The Garden

It's only been in the past year or so that I have become a plant person. For all of my adult life, I have never cared for living plants. Rather, I focused more on my children, my husband, and the comings and goings of our chaotic life. I would often say "I don't grow plants, I grow children." I also had a habit of killing anything remotely beautiful that my hubby would bring home for me within a span of 24-48 hours. 

Two years ago, we finished building our beautiful home and moved in. Suddenly we were stationary. No more moving every few years. We were homeowners! No more renting someone else's home. A shift occurred..... I bought a nice hardy succulent and it was still living a week later, a month later, a YEAR LATER! Since then I've added multiple plants and they are all still ALIVE! I like to talk to my plants, stroke their leaves, water them tenderly and smile at them. I think now that my children are getting older, I have more room in my heart and hands to nurture something else and watch it grow. 

My patio is one of my favorite places to sit. I have several plants out there, some flowering, others not. I have a hummingbird feeder that is the life of the neighborhood, I mean hummingbirds wait in line to get something to drink! The other day I was sitting out there early, before the sun came up, just being quiet and present with Jesus before my day got busy and loud. As I felt the wind and watched it rustle the leaves of the various plants on my patio, I smelled some of their scents and just admired their beauty. This caused me to worship God as I beheld His glory through His creation. As I sat there, I saw a picture in my mind and I felt the Lord speak quietly in that moment and I want to share it with you. 

I imagined God sitting on a patio, surrounded by various plants. He looks around at them, with love in his eyes and just enjoys them. Some are more colorful than others. Some have flowers that need to be pruned back often and need watering daily, while others have no bright flowers and only need to be watered once in a while. God loves smelling all the different scents and gazing at the beauty that each plant brings to his patio. God just wants to sit and enjoy us at times! He looks around at us decides "Oh that one needs a little extra water today. Now this one over here is doing great, it's hearty, I don't need to water it right now. I need to prune back this one, so it can produce more flowers." I felt like He was showing me how unique we all are and what a glorious arrangement we are to Him. How boring his garden would look if we all looked the same and smelled the same.!

May we rejoice in our differences and uniqueness, as well as our individual spiritual walks with Christ. For each of us bring joy to the Father and He, in His loving and tender way, knows exactly what kind of care we need to best bring Him glory. 

Triggers

Today I was triggered. I have a tendency to numb out when triggered, usually by cleaning my house with a vengeance, rather than taking time to pause, reflect and process the trigger and the emotions attached to it. 

Only recently have I learned that while I can forgive someone for an offense/betrayal once, I will be impacted by that offense at unforeseen moments for who knows how long, and I must stop with each impact, acknowledge the ripple effect of the first offense and forgive the current impact in the present. 

Forgiveness has always been a one and done for me. As a Christian, I have believed all my life that forgiveness is a command, and it is. What I'm only now truly grasping is that just because I forgave as commanded in a particular moment, I still have to choose to forgive the consequences of the original offense/betrayal over and over and over. 

Taking time to put my finger on a trigger, chew on it, think about it, own the emotions attached to it, and working it all out are not enjoyable processes. By nature and my personal worldview, I have a proclivity to shove anything and everything remotely uncomfortable or confrontational under the rug, or behind a closet door. But the past year has truly blown the door off the hinges and burnt the rug to a crisp. There is nowhere for these unenjoyable, ugly, hurtful, and hard things to hide anymore. 

I am learning to be awake and present to myself. 

I am becoming fearlessly authentic, what Jesus created me to be. 

Testify, Christian!

 

January 23, 2021

Our time is short, the enemy is hovering and advancing at an alarming rate. The time for playing Christian and being a lukewarm believer is OVER. Jesus is calling out to His Bride to stand up, speak up and be bold in proclaiming His majesty, His authority and His rule over the universe, this world, this nation.

Can you not see Him, He stands at the ready, waiting for His Father to say, “Go get your Bride!” He will not wait for the foolish virgins that were not ready, or the guests that refused to come into the feast. He will come in fury and glory, releasing His wrath on the nations and drawing His precious people to His side.

Do not be consumed with temporal things, this world and all of its trappings, work, the pursuit of money and pleasure. Those things will burn in the fire of His judgment. He is looking for a people that are consumed with Him and only Him, with conviction to share His gospel with the lost and despairing. A people whose soul desire and purpose in life is to glorify His holy name, no matter the cost, no matter the persecution. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! Testify, Christian! Testify! Praise His Holy name, for He alone is worthy of all praise, glory and honor! AMEN!

Testify by Jervis Campbell