2/15/16
Wandering through the garden section of the local store I see a sign, "Rose Bushes Only $4.99." The thin long bags of dirt have a few sticks poking out of the top . Could I grow a rose? I take 3 bushes home imagining the beauty and scent these mere sticks might have one day.
Two plants find nice homes in large garden pots. But what about the third rose bush? Discussing my predicament with my daughter she asks why I don't just dig a hole in the ground. As I admit my aversion to hole digging she offers to do it for me. That's how 3 rose 'sticks' made their home just outside my kitchen window.
Five years later 3 beautiful rose bushes, tall and green, blossom at intervals, releasing silk petals whenever the wind blows. Suddenly one summer, a disease killed one of the plants but the others stayed strong. Then a drought compelled us to water less and less. After 2 summers of reduced water, the remaining rose bush in a planter shriveled and died.
Only the rose with it's roots deep in the earth withstood the intense heat and lack of water. It didn't blossom but it survived. When the rains came again the plant burst forth in abundance as if it had been saving many seasons of flowers to grow and bloom at once.
When I find that I have become complacent, taking God for granted, forgetting to hold onto those truths that are food for my soul, I suddenly recognize I have been in a drought of my own making.
Dear Lord, thank You for bringing my true condition to my attention that I may repent and receive Your forgiveness. Please help each of us to drink in Your truth even when we don't think we are thirsty or dry. Thank You that Your Word will always prove true (see Proverbs 30:5). What a relief to know that I may fool others but I cannot fool You (see Hebrews 4:13). Thank You for not leaving us or forgetting us (see Deuteronomy 31:6). In Jesus name, amen.
Written by Mary M. Wilkins
Wandering through the garden section of the local store I see a sign, "Rose Bushes Only $4.99." The thin long bags of dirt have a few sticks poking out of the top . Could I grow a rose? I take 3 bushes home imagining the beauty and scent these mere sticks might have one day.
Two plants find nice homes in large garden pots. But what about the third rose bush? Discussing my predicament with my daughter she asks why I don't just dig a hole in the ground. As I admit my aversion to hole digging she offers to do it for me. That's how 3 rose 'sticks' made their home just outside my kitchen window.
Only the rose with it's roots deep in the earth withstood the intense heat and lack of water. It didn't blossom but it survived. When the rains came again the plant burst forth in abundance as if it had been saving many seasons of flowers to grow and bloom at once.
When I find that I have become complacent, taking God for granted, forgetting to hold onto those truths that are food for my soul, I suddenly recognize I have been in a drought of my own making.
"For
the word of God is living and active
and sharper than any two-edged
sword,
and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit,
of both
joints and marrow, and
able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the
heart.
Hebrews 4:12 NIV
Dear Lord, thank You for bringing my true condition to my attention that I may repent and receive Your forgiveness. Please help each of us to drink in Your truth even when we don't think we are thirsty or dry. Thank You that Your Word will always prove true (see Proverbs 30:5). What a relief to know that I may fool others but I cannot fool You (see Hebrews 4:13). Thank You for not leaving us or forgetting us (see Deuteronomy 31:6). In Jesus name, amen.
Written by Mary M. Wilkins
Jordan Feliz performs "The River"
This is a wonderful comparison devotional of how plants flourish under favorable conditions and languish when conditions are unfavorable with how the same happens to the spiritual life when a person does not seek favorable conditions for that aspect of her life.
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