roots in the sand

This week I have been out in my yard pulling weeds. They are tough. I have resorted to spraying chemicals on the weeds to kill them, then ripping them out of the ground after they turn brown and pretend to die. Inevitably I watch their remnants and new weeds spring up to take their places.

When we first moved to Florida I discovered to my horror that the ground consisted of s-a-n-d! It is not soil or clay. It is not absorbent.  Water does not soak in, it runs off. If there is no vegetation to collect it the ground remains dry beneath the surface. Guess what grows well? W-e-e-d-s!

I have discovered something interesting. Native plants have the ability to thrive in the sand because they have deep roots. If you dig through the sand far enough you will eventually come to solid ground. It may be one to three feet deep but if you keep digging you will find it.
Those plants that grow well in Florida are adapted to the harsh conditions.  Native foliage has the ability to live in the desert like heat, survive torrential summer storms, and endure occasional hurricane force winds and the sporadic frosts of winter. The survivors have deep roots. When adverse conditions come, they may be wounded but they will survive, become stronger and grow deeper roots.

I understand that it is not wise to build a house on sandy soil. Living in the unstable shifting sand of this world and having deep roots in the soil of God's word enables you to be a survivor. 

Ephesians 3:14-19 "For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its character. I pray that from the treasures of His glory He will empower you with inner strength by His spirit so that the Messiah may live in your hearts through your trusting. Also I pray that you will be rooted and grounded in love, so that you with all God's people will be given strength to grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the Messiah's love, yes to know it, even though it is beyond all knowing so that you will be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who by His power working in us is able to do beyond anything we can ask and imagine, to Him be the glory."

Now, go strengthen your roots = )

On Being a Clay Pot

Pots tend to crack or break if they are used. Many hazzards lurk around a pot that is taken from a glass enclosed display cabinet. It may get cracked when bumped against another pot, when used in the oven or placed in the freezer. It may get chipped or broken when dropped. But, there is no good use for the pot if it is only to be admired.

When the pot gets broken the pieces can get glued back together, but the cracks will still be visable. Notice I didn't say "if."

Jan, a dear friend of mine, once told me that we are "broken vessels." She went on to say that God's light will shine through the cracks in our "broken vessels."

2 Corinthians 4:6-9 "For it is the God who once said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' who has made His light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Jesus The Messiah.
But we have this treasure in clay jars so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.
We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed."

I can certainly relate to that broken, cracked pot. Life is hard. No 'ifs,' 'ands' or 'buts' about it.

I do want the light of the God of love to shine through me. Sometimes I have to remind myself. Sometimes I totally forget. Sometimes another "crack" may appear and I will remember.

Ugh. Will I ever have my "clay pot" all together? I thank God often that He doesn't and won't ever give up on me. He keeps putting the pieces back together and He keeps on using me.

I have determined that each day I wake up, as long as I am alive for another day, I want to be used by God to touch the life of at least one person and be a blessing to another broken vessel; just like me!

Mother's Day

Forty one years ago I became a mother for the very first time. My first Mother's Day. It was a beautiful morning as I watched the sunrise while in the recovery room. That was before they allowed the family centered birth experience. Subsequently my husband and I had two more children. God knew what He was doing when He gave us three girls. We we now have twelve grandchildren and half of them are boys. Wow, my hat is off to mothers of young children today especially boys. What energy, wisdom, flexibility and quick thinking skills they have to have!

It is through being a parent that I have learned about the love and wisdom of a God who is the ultimate parent. I have felt the exhuberating joy of watching our girls grow up and cheering them on! I have felt the heartache of trying to guide them through those years by sharing with them some things I had learned from poor choices that I had made. I thought I could prevent them from making some of their own. I had to stand by and watch as they made mistakes, were injured, failed in their goals or had hearts broken.

Hugs and bandages can help injuries heal. A broken heart can not be so easily mended. It may survive but it bears the scars and lives with the pain of the memories left behind.

How much more does God rejoice over our triumphs and feel sorrow for our rejection of our Creator and Savior. He gives us the key to wisdom, knowledge and understanding in the Scriptures? It is worth volumes of preventative instruction if we would only learn from the lessons of those who have gone before us.
A child's rejection of their parents brings unbearable heartache. It is a wound that may be bound up but never healed this side of heaven. I say this with the knowledge of experience. It is tremdously grievious, gut wrenching and heart rending to lose a child. It is harder still to lose grandchildren.

I implore you to be sensitive to listen to what God is saying to you. Read His words to you in the Bible. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I Am God." Pray. There is a song by a man named Lyle Helmick that has these words: "give me a soft heart, open eyes, an ear to hear what Your Spirit says.....prepare me, Lord, to go where I am led...Teach my ears to hear You, through Your eyes to see, teach my mouth to praise You, teach my heart to sing!"

We have a choice when sorrows come our way, and they will. We get to choose whether we will allow them to make us better or bitter, soft hearted or heardened. Pain is inevitable, suffering it is optional. Sharing your pain dilutes it and helps you to bear the unbearable. The best way I found was to get into a Bible teaching church, become part of a small group community in that church and allow God to use other people to share your pain and help bind those wounds. Pay attention and watch for the little miracles along the way. Don't miss out on them by focusing all your attention on waiting for "the big one."

There is so much wisdom, knowledge and understanding to be gained! Do not reject Him today. Tomorrow may be too late.

oops....

If you got a "new" posting from me within the last couple of days it is the finished edited entry. A previous draft was sent out accidently. I'm sorry that it happened that way. But I did learn from the experience = ))