The Porch Light copyright by Revka (2006-2010). All rights reserved.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Finding Flowers

I have been thinking hard about some things lately. (My posts this week will expound more on that.) I ended up thinking of an analogy that I would like to share.

I would liken life to a vast garden which encompasses every climate. Sometimes I am in the lushest part of the garden, and sometimes I am in the arid desert with all of its heat and downright misery, but no matter where I happen to be in the garden of life, there are flowers to brighten the landscape. Whether nettle or sweet pea, every plant, no matter how thorny or unappealing, bears a flower which in turn becomes the fruit of which it was but a promise.

When my journey takes me through the richest, most lovely portion of the garden, I quickly notice the beautiful flowers that are so abundant. Life is easy and happy, filled with laughter and peace. Everything is going well.

When, on the other hand, I find myself in the desert, I often have a hard time seeing any beauty in my surroundings. Misery is my companion; everything seems to be going wrong. I sometimes rage silently, wondering why I am traveling through the desert yet again and feeling as though too much has been required of me. I fail to see any beauty or reason for thankfulness in the desert, yet I know that even a cactus bears blossoms.

If I take my eyes off my unpleasant surroundings and seek for the flowers that I know are there, I learn once more that there is beauty in even the most dire of circumstances, but it is only after I shift my focus from the apparent barrenness of my surroundings that I can find the flowers that exist in every circumstance of life.

"For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Philippians 4:11

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