Flower Lesson

We can learn from flowers. We drink deeply from the minerals and water from our roots in Jesus and His Word with prayer. When we drink enough from these sources, only then do we grow and bloom and open up into a beautiful flower that encourages and enriches other people’s lives and shows God’s glory.😃❤️

Hard Lessons

Ok, so in my younger days, ahem, God had to whack me in the head to get my attention and teach me lessons I desperately needed to learn to be useful in His kingdom and even right now in this place with these people. I was largely on my own in many ways and was grossly independent with an annoying kind of false humility (which is based on an enormous pride) and I needed training tempered with love (most often) to get my hard-headed attention. I desperately needed to be humbled and alone with God. It is funny thr clarity that comes with decades of maturing, mildewing and contemplation.

The hardest lessons ever were always the same lesson: I am little but loved and God is great, solely worthy of worship, and the only One trustworthy who loves me unconditionally.

It seems a simple lesson. I was not simple. I knew enough to be dangerous but not wise, highly intelligent and over-thinking everything but with an arrogance I am almost embarrassed by now. God has always been about simple presentation of that lesson. And He has always been about a relationship with me, amazingly, and is big enough to have that with everyone who accepts Jesus as their Savior.😄❤

Honored to Have Broken

I have long known the bit about God using the broken beautifully. I have lived it. But in my case, it was my choice to be broken. How so? God wanted me because my Grandmas and Aunts were praying for Him to want me and I was proud and rebellious. I would not humble my heart to God with any of His many gentle nudges. So I had to be broken to have a chance to be humbled. God loved me enough and answered their prayers enough to break me to save my soul. I am excessively thankful and God can break me anytime I need it. I choose to stay humble, though, because I see it’s value. I realize you cannot have a relationship with God puffed up with pride. If broken gets you humble, be thankful for the broken. If broken does not lead to humble, it is wasted and may need to be repeated. Accept the lesson for it means you are loved enough to endure some temporary earthly pain to gain eternal glory. Someone is praying for God to draw close to you. Be thankful. Choose truly humble of heart to draw close to God who can make everything better inside- peace and joy and all.😄❤

A Life Lesson From Carrots

Our carrot harvest was small. Lots of carrots were there fully matured but tiny. Half of them were too skinny to eat of any use at all. Of the half that were edible, only a few had reached their full potential. I realized what I did wrong. I did not thin them and planted the seeds too close together. I let them be comfortable.

However, my lack of thinning them made them be overcrowded. They had no room to expand or grow. They needed me to disturb their comfort and move them around, separate them from their comfort in order for them to grow stronger and healthier. They would have benefitted us more had I disrupted their comfort.

This is how life is. God has to mess up our comfort a bit because we need to grow stronger, for our benefit and His kingdom’s benefit.

A comfortable life can never be the goal… growth is. A closer relationship to God, deeper roots, healthy strength to help nourish others and praise God. God would not be showing us the most love and care by leaving us alone in comfort, just as I did not show my carrots the greatest love and care by leaving them aline in comfort. Comfort spoiled the carrot harvest. Comfort spoils our usefulness.

As children of God, we need to appreciate and thank Him for the struggles He allows in our lives. Proves He loves us and wants us to grow stronger. I will be grateful and not grumble anymore to the best of my ability. God knows what is best for me and has always done that for me despite my lack of understanding at the time. He is God and I most certainly am not.❤