I am not an overly outdoorsy person. Sure I enjoy going rafting down the Boise River, or tending my rose bushes, or taking walks on the Greenbelt, but that is as far as it goes. I am not the person who does many active sports, or is more at home outside than inside. But regardless of this fact, earlier last week you would have found me pulling up last year’s dead growth in preparation for a new harvest of fruit, vegetables, and flowers. While doing so, I was surprised to locate green growth lying beneath that dreary brown; it was just waiting for my hand to reveal it to the world. Once again in creation, the Lord showed me a spiritual lesson, and I wanted to share it with you.
Our lives are full of green growth. In our talents, our spiritual gifts, and countless other ways, we have the opportunity to share the joys and beauty of a life for Christ. Granted, like with typical plants, we have our share of blights, bugs, and general nastiness….but that doesn’t stop us from being lovely in Christ’s sight. We have only to tear our dead growth away.
Our brown can take on many forms. It can be in the form of fears; we are too worried about what the world will say that we don’t show it. The brown can be the past; we have been hurt so much to the point that we do not want to get involved anymore. We can be deadened and unaware of our God’s gifts so we don’t use them period.
It is hard to remove the brown and make the green visible. We get dirty, needles get in our hands, our strength gets taxed and our muscles tighten. But in the end, we realize of how much worth the pain was. The same is true in our personal lives, even though the difficulties and dirt might be ten times harder.
Do not let your light shine under a bushel! God has given each of us a special gift to use for Him….and He wants it shared with the world!
Our lives are full of green growth. In our talents, our spiritual gifts, and countless other ways, we have the opportunity to share the joys and beauty of a life for Christ. Granted, like with typical plants, we have our share of blights, bugs, and general nastiness….but that doesn’t stop us from being lovely in Christ’s sight. We have only to tear our dead growth away.
Our brown can take on many forms. It can be in the form of fears; we are too worried about what the world will say that we don’t show it. The brown can be the past; we have been hurt so much to the point that we do not want to get involved anymore. We can be deadened and unaware of our God’s gifts so we don’t use them period.
It is hard to remove the brown and make the green visible. We get dirty, needles get in our hands, our strength gets taxed and our muscles tighten. But in the end, we realize of how much worth the pain was. The same is true in our personal lives, even though the difficulties and dirt might be ten times harder.
Do not let your light shine under a bushel! God has given each of us a special gift to use for Him….and He wants it shared with the world!
9 comments:
Great analogy and beautiful reflection, Ella! Thank you for this lovely reminder.
This was a great post, Ella. So much truth.
I have often thought of this very analogy while weeding in my garden... I think of the example Jesus used in John 15 about "every branch that bears fruit He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit".
Thanks for sharing!
This is beautifully true and such a great reminder. It definitely applies to some things in my life right now.
I learned a gardening lesson as well recently. When Daddy is pruning the trees, he is preparing them for fruitfulness. In the same way, I need to prepare for fruitfulness in my life by pruning away those things that are limiting my fruitfulness. For me, much of the pruning was in weeding out too much busyness. Too much constant going. Too much being on the computer. All those things needed to be pruned. Oftentimes pruning is painful, but it is necessary.
Love,
Mom
Great post. It is so true that the brown can take on many forms. We should all allow our light to shine for HIS Glory and not our own.
Anna, I am glad you enjoyed the reminder!
Kaysie, I love John 15. It is a favorite passage. You are so right.
Anna, I hope that the Lord is using this in some amazing ways for you. I know the feeling!
Mom, yes, pruning is painful, but oh, so necessary! I thank you that you have helped me learn that one particular lesson so as to avoid much pain later.
Dad, you are so right. We should shine for Christ's glory and not our own....though admittingly, we don't very often remember that!
Ella,
I like the new look of your blog. I think this is the first time I've actually commented on here- do you remember answering my question about stay at home daughters? It was a while ago, so you may not.
I love this post. It's something I've thought about many times but couldn't bring to words! I'm unorganized in my thought process most of the time!
I also saw on Radiant Daughters that you said you wear between a 3 and a 5 size shoe...I wear bewteen a 5 and a 6 and I am 18 years old! Everybody is always telling me I have such tiny feet...like I don't already know! So, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!
How is your church search going?
luv, morgan
A beautiful post, with an extremely true message, thank you for sharing!
This time of the year, more than any other, reminds me of these analogies. Winter is so hard for me (I have a mild case of seasonal depression) but there is always hope because I know spring is mere months away.
Just like we must prune ourselves so that we can grow in Christ, we must have periods of "death" or an off season so to speak, so that we can revitalize and shine as bright as possible for Christ.
This was a very uplifting blog, blessings to you from a random blogger! :)
Morgan, yes, I remember you! I don't always have an easy time putting my thoughts into words. God alone gives me the ability! No, you are not the onlky one with small feet. I am also 18 and I ALWAYS get retorts about my shoe size....and my petiteness in general!
Samantha, glad you foun my blog. I am often reading for winter to end, though I know many who have seasonal depression. Yes indeed, our periods of death enable us to spring forth anew and shine brighter for HIS glory!
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