Thriving...in Spite of It

If you've ever visited my home, driving up, you'll see piles of lush green foliage with splashes of color huddled in their respective flower beds on both sides of the front door. Lovely from the curb, but when you step closer, you'll easily see the disarray....much like a Renoir ... Aren't we all, really? We hope things look perfect from the outside, and do everything in our power with concealer, color, and shape-wear to make us look that way, but without God's mercy and grace, we could never have any hope of being what we intend to be. I'm picking on my hodgepodge garden for a reason.  It brings to mind three specific situations in our lives---conditions, really---that are calling for our attention...like that 6:00 AM songbird outside the window on Saturday morning. We can roll over, put a pillow over our head, and shut it out, or we can acknowledge the miraculous truth and beauty wrapped up in its notes... 1) What did you plant? Springing up between t