A Message from the Past

Hello again! [After nearly five months of silence] *embarrassed grin*

Sorry. I didn't mean to be gone so long. I actually had a Christmas post I was planning to bring you -- back around Christmas time. But *ahem* since we're now in May, I shall just leave the Christmasy stuff for next year. If I remember. 

In the first two months of 2015 I was kinda busy (click here if you want to know why), so throughout January and February I had no time to spare. And in March, April and May? Uh, well, I kind of, er...forgot about this blog -- and [unfortunately] my With Eagles' Wings blog too, so you aren't the only ones I've been neglecting.

Moving on.

Guess what I found today?

A message from the past, you say? 

(Whoa, I rhymed! Sounds like the beginning of a poem...)

I found in a notebook of blue and gray

something that I wrote one day.

I must've loved flowers at the time,

because -- oops, that was another rhyme!

Anyways *ahem* I must have loved flowers at the time, because I filled eight pages with my ginormous writing about (ready?) the similarities between (are you sure you're ready?)...Christian life and...flowers. I kind of enjoyed reading it again, because -- this proves that my brain wasn't all fluff back then -- I actually made a few valid points there in my notebook of blue and gray. I think. Okay, so some of it is kind of cliche, but you gotta remember I was a young when I wrote that. 

*Disclaimer - I did alter a few phrases here and there and took out a few sentences that didn't go well with the rest of it.

And now I'll just stop talking and let you be the judge...

~

The seed represents our life growing in Christ. It starts out small, but grows and becomes productive if it is taken care of.

Good soil represents God's word. We cannot grow without sinking our roots into the Bible. A flower in sandy soil will not last very long. It is easy to uproot because it is not firmly planted. If we stay firm in God's word, we will prosper and no one will be able to uproot us!

Sunlight represents our daily experiences. There are bad rays of sunlight and good rays. We learn lessons by everyday experiences...some of these lessons can be good experiences, but others can be bad. [The bad ones] make us want to wilt, just like a flower under the hot sun. The bad-experience lessons come along with the good-experience ones, and we need both kinds to mature into the people God wants us to be. However, when the load seems too heavy to bear...don't fret! God is there to bestow His love and blessings on us....

Rain (or water) represent God's blessings. There are times when it seems that God is pouring down a rainstorm of blessings, yet there are other times when it seems like a drought of hardships has descended on us. Even when tough times seem to be unending, we must realize that God's love is also unending. 

Roots -- As believers, our roots of faith must be anchored deeply in the ground. When storms of worry, trouble or anger come along, we must not be uprooted by them; we must sink our roots of faith into God's soil. We must be prepared for storms, for we undoubtedly will have some. But our faithful, all-knowing Creator knows the storms that come trying to uproot us, and He will steady us with His firm hand.

We view the Garden of Life from the bottom side...all we can see is the crumbly dirt and scrambled roots, and it doesn't make much sense to us. But God can see the Garden from up above -- each one of His colorful, unique flowers -- and He knows exactly where we need to be to make the Garden BEAUTIFUL! So be willing to move when God asks you to. It will make the big picture...well, picture perfect! [that was the cliche part...]

Sometimes it feels as though we're being uprooted and tossed onto the burn pile when God decides to move us. Which brings us to...

Pruning. Yes, we're all a bit frightened by the word "pruning." But again, God is preparing us for the BIGGER picture, the one we'll be able to see from above. If we are willing, God can prune us and make us look whole and beautiful. The thorns of idleness and temptation, the deadness of sin and destruction, the wilting parts can all be cut off to make a new you! The brown, dead, wilting mess can be transformed into a new, pure flower that dazzles the eye!

Consider the lilies of the field; see, they are better dressed than even Solomon and his courts!

Flowers do not question their worth, who they are, or WHERE they are. They bloom for their Creator, not for man. Flowers bloom in rain and in sun; in hard times and in easy times...no matter who is (or isn't) watching or praising them. They glorify their Maker. Flowers bloom in all kinds of places: deserts, meadows, gardens, and even in the sides of cliffs! In beautiful, balmy places, AND in rough, rugged places. Wherever God puts them, that's where they stay and prosper. 

But don't get me wrong...flowers DO die. Some, after dying, spread their seeds so that many new plants are born because of that one death. Our Creator sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us. Because of His death on the cross, many people can have new birth. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and YOU will be saved! 

Just as flowers bloom for their Creator, so we must bloom for ours. God will help us to prosper, and we will begin to bear the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law.