THORNY SOIL

        I've been into gardening this Spring and oh how gratifying it is!  More than the satisfaction of seeing the beauty of the plants, God has been teaching me a lot of life lessons at the same time I'm enjoying His creation.  One of them is the presence of undesirable weeds and thorns.  They are eye sores in the beautiful garden that I was tending to.  Their presence diminishes the potential of a more glorious splendor the flowers can exude.  So I have to pull them out.  It is like our own spiritual life.  This is best explained by the parable of the sower that Jesus Himself gave in Luke 8.  In verse 14 it says: "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."  The worries of this world, the lure of riches and stuff, the pleasures and hedonistic lifestyle, are the weeds that hamper our growth in our personal relationship with God.  Our priorities are altered, redirected and refocused to things other than God.  The Word of God planted in our hearts get choked by worldly thoughts and desires. 
         
         God wants us to all grow into a beautiful, full blown flowers in His beautiful garden, but some cannot because their life is so crowded with so much weeds and thorns of this world.  In the soil of hearts is where the roots of our relationship with God reside.  It is our intentional responsibility to check our hearts and see if the weeds of this temporary world  are choking the seeds of God's Word planted in them.

EMBRACING THE PRESENT

Oh life! Every single day offers us new surprises, new adventures, new experiences.  It is a rainbow of different colors that make one beautiful sight to behold!

          What lies ahead I cannot fully know.  I only have the present to savor and make the best of.  The past is gone and only the memories will be the strong strands that make this incomplete tapestry an art to anticipate.  What I do today matters most.  I only have my faith that keeps me strong.  It is the total dependence on God that keep me going each day.  There are moments that I feel down but I cannot afford to dwell in it.  I can only keep my eyes on what God will do while embracing this present moment, enjoying each experience.