Not in Vain

     I happened upon this wildflower, Moth Mullein, along my walking route last year. Like many wildflowers, it does not appear remarkable at first glance. At one inch across, the bloom is not so big as to catch your attention. However, if you take the time to make a closer inspection you can begin to appreciate its hairy stem and the tinge of purple found at its center. Further study provides two more interesting tidbits: it is so named for the purple hairs on its stamens, which resemble the fuzzy antennae of a moth, and its seeds remain viable for more than one hundred years. I am so delighted by the attention our Creator has given to this wildflower and to each of us.

     After reading all of that, I bet you are wondering how the Lord spoke to me through this wildflower! Well, it was the part about the seed, but I'll provide a bit of background to better explain. I have continued on the "narrow path" the Lord put me on last year. It has taken some adjusting to along the way, but I think that I've done pretty well. Lately, though, I have begun noticing that I am feeling a bit lonely and isolated. I spend my days pouring myself out for my family, at times sacrificing more than I'd like if I'm totally honest with myself and you. The reward seems so minimal when I look at it in the here and now. I mean, it's sometimes hard to see the bright future in the midst of sibling quarrels and hearts that seem reluctant at times to embrace attitudes that glorify the Lord. It's easy to wonder at times if any of my hard work is even making a difference.

     As always, whenever I get off track, the Word is there to redirect me. How thankful I am for that bit of protection! The Lord began to faithfully minister to me with verses such as the following:

• "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).
• "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1,2).
• "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23).
• Titus 3:1 tells us "to be ready to do whatever is good."
• The end of Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

     I could go on and on with verses like the ones I shared. Ultimately, the Lord drove the point home by reminding me of the spiritual seed that I sow into my children's lives. Sometimes I can see that things are sprouting and taking root in their hearts. Praise God for that! Other times, I have to fight the temptation to tap my foot in impatience as I wait and wait for anything to grow. The fact that the seed of the Moth Mullein wildflower  remains viable for one hundred years speaks to me of how far reaching our seed planting efforts extend. I may not see certain things now, or even in my lifetime, but that does not mean that my work was in vain. If my memory serves me correctly, I heard in a sermon once that we are not judged immediately after our death because our works, whether good or bad, live on after us. Wow! That thought is both awesome and scary at the same time. Who knows when something I said or did will pop into my children's minds, causing them to live more fully for Him? Who knows who they or their children or grandchildren will influence for the Kingdom because of an unselfishly planted seed by their mother.

     Father God, thank You that I can always count on You to reign me in and remind me of what is true. Your Word is alive and gives me everything I need to live each day successfully for You. Let Psalm 63:8 be true of me in that my soul clings to You. Help me to surrender my days to You, trusting in You and not leaning on my own understanding. Help me to look past myself and what I want to You and what You want. Thank You for encouraging me that the seeds I sow now have not been sown in vain and may come to fruition somewhere down the road in Your perfect timing. I recognize my need to obey You in the next thing in every part of every day, and to trust You with the rest. I humbly look to You to provide whatever grace is necessary to accomplish that. In the precious name of Jesus the Christ, Amen. 

    

 

Christ in me the hope of glory

The Lord has graciously been speaking to me through this beautiful Evening Primrose flower. I know that He loves me, but sometimes I am just wowed by the way He initiates a deeper walk with Himself. I am so thankful that He enables me to see his handiwork all around me, and hear His voice through His creation. He is good!

I have always liked this flower in my garden. It started as a single bloom from a friend and is now like a bush. I never much liked yellow flowers until I was introduced to this one. There is just something about it! It stands out, bright and cheery, next to the other flowers in my flower bed, earning praises from neighbors and friends. I am not usually in a position to purchase gifts for those who are special to me, but this flower has proved to be a remedy for that. On a few occasions it has become a wonderful parting gift to send with anyone who admires it.

The Lord showed me this week that I am like the Evening Primrose. Yes, it is true that He has made me to stand out amongst other women. Every Christian is called to be different, and it benefits us to ask ourselves if there is enough difference between us and the world. This is a nice reminder, but not what He spoke to my heart.

It took a bit of digging to glean all that He would have me hear from Him. When I searched for information, I discovered that this flower is found in poorer environments and grows best in disturbed soils. He certainly had my attention now! I thought about that and began to hear, like a tape recording, all of the Scriptures that speak of the benefits of living in the midst of "disturbed soil." How often I can say that things have not gone as I would have chosen! Inevitably, the way is much harder and gives ample opportunity to fear. Looking back, those are the very situations that teach me to trust Him more. Those are the times when I grow and even thrive in the midst of the uncertainty. And all because of the very things that I dread the most.

One more neat little thing about this plant is its stigma. Look at it in the picture. It is cross shaped. A two-fold reminder for me: I have Christ within me and I will sometimes be called to identify with His suffering. Who knew that the Lord would have so much to say through a simple flower? He never ceases to amaze me!

Lord, You are so very good to me! Thank you for the reminder that great things result from the bumps that I encounter along the path You have me on. I am in awe of Your creativity, Lord! I cannot fathom the intricacies of the things You have made. I praise You because You are worthy to be praised. I lift up my heart to you and humbly ask that You keep me close to You. In the beautiful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.



.

Overrun

    
     My girls and I had the opportunity to participate in a Metroparks volunteer effort to help eradicate the invasive garlic mustard plant. Populations of garlic mustard can spread rapidly, advancing an average of 20 feet per year. Each plant produces anywhere from 350 to 7,900 seeds. If left unchecked, the garlic mustard plant will crowd out the native plants that we enjoy seeing on our hikes.

     We arrived early,  fitted our hands with the bright blue nitrile gloves, grabbed some black trash bags, and set off with the others to get to work. The first area we passed through was very manageable, with a smattering of plants here and there that were easy enough to eliminate. This had been an area of focus last year, and it was encouraging to see the dwindling numbers of garlic mustard. My daughter began jubilantly pulling the plants and saying, "You thought you had won, but WE defeated you!" It was quite cute.

     We moved further down the trail and our eyes were met with green as far as we could see. Not green from trees, grass, or wildflowers. It was a sea of garlic mustard. It was everywhere! We sat our bag down and purposed to get to work on it. Little by little, we began clearing out our area. It started to feel like we were actually making a difference. But then we'd look up and it'd be the same sea of green for as far as we could see. Ugh! It was quite discouraging.

     As we pulled, I shared how garlic mustard is like sin. Sin has an ever increasing nature that we must go to war against daily. If we are not vigilant in pulling it, root and all, from our lives, it will spread and take over. I don't want my heart to be overrun by things that are not of God. Sin is never content to stay small! It will always begin to take over and crowd out those things that are pleasing to my Lord.

     Heavenly Father, I thank you for speaking to me today through the garlic mustard plant. Lord, You know that I want to glorify You with my life. Help me to be quick to identify areas of sin in my life so that I can pull them out before they grow and try to take over. Even as I write this, I can think of a few strongholds in my life that need to be uprooted. I humbly ask for your help with that, too. I pray that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I may keep my heart cleaned of the sin that so easily spreads. By doing this, I know that I will have more room for the things that You desire to see abound in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Look Up!

I can't even detail how crazy my last ten days have been! Just when I thought that things were sure to level off, they'd intensify. The enemy has tempted me lately to just let go and vent about the craziness. To be honest, I really have thought about it at times. When it seems I'm nearing the breaking point, I think, "Oh, how I'd love to sit down and write, minute by minute, what my typical day is like!" But for what?

Sure, I could detail the enormous strain that our household faces even without the extraordinary happenings of late. However, what purpose would that serve? When I think of letting go with a tirade, I can hear the Lord whispering to me, "Would that bring me glory, or would you be giving the enemy the attention he so desires? Instead of that, why don't you just rest in me and trust me to use these circumstances for your good? Let me use your life for my purposes and glory."

I do want my life to glorify God. I want to be found faithful during the crazy times when I feel like I can't take another second. I want to look to Him each day to supply me with whatever strength I'll need for each circumstance that I face. I want to cling to the truth that He is in control no matter how out of control things feel at times. I want to have my gaze fixed upon Him, knowing that I might not see clearly now, but I will one day.

It's really all about perspective. I can look at things right now and grumble about how stressful and horrible they are. Or I can look at it differently and say, "You know, Lord, I don't love going through this, but I believe that you're gonna bring great beauty out of it. I don't feel like I can humanly handle any of this, but I thank You that this opens the door for an awesome display of your strength." Then, somehow in all of it, the enemy will have lost out and God will have received the glory. Now I need only pray that I can obey Him in this when I feel like complaining!

These two pictures remind me that outlook determines a lot. They are the same subject, photographed within a minute of one another. What made the second one prettier? It was because I shot it from a different angle, namely looking up! And so our circumstances can look different to us if we will just look up and to Him.

The Narrow Way

I am in a strange place right now. A place where my walls have drawn inward and I recognize that my world has become much smaller. Like the picture, the path that my feet are on is narrow and strewn with rocks. The wonderful part, though, is that the path leads up! Like always, the Lord whispers to me, "Take my hand and walk with me. Stay close to me for I will help you! I will be your light. I, myself, will show you the way. Trust me, dearly loved daughter."

A few months ago I really felt the Lord speaking to me about priorities and focus. Like many of you, I truly desire that my focus be fully upon Him. Yet, the things of this world, good and bad, clamor for my attention...

I am the type of person who gives my all to everything I do. If you are talking to me, I will be with you. You will not find my eyes darting around to other "more important" people that I think I need a word with. If I am hiking with you, it will be all about taking that chunk of time to enjoy one another and soak in God's awesome creation. If I commit to something with you, I will be faithful and will involve myself to the brim. Though things try to crowd my mind, I purpose to give my all to each situation I find myself in.

At the present time, I have a few important things on my plate that require a lot of time and energy. In order to keep the Lord at the forefront of everything I do, I have found it necessary to keep my world small. If you have not been hearing from me, it is because I am focusing primarily on Him and the tasks He's given me. I know that the smallness of my world is just temporary and will eventually expand once again. Knowing this, I have been praying that the Lord will give me wisdom in enlarging my territory. There are so many good things jockying for a place in my life, but I only have so much space to put them in. So, which ones would He have me include? My heart's desire is that I only welcome the things that He is clearly leading me in.

Father, the path You have me on right now is narrow. You have blessed me with some success in this present smallness, yet I know that it will not stay small like this forever. I pray that you would help me make wise choices about what belongs in my world. I pray that my focus will always be on You and that I will not lose sight of what You are calling me to. Strengthen me, Lord, to do Your will. Guide me along the paths that You would have me on. Give me ears to hear what You speak to me and a fierce determination to obey You. In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

More Than Meets the Eye

I think of so many things each time I see this picture. I knew the minute I snapped it that I would some day write a devotion for it. I've wanted to draft it on at least a few occasions, but the timing has just never been quite right. Until this morning. I was blessed to have a wonderful moment with the Lord where He suddenly made it all crystal clear to me.

My first thought when I came upon this tree was, "Oh, Lord, this speaks to me! I think that I must know exactly what it feels like to live out this particular visual." You see, this tree is exposed. Uncovered. Vulnerable. Its roots should be buried securely beneath the soil, and yet they are out in the open and unprotected.

Do you ever feel that way? I always remind myself that God is my perfect covering, but that doesn't always stop those nagging thoughts. "I feel vulnerable. I don't feel safe. I feel exposed rather than covered. This doesn't feel good!" I have to mentally gather myself and will myself to trust that the Lord is, in fact, in control. Though I don't always feel it, He is covering me in a most loving and perfect way. He loves me, knows me through and through, and is interested in every detail of my life. And so the mental tug of war continues, "You are so precious to Him, Tamra. Trust Him that everything will be okay. Don't be afraid of what may come. He will prove Himself to be faithful no matter what comes your way."

The Lord brought this picture back to my remembrance this morning as I spent some time with Him. The same thoughts came to me about the tree roots being bared and how I can relate to feeling that way so often. And then the Lord spoke to my heart. I could feel Him impressing upon me the truth of that picture and the reason why I have been so drawn to it from that first moment. Why it has resonated in such a way within me. As is often the case, what He meant to teach me is nothing like what I thought He wanted to teach me.

He showed me this morning that what I can see with this tree's roots is only part of the picture. With perfect gentleness, He whispered, "Daughter, what you see here is not the reality of the matter. There is so much that your eyes cannot see. (Wow!) These are not the only roots that this tree has." I went on to do a little research on the matter and discovered that the roots grow in varying depths and directions. The roots that are shown in this picture probably only make up a very small percent of this tree's root structure. The reality is that this tree is way more secure than I realized. In all likelihood, it has many roots running horizontally in the first two feet of soil for quite a distance. I was surprised to discover how firmly anchored this tree probably is, which was totally not what I was assuming.

As I meditated on these thoughts throughout my day, I was reminded of the story of Elisha and the Arameans in 2 Kings 6. Though surrounded by hostile forces, Elisha told his servant, "Don't be afraid, those who are with us are more than those who are with them." One of my favorites parts of the Bible comes next: "And Elisha prayed, 'O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." They were not nearly as vulnerable as the servant believed them to be based on what he could see! The LORD showed up for them with a mighty display of His power. I am learning more each day, and am becoming convinced, that things are rarely the way I see them.

Thank You, Lord, for speaking to me today about this picture that has been on my heart for a while now. You are awesome! I thought I understood what it meant, but You had something totally different in mind. I love how You are always patiently teaching me what You want me to know. Help me to remember that seeing is not always believing. Lord, I want to consistently look to You for the reality of my situation! I pray that You will continue speaking to me, teaching me, and drawing me deeper into Your Word. Cause my heart to never stop seeking You. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

The Beauty Within

On a recent hike with friends, one of the moms asked if I had ever looked inside a sycamore fruit. I guess I had never thought to break one open before. When I did, I could have cried. It's an amazingly intricate design that resembles a honeycomb. It so obviously points to our Creator, and I'd had no idea.

This image of the sycamore fruit was still with me the next day as I heard more whispering from the Lord. In the same way that He placed this amazing sight in this fruit, He has tucked away beauty inside each of us. He has lovingly hand-crafted each of us, the crown of His creation. If He cared enough to make the inside of this sycamore fruit a thing of beauty, I am awed by what He must have done in each of us. It was just another of those moments where He reassured me about the way that He sees me - how special I am to Him and the worth He has assigned to me.