One plant I planted because I had had the seeds for a few years and I didn't even know what it would look like (I could have looked it up on the internet, but for some reason I didn't think about that until now). People wrote beautiful things about this plant ("Love-in-the-mist") so I planted it. And even though it was winter and cold and probably not where it wanted to grow, it grew. And it got these tiny delicate white flowers that remind me of chamomile. Like all the other plants it has gotten routinely watered and fed. It was doing great until it wasn't. And then it just up and died.
When I read about it I knew it needed to be outdoors. I knew it needed a much bigger space to grow. Like, I think this plant spreads and gets bushy and is happy to look at. I think it is a wild looking plant -- not real neat I mean. More like something that should be in a meadow. But I really hoped she would hold on until I could plant her outside.
She didn't. She just couldn't. The space just wasn't right for her.
I am still going to plant her outside after the last frost and see what happens.
It reminds me God places each of us in perfect spots to grow -- we aren't like my Love-in-the-mist. We are called to be adaptable. Sometimes the place God puts us will be a spiritual desert; sometimes a lush green spiritual delight. Sometimes life sucks and is painful; sometimes it is sad; sometimes it might even be boring (if that is where you are then boredom is the perfect condition for your creativity to grow). Sometimes life is dangerous or scary or lovely and full of flowers and love. No matter your situation God has called you to grow there -- to grow spiritually. We don't have any excuses -- well, any good excuses -- not to grow spiritually daily. It is our choice. Spiritual growth means we're producing fruit.
Jesus says in John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."
So, if we aren't bearing fruit, we aren't doing the job Jesus calls us to do. The fruit we are called to bear are character traits like: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
Who doesn't want more of those traits in his or her life?
Grow, grow, grow! Don't ever stop growing. Do it for Jesus. Growing happens by feeding ourselves with the word of God and prayer and living in obedience to Jesus Christ. John 15:9-10 says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."
God's commands aren't meant to be lived as rules, but lived as a way of life. They all come down to: Love God and love people. The 10 commandments all deal with relationships. The first four are between you and God. The last six are between you and other people. Looked at them in this way, it makes it simpler I think. Just to refresh your memory, here are the ten commandments (given to Moses on the Mountain in Exodus 20):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall make no idols.
- You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
- Keep the Sabbath day holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet.
Jesus loves you and so do I!! If you need help with the Bible or have spiritual questions or whatever feel free to email me here. I study the Bible daily because it is one of my all-time favorite things to do. If I can help you I will. If I can't I'll point you in the direction of someone who can.