Seeds and Weeds

Wow!  Feels like I haven't written in quite a while.  That is a good thing... life has been full with VBS (Vacation Bible School) prep and back to school prep as well.  I have been learning my limits more each year and trying to balance the things I do... and the things I don't do.

This week is one of my favorite weeks of the year as our church hosts VBS.  We have about 90 children come through to doors to laugh, sing, play, and learn about Jesus.  I don't know how many volunteers we have but I must say it is a beautiful sight.... truly the Body of Christ put into action.  We have some many youth and adult volunteers using their gifts to serve... we are being stretched out of our comfort zone and working together all for the glory of God. 

Yesterday our lesson was based on Matthew 13:1-23, The Parable of the Sower

I am not a gardener by nature (no pun intended).  I love having plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables growing in our yard and house.  But, I have a history of killing plants.  I don't mean too... but sometimes they perish from lack of care; sometimes they perish from over-care.  And then there was the summer that everyone in our family went with my husband to pick out seeds for flowers they wanted to grow.  We each had a big plant pot, seeds, and soil.  This time, I knew things would be different.  Oh, how I cared for those seeds.  I tended to them with water and sunlight.  I was "feeling the love" as my seeds sprouted and up came beautiful green growth.  The nurturer in me came out full-force, not to mention my pride.   I had finally succeeded in growing something beautiful!  The bigger it grew, the bigger my pride grew.  That is until my husband, with some botany knowledge from college, informed me that my beautiful flowering plant was in fact ... a .... WEED!  I was deflated.   Makes me thing of times in my life that I have tried to chase after and "grow" beautiful things that are not of God but of this world.  Things that seem so beautiful but are in truth, weeds that crowd out God's Word and purpose for me.  Just like those weeds that choked the life out of my plants.  It is all too easy for this to happen. 

Ah, but there is hope.  Each year I grow older, I am learning to recognize the weeds more easily... and learning, what needs to be tended too.  In fact, right now, I have 4 living plants in my house that I am the sole caregiver of; they have been thriving for at least a  couple of years.  And, in my daily life, I am learning to hear God's voice more clearly... making room for Him by clearing out the weeds.  And, as I told the kids at VBS yesterday... God is still growing up all of us whether we are still children or not.

Praying you have many blessings and much joy!
Kristen