Thriving...in Spite of It

As I sat and drew twining roses around the page this morning, thinking about this verse, I began to see a very definite connection—a path, if you will—between the things I do, the things I actually want to do, and the things I want.  Oh, how I would love to have a rose garden! But unless I invest the time and energy to plant the three rose bushes sitting in the garage, that will never begin to happen. Most of fruitful, worthwhile outcomes we enjoy don’t happen overnight. And they don’t happen on their own. As good and generous as God is, he wants us to invest effort alongside our faith toward the goals and dreams we long for. He wants us to ask, believing he can help us do it, and keep asking until it happens. He wants us to seek, with all our hearts, comparing our desires to his until the two align. He wants us to knock, persistently and deliberately, putting our own hands to work toward getting that door of opportunity to open.  If you’re believing for something today, put these thr