Thursday Devotional...3/8/12

Mistletoe and Fleas

I was standing outside in the sunshine today. The sky was a beautiful dark blue and it seemed to promise me that warmer days would soon be here as I zipped up my jacket against the cold wind. Admiring the beauty of winter I noticed a fallen bit of green lying amongst my plants. Picking it up for a closer look I was surprised to discover a piece of mistletoe. Looking way up into the very large old tree that sits in the middle of our front yard it was easy to see the big healthy ball of mistletoe growing amongst the highest bare branches.

I kept thinking about the fresh, thriving piece of greenery and how it grew even while the tree was bare. A quick search on the internet clarified that mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows in certain trees without soil. I am used to thinking of the word parasite in a negative way. For instance, fleas are parasites to dogs and cats, and we try to get rid of them!

I thought, God, are we like that mistletoe? Are we the fresh green bit of life in a world of winter? Do we attach and grow wherever we end up, while adding love and peace to the lives of others? When our neighbors, coworkers, friends and family look at us, do they see a bright spot? Or are we more often like fleas that pester and annoy the people around us?

Romans 15:1-2, 13 (God’s Word Translation)

So those of us who have a strong faith must be patient with

the weaknesses of those whose faith is not so strong.

We must not think only of ourselves.

We should all be concerned about our neighbor

and the good things that will build his faith.

May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace

through your faith in him. Then you will overflow

with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 12:11 (The Message)

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;

yet to those who have been trained by it,

afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Dear Lord, Aargh! Why is everything a lesson? Oh yeah, because You love me and will not leave me in my present messed up condition. No matter how good I look on the outside, I want to be truly good on the inside. Thank You, Lord, for all the opportunities I have to practice patience with others. I know it is of little credit to me when I am patient, because it is Your strength in me that makes it possible for me to be positive, considerate, and loving when that is not how I feel .In Jesus name, amen.

Written by Mary M. Wilkins