Powerful Symbols

 

I made this Resurrection Garden
during a Circle of Love (widows) meeting
at my church.

Like a Watered Garden

If you extend your soul to the hungry

And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, 

And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 

The LORD will guide you continually, 

And satisfy your soul in drought, 

And strengthen your bones; 

You shall be like a watered garden, 

And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 58:10-11, NKJV

A section of my neighbor's beautiful garden.
J. Gaskill Photography

Like Produces Like

We’ve been enjoying the produce my husband brings in from his small garden. He can count on his tomato plants to produce tomatoes, never peppers. His cucumber vines produce cucumbers, never tomatoes or herbs or green beans. Whatever kind of plant he plants, it bears exactly what it’s supposed to. No surprises. Ever. 

This principle applies to all living things. Lions give birth to lion cubs, not llamas. 

The Bible says that like produces like--not only in the natural world but also in the spiritual world. For example, the Spirit of God who indwells believers produces this kind of spiritual fruit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). People who do not have the Spirit manifest very different attitudes and actions. 

Does the Spirit of God live in you? To find out, take a look at your “fruit.”

Look for the Beauty and the Blessings

With camera in hand, I walked through the gate to my neighbor's garden. "I doubt you’ll find anything to photograph here,” she said apologetically. 

I smiled, having already spotted several things that I wanted to photograph.

She enjoys her garden most when it’s at its peak--when it’s filled with soft pastels on her hydrangeas and vibrant colors on her geraniums and roses. Indeed, it is a delight at that time; but…I also love her garden in the fall when the blooms and leaves are aging and turning beautiful shades of brown before drifting down to the ground.

Just as I can find unique beauty in the garden every season, I also find beauty in whatever season of life I’m in. Even in late fall and mid-winter, there’s beauty to be found in the garden and in life.  Although I sometimes have to look more closely to find it, it’s there!

Dear Reader, will you take a close look at your life in order to see the beauty that surrounds you? If you don’t see much that delights you in your current season or situation, will you ask God to open your eyes so you can see the blessings that surround you? The beauty and the blessings are there! Look for them! Thank Him for every one you find.