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 ...

I find that the quiet, soothing shade of a garden is the easiest of places to sit and talk with God. I love to go out early, before the dawn, and watch and listen as night transforms into morning. No matter how cold it is, there I am, on the back porch, bundled up in flannel and blankets, before makeup and hairdos happen, before text messages and emails begin constantly beckoning, even before the dog is awake to claim my attention. It's worth it, to hear the crickets and frogs give way to birds, to see a warm glow stretching out and pushing away the shadows, the same way God's mercy sweeps away the dark things in our past. As I huddle with my cup of coffee in the dim glow of a Bible app, I can't help reflecting on His goodness. I am in awe that His "mercies are new every morning." (Lamentations 3:23). Just like the sunrise,  it happens every day. Every single day.   The second garden is just as important as Eden, the first, because it is a place of transformat...