Green thumb. Not here. Far from it. I tried a garden once, that was a disaster. I can’t even make a cactus\u00a0survive.<\/p>\n
I have flower beds around our place. In the Spring they get love and attention however by the\u00a0time Summer heat rolls in my motivations are low. Regular maintenance\u00a0decreases. I love to admire their beauty yet I lack the energy to nurture\u00a0them.<\/p>\n
My friend, on the other hand, she has beautiful flower beds and pots around her property. She diligently tends to them, cares, and nurtures. Multiple times a week out weeding, watering, perhaps singing to them. Ok, I added that last part. Her work, diligence shows. Not only do I see her out there I can tell by they way the flowers look. She does not make them bloom that is God’s miracle. What she does is nurture. Come along side and encourage. Meet their needs.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0flower beds do not have to talk for her to notice the needs. The flowers do not cry or pout. She knows. She knows the benefit of daily care. She knows the rewards. The flowers reflect the care in her heart. The colors seem a little brighter. The plants look a little stronger. Why? Because someone cares. Someone delights in its purpose.<\/p>\n
Where am I going with all this? Maybe you have already guessed?<\/p>\n
Do you notice the flowers around you? The dear souls that you work along side or live with? Do they have to scream or pout to get your attention? Or do you daily, diligent nurture them? Do you pause to delight in who they are?<\/p>\n
We can not make a person bloom. That is God’s miracle. What we can do is love, nuture.\u00a0Like the care of the flowers, there are benefits in the tending of souls. Beauty blooms in hearts that are nurtured.<\/p>\n
See the souls around you. Come along side them. Be with them. Love. Simply love. And see the miracle. The blooming miracle God performs.<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 3:6-7\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.<\/em> ESV<\/span><\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 13:1-7\u00a0If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn\u2019t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.<\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God\u2019s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn\u2019t love others, I would be nothing.<\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;\u00a0but if I didn\u2019t love others, I would have gained nothing.\u00a0<\/span>4\u00a0<\/sup>Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud<\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.<\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.<\/span> <\/em>7\u00a0<\/sup>Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.<\/em> NLT<\/span><\/p>\n 1 Corinthians 13:13\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.<\/em> NKJV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Green thumb. Not here. Far from it. I tried a garden once, that was a disaster. I can’t even make a cactus\u00a0survive. I have flower beds around our place. In the Spring they get love and attention however by the\u00a0time Summer heat rolls in my motivations are low. Regular maintenance\u00a0decreases. I love to admire their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","sharing_disabled":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[13,34,8],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Image00033.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7NWg5-97","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":566,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565\/revisions\/566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/godsgoggles.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}