Tag Archives: Beautiful

Whose Flower

13 Sep

“. . . Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:”   Matthew 6:28

I’m God’s favorite; I just know it.

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There it was, a beautiful purple Aster, growing all alone in a dry, brown field. Drought had hit Northern Arizona and the normally green fields and trees were brown and brittle. Yet there it was.

Its green leaves were brilliant against the brown. The purple flower faced diligently toward the sun, soaking in the warmth. I knew as I enjoyed its delicate beauty that God had sent it – just for me.

We had just moved to a small town, far from our church family of 10 years. I felt small in a large empty land; alone. All my years of ministry seemed to be sitting on a shelf and I was seeking God to know why He had planted us here and what He wanted us to do next.

There was His answer – in a barren field. Bloom where you’re planted. Become a flower in the desert with your eyes only on the Son. There I can use you to touch My hurting children.

Thank you Father, for never forgetting who we are. Thank you Father that you love your children so very much. Thank you Father for gifts, physical and spiritual – just when we need them. Thank you Father for planting me where You need me most. Let me always remain your humble servant.

My, My. Whose flower will I be?

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Written By Linda J. Humes

11/25/2002

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HARVEST

13 Oct

 

“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:  But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.” 

1 Peter 1:24-25

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We grow each and every day. What we will be as we grow depends upon our parentage – how we will grow and develop depends on what we allow ourselves to be influenced by.

Just as a flower, a rose will always produce a rose, a lily will produce a lily. But the strength and beauty of the plant is shaped by pure and plentiful water, as well as rich and fertile soil. A beautiful plant will wither and die without ever once producing a flower or seed when grown in a harsh dry area. A simple plant can become abundantly beautiful with special care, dropping its precious seed back into the soil as the flower dies, to produce again and again.

We make a choice – every day, every hour, every moment – as to the type of water we allow to be poured over our seed. We choose the stagnation of wicked thoughts and senseless gossip or the pure washing of the Word.

We make a choice of the ground that our seed will fall into. An arid desert where the children of Israel took 40 years to learn the greatness of God – and even then, only the children were allowed to cross over because the roots of the parents were broken off, but still firmly planted back in Egypt.

We make the choice of cultivating the soil with the rich blessings of God, as well as the truths and laws that give a firm foundation to support a healthy root. We make a choice.

Do we grasp our seed tightly in our hand so that no one else can get to it? Do we toss our seed casually aside, allowing it to fall where it will? Or do we place it carefully between our feet, to be guarded and tended until the day we must go on – and it remain.

The seed you hold is not for you. The seed you hold is not just one seed. The seed you hold is the seed of the seed it shall bear, and the seeds they shall bear, and the seeds they shall bear. Have you prepared for the harvest?

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Written 1/2/99

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THISTLE

27 Apr

Thistle

By Linda J. Humes

“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

I live in an area where wild flowers grace the hills and valleys for months, changing colors in wonderful blankets of purple, white and yellow. Their blooms smile upward as cold winter winds turn to warm spring breezes. Beautiful flowers, once planted in domestic beds, moved about by the constant winds that blow here.

Those flowers that remain in beds grow full and lush, tended by caring hands. Those that grow wild are small; their roots are shallow, for lack of water, of cultivated soil, of carefully added nutrients.

I’m always delighted by the wild alyssum, snap dragons, morning glories and evening primrose that pop-up in my yard. When the leaves first surface I contemplate the color and shape – is it weed or flower? Do I pluck it out or wait and see. I wait.

Even the sharp prickly thistle, easily recognized, I leave unharmed until the beautiful purple flower has shown its glory. Being careful to remove the entire plant before the delicate petals turn to seeds and parachute away on the wings of the wind.

I wonder if that is similar to the way God looks down on us – His children. Watching as the tiniest green leaf breaks the soil. Watching to see whether we grow as a flower in His glory – or branch out prickly branches while charismatically enticing the unsuspecting with temporary beauty.

When He sees a heart of tenderness, is that when He sends the caretaker that removes the weeds and tares that surround us, stealing our nutrients, crowding our lives, restricting our growth or causing death? Does He watch as we sit at the edge of sin, enjoying the temporary beauty – wondering if we will grab onto the seed after the flower is gone, flying away to watch the sin replant and bloom and float and replant and bloom and float . . . . Does He watch to see if we will pluck the sin away, to the deepest depth of its root; at first sight – or maybe just in time?

I wonder what Jesus saw when He looked down from the cross that fate-filled day; was it the lilies of the field that took His breath? Was it carefully raised, tender plants that chose to leave on the winds of changing doctrine? Or was it the thistles and the crown of thorns that threatened His children?

I wonder if He cried out for the new leaves breaking the surface of the earth, searching, seeking for a drop of moisture – for a chance to bloom. Or was His cry for you – was it perhaps for me?

Yes, I believe it was.

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