Impressionist artists at the National Gallery of Art. Did you know that Monet painted over 250 paintings of water lilies? He once said, “I must have flowers. Always and always.”

What water lilies were to Monet, desert poppies are to me. I have taken several trips this spring for the sole purpose of photographing the flowers I have photographed for over forty years. It’s not like I would discover anything new.

Or would I?

As I spent a few moments before this famous painting, something awakened in me regarding my love for desert poppies.

As I bend low

in my forty-first year as a desert dweller

to photograph poppies in springtime,

I finally understand why Monet painted

more than two-hundred-fifty paintings

of water lilies.

Each time is the first time.

For what do you stop and bend low?

poppies on the path

my knees bend for a photo

and then bend again

Zoom in for a miniature bridal bouquet of flat-top buckwheat.

INVITATION 3

A Giveaway!!

This month’s drawing: CHOOSE ONE BOOK from the four books above. Guideposts includes stories from multiple authors for these collaborations.

Guided By His Hand: A story about how God used heart-shaped rocks to help me make a decision about getting a new dog.
God’s Promise of Hope: A story about being snowed in at the cabin, when even my husband’s chewing had become too loud. God has a lesson for me involving the birds at the feeder.
Miraculous Encounters: A story about being lost in the desert and meeting two people, one who was not very helpful!
God’s Saving Grace: A story about a ladder which was up to something and a building project involving my husband and our 100-year-old cabin.

I will hold the drawing on April 6. The winner can choose one book from the list.

The books are also available on Amazon (paperback) and on the Guideposts website (hardcover). With AUTHOR 15 you can get a 15% discount on the Guideposts website:

https://guideposts.org/christian-bookstore/

Please click on the green button below to get on my list for your chance to win.

EMAIL ME FOR A CHANCE TO WIN!

The FINAL PHOTO of mourning doves with suggested captions from my social media followers:

Oh my word Charlie! I told you to take a Beano before you ate those beans!
Introverts trying their best to make friends.
I know you are mad but you didn’t have to snap my head off!
Ready or not, here I come!

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Click here: Newsletter — Lynne Hartke

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All photos are from Lynne Hartke, unless otherwise noted.

Saguaro skeletons on Ballantine Trail near Sunflower, Arizona. Collage of brittlebush, owl’s clover and California poppy (and Sadie) on Ballantine Trail. Fishhook cactus at Crucifix Canyon. Me taking photos of poppies at Tonto National Monument. Monet’s Waterlilies at National Gallery of Art in Washington, poppies and buckwheat at Tonto National Monument. Mourning doves at Gilbert Riparian Preserve.

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