plants

Living Water

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Ramsey cascades

Hiking has become one of my top all-time favorite pass times. Living smack in the middle of Midwest America there are very few challenging trails to embrace. The circumstance of our geographical surroundings leads me to plan as many vacations as I can around this love to hike and explore. It has to be balanced with what the children and my husband enjoy as well. My definition of fun is often very few others definition.
There is something about the anticipation of what will be around the next bend of the trail. The thrill of reaching the goal of the destination set to reach. God’s creation is photogenic as where ever one looks there is such beautiful artwork. There is pain that comes with these hikes. As I age the pains are becoming more plentiful, but that seems to add to the joy of reaching the final destination. Despite the pain in my right knee, despite the pain in my left hip, despite falling, despite pain in my lower back, and despite the fact that my feet now have their own heart beat I am here!!! The climb, the battle, the pain is all worth the views and discoveries.

There has been a particular hike in the Smokey Mountains that I have had my sights on for four years now. This past vacation there was time allotted for my husband and I to set out on this adventure I had been patiently waiting for. It was well worth the wait, the anticipation, and the four mile one way up a mountain trudge. The path followed closely alongside a bubbling mountain stream with the ultimate destination set for a beautiful one hundred foot waterfall. The entire trek was lined with moss and ferns growing in and out of everything. The beloved ecosystem literally houses hundreds of different species of plant life. There were trees that had to of been hundreds of years old along the trail. As we continued to place one foot in front of the other I kept thinking of Living water mentioned in scripture. Life thrives by this beautiful stream as it gives nourishment and the much needed water for these plants to survive.

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Life with Jesus and receiving the “living water” He teaches of and gives believers is what spiritual life, health, and growth requires. You see in a life with Jesus as our guide there is always anticipation of what will be around the next bend. There is anticipation of our final destination of His glory for eternity. Along the strenuous path there will be pain, struggles, and falls. Through the struggles there will be strength, endurance, and a beauty that will prevail as one continues to focus on Jesus and His purpose and plan.
John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

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Beauty from Life’s Deepest Wounds

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When cleaning up the yard this spring I actually contemplated retiring this old planter. If I move it the bottom is going to literally fall out. Actually finding beauty in the rusty decay of this small metal wash basin, I decided to try to make it last at least one more year. As the weather grew warmer a green sprout started to grow from one of the large rusted cracks. It didn’t really resemble a weed so I made the resolution to wait and see what the green sprout grew into. Much to my delight it is one of the annuals I had planted last year. How exciting it has been to watch the bright yellow puffy blooms from last year appear completely unplanned by me. There was enough of a remnant of a root or possibly a seed that survived a harsh winter in this old decaying pot. As I have watched this plant bloom from the brokenness of my old planter it has made me think a lot about our broken messed up lives. No one can escape life’s trials as we all have them. Sometimes it is the consequences of our own choices causing our wounds. Sometimes it is the choices of others that wound us. Then add life’s normal progression of losing loved ones. Learning that this world we live in is not fair is an addition to our brokenness. The amazing thing is that before God even created the world He had each and every one of us planned. Within each of us He planted a seed of His glory. When that seed becomes rooted in Jesus, God’s only Son, there is a beauty that blossoms out of our brokenness. As we turn our broken lives completely over to Jesus’ love and forgiveness. When we turn from our sin and set our eyes on Him. The seed of God’s glory that He planned so long ago becomes rooted in Jesus. That seed then begins to grow and to blossom. As we allow His purpose and plan for our lives to play out there is a beautiful peace that is beyond description. God can turn any ugliness of our lives into beauty. No one is too broken or messed up that God cannot bring life and hope from the deepest of wounds. Eventually this pot will have its final day and will no longer be able to stand. As our bodies will one day take the final breath. It is at that time that if our seed is not rooted in Christ that it dies, forever separated from God. Until our final breath we have the opportunity to accept Jesus and become firmly rooted in Him.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 61:3 “and provide for those who grieve in Zion– to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Colossians 2:7 “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Jeremiah 17:8 “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”