An Illustration of Growth

An interesting thought process developed today which turned into a pretty neat illustration… I don't know if I can do it justice, but I thought I’d share it with you.

I have a house plant that has been sitting in my kitchen window sill for quite some time. It outgrew the window sill quite some time ago and, because of that, I was unable to turn it around from time to time to expose all sides to the light. The result was that all of the leaves migrated to one side of the pot. The stems that were in the back pressed up, through and around the rest of the plant, pointing towards the light of the window.

As I said before, this plant had outgrown the window sill quite some time ago. For that reason, I have brought it to work and placed it on a small side table that offers better conditions for its further growth. It looks funny though, sitting on this table. The plant is not bushy all around; the leaves are fanned in an arch and pressed to the front of the pot, long ivy tendrils growing only from the left and right sides.

The little table that the plant is sitting on is against the wall that faces my desk. As I type and do my daily tasks, it is within my sight and I have thought of its further growth throughout the day.

I had initially placed the pot on the table facing the leaves outward, seeing that this was the most attractive side of the plant. But then it occurred to me that in order for the plant to become full all around, I would need to expose the other side to the brighter light.

Little factoid tidbit- Did you know that the reason a plant seems to follow the sun isn’t because the leaves are drawn to the light? It is actually because the side of the stem that is in darkness opens its pores in order to absorb more light. It is because the pores expand that the stem then bends, consequently facing the leaf towards the sun.

So, as it is right now, the plant is turned around and the not-so-attractive side is facing out.
At first glance you think that the back of the plant hadn’t grown, but upon giving it more thought, you realize that the back had grown; it was just turned within the rest of the plant...seeking the light.

SO
With all of that said, I believe there is a true illustration in this thought process. I’m sure as you were reading through, a lot- if not most of what I will now say will have already occurred to you…but I believe that it bears saying anyway.

I believe our Christian lives are very much like this plant.

We are tended to by our Loving Father. We are nurtured and turned so that we experience full growth.
We are left in seasons of our lives and then, after some time, we are turned to experience growth elsewhere.
I think there is hesitation at times to turn, because of the unfamiliar or vulnerability. I think we stay where we are comfortable and experience further growth in some areas only to stunt the rest of the growth.
In the window sill, the plant’s growth pattern made sense. Having been moved, it now seems awkward in its new environment. I believe we find ourselves doing our best to avoid these awkward situations. However, in these new environments, we can submit to God’s will and his objective will be accomplished and we will become that which He intended all along.

Factoid tidbit: The definition of “living” is “active or thriving; vigorous; strong”.

I believe that as we find ourselves living in God’s Spirit, we are able to open our hearts in areas that are yet unexposed in order to seek His Light.
And just as the plant opens its pores, it is in seeking Him that we are then facing Him.
I think it can be said that God is not always content to allow us to sit with our pretty sides facing the world, and it is by exposing our “less tended” side that we may then experience fullness in those areas.
Just as the plant is turned, and its new growth can now point outward, so too does God grow and nurture these things within us, to then turn us to point towards the world.

I believe the application is then this.
Allow the fullness of growth.
We can get comfortable in our window sills, and the tendency to resist God’s times of turning can inhibit us.
A willingness to submit to God’s timing will allow fullness to envelop our lives.
We cannot be content to only shine our pretty sides to the world and must be prepared for the times that God may wish to expose our underdeveloped sides.
Stand strong in knowing that we have the assurance that it is by seeking Him that we will remain steadfast in facing the Light that only He can provide.

Facing the Unevenness of Life

Upon arriving home last night, I found Gavin crying in my husband’s arms, recounting a terrible day at school. My heart broke for him and we took the opportunity for extra hugs and kind words.

Attempting to continue through the evening with some normalcy turned into a challenge.

Aiden, 1 ½, was having his own difficulties with the evening; finding everything frustrating and becoming more and more irritated.

Gavin decided that he wanted to play a board game and found extreme frustration that, between my household chores and Aiden’s inability to leave him alone, the board game just wasn’t going to happen.

The final straw for Gavin came when we decided to give Aiden a bath by himself, instead of allowing them to share bath time.

Let me explain-
Baths are Aiden’s favorite thing to do! We can’t even say the word in the house anymore or else he’ll make a beeline for the bathroom and jump up and down expecting the water to be turned on immediately. Many tantrums have been thrown because the word was used haphazardly and expectations were returned with disappointment. I fear that it won’t be much longer before we won’t be able to spell the word within earshot.
This time is typically shared between the boys but, with tonight’s difficulties, I figured it would be better to allow this time to be an opportunity for Aiden to unwind by himself…we definitely didn’t need bath time to turn into what the rest of the evening had already proven to be.

But Gavin saw it as “unfair” and found his heart hardened to my explanations. It was all “unfair”.
He had a bad day at school.
He couldn’t play a board game.
He couldn’t take a bath with Aiden…and on top of it, Aiden got to take his bath first.

Standing in the dining room he folded his arms and, looking downcast and grumpy, he mumbled about the unfairness.

I reached for my Bible and sat in the dining room chair and started thumbing to Matthew 25:14, asking him, “Do you know what God says about things that are unfair?”

Looking less grumpy, he asked “what?”

He sat down next to me and we read Matthew 25:14-29.

I explained to him that things are not necessarily “unfair”, but they are “uneven”.
Some people get 5 bags of silver, some people get 2 bags of silver, and some people get 1 bag of silver.
I asked him, “Is that unfair?”
He said “No, it’s just the way it is.”
I gave him a hug and said “Yes, you’re right.”
“But we ALL have the opportunity to do greater things with what we do have. You may only have one bag of silver right now, but take that bag and do great things with it.”

We then talked about how we use our “bags of silver” and how being grumpy or feeling gypped rarely leads to a prosperous end and how God is honored when we use our circumstances and situations to bring Him glory…even if it is merely with our behaviors and attitudes.
Gavin decided that he would use his “bag of silver” to have a friendlier attitude and to go about his evening in joy.

Today we awoke to our morning Bible study and Gavin recounted the story discussed last night. He decided that he would take his “bag of silver” and use it throughout his day at school. Good listening, friendly behavior and so on…

He left my loving hug this morning equipped to “use his silver”.
Sitting here, I don’t know how his day is panning out or how well he is facing his circumstances, but I do know that if today is not a total success…one day will be.

Just a random thought/question...

Why do we ponder as to what we would ask God, if given the chance? It is my understanding, from His word, that everyone hits their knees in uncontrolable reverence upon entering His prescence...

Finding Confidence Through God's Past Faithfulness

Gavin, my 7 year old son, approached me this morning with his latest wiggly tooth. With nervous anticipation, he asked me to test it to see if it was ready. His hesitation showed strongly as I wiggled back and forth a bit, and when I grasped the tooth, for a better feel, he backed away immediately. It was obvious that, regardless of whether the tooth was ready, Gavin was not.

With the conversation tools that I always use with him, I knelt down in front of him, placed my hands on his shoulders, gently looked in his eyes and said:
“I’m your mommy. You can trust me; I love you and only want to help you. I won’t pull the tooth until you are ready. I promise that I’ll only wiggle a bit just to see if it’s ready. Trust me that I won’t pull it.”

He stood a bit more confidently before me. His nervous eyes shifted a bit, and he tilted his head up, and more up, as I wiggled the tooth but he didn’t step away.

I kept my promise and gave him a hug. I told him that it was pretty much ready but that we could give it a couple more days if he wanted.

That’s when his mental struggle began. He would come to me, but would then change his mind; back and forth, all morning. He wanted the result, and he knew that I could help, but he was having a hard time just letting me do what he knew I was capable of doing.

Finally he came in, looking a bit more resolved.
“Mom, I can’t take it anymore. I just need you to help me.”
I had heard this several times already that morning, but he had yet to actually let me do what needed to be done.

I sat in the dining room chair and he stood before me.
He said “Ok, wait. I just need to build up my bravery.”
What happened next was amazing.
He started listing my past faithfulness to him.
“You pulled my tooth before.”
“It didn’t hurt.”
“It didn’t bleed very much.”
“We did it at the couch last time.”
“You love me and I trust you.”

He looked at me and, with set determination, stepped forward and opened his mouth.
I laid my finger on the front of the tooth and gave it a swift push. The tooth was out.

It was through sharing this story with a friend that I saw our patterns of struggle with God regarding Faith.
We come to Him, knowing that He is more than capable, and yet we hesitate at, or even struggle against, His will.
He so often says to us:
“I’m your Father. You can trust Me; I love you and only want to help you. Trust in Me.”

At times we falter; coming before Him again and again but never allowing Him to do what needs to be done.

We know His ways, we know His Truth, we know “the answers”…and yet we constantly choose against them. We struggle against His Truth.

We say things like, “Yeah, I know that I should do it this way, but I just have control issues.”
or

“I know that God tells us to do it this way, but that just sounds too easy (or too hard).”

It is in these moments that we know that we do not trust Him.
We must refocus.

Gavin did something that it took me all of my life to learn; to look back on past Faithfulness.

God has shown Himself, in many ways. His Truth, promises and faithfulness can be found in our lives, in the lives of others and in His Word. Upon seeking them, upon recognizing them, what you will find is a prayer that sounds very similar to Gavin’s declaration.
“You have been there before. You love me and I trust You.”

It is then that you can stride forward, confidently, and it is when we do this that our lives become filled with the richness of His Truth and we gain wisdom.

North Point Ministries is forging ahead!

I attend South Ridge Church, in Fairmont WV. I have been truly blessed by this ministry and all that this church has to offer.

For those who are unable to attend South Ridge due to living outside of the immediate area, or for those who are searching for additional ministries to plug in to, I point you to North Point Community Church.

North Point is going LIVE Online, Sunday evenings at 6:00 EST, starting Aug 16th. They have offered their messages online for quite some time, but are now going to provide a full church service...LIVE!

This is so exciting for me because it means that everyone has an opportunity to now plug into a ministry that offers a clear way to a full relationship with God, regardless as to whether they have a blessed ministry within their area!

If you have never heard of North Point, check them out at:
http://www.northpoint.org/

If you'd like to check out their promo video for their upcoming LIVE Service, check out:

http://northpointonline.tv/

This is definitely not a substitute for the relationships that can be attained in attending church. Community and relationships are so very important. If you live in the Fairmont area, come and check out South Ridge Church!

Gavin,Tattoos & Morning Car Rides

The most interesting, and in depth, conversations that I have with my now 7 year old son, Gavin, tend to happen during the morning drive to the babysitter's house. This morning's conversation was no exception.

We pass a local tattoo shop every morning, and apparently this morning was the first time that Gavin has really taken notice of it.

"Mom? They have a whole store just for tattoos?"

Keeping in mind that Gavin's only exposure to tattoos has been the "temporary" kind, I asked him if he knew what a tattoo was.

He said he did, and described the procedure of applying a stick-on tattoo. (I can only imagine that Gavin had pictured a store with rows upon rows of stick-on tattoos)

I then explained the ins and outs of the words "temporary" and "permanent" and then went on to describe what a real tattoo is...right down to the needles in a tattoo machine.

He was floored.

We then discussed the pain issue, and then why someone would want or not want a tattoo.

He has decided that he thinks tattoos are neat...but isn't sure that he wants one because he might change his mind after getting one done.

It was funny to watch his mind work on this subject...permanent was a bit hard for him to grasp completely. He compared it to a baby getting a tattoo and still having it when it had grown up.

I said "Yes...but you're not allowed to tattoo a baby".

I told him that there was a way to remove a tattoo, but that it was expensive and painful.

He was floored when I told him that it was done with a laser.

(I can only imagine that he then pictured a huge laser beam removing the tattoo...lol)

He asked "How bad does it hurt to remove a tattoo?"I told him that I didn't know but that I heard that it could be pretty painful.

"Does it hurt more than hating Jesus?"

I replied "No baby. Nothing hurts more than hating Jesus."

And that's what makes our car rides so special.

Isaac repeats Abraham's mistake...coincidence??

So, something I've been pondering since recently reading Genesis 26.
Isaac makes a mistake identical to a mistake his father had made...ironically enough, towards the same people...(Abraham's version of the story can be found in Genesis 20)

I ponder, because Isaac's mistake was made some 90 years after his father initially pulled the same stunt. Isaac obviously wasn't witness to his father's blunder, and the Bible never refers to Abraham ever doing it again once he was called out on it. This leads me to wonder if Abraham, through other seemingly unrelated examples, passed this behavior to his son...or if it's just coincidence...

It serves as a reminder to me that our behaviors are what influence our children; their ability to avoid our past mistakes rests heavily on our ability to change ourselves and to teach by a healthier example.

I have changed my circumstances drastically since having Gavin. He will never witness me making mistakes that I had previously made. But he can still learn the behaviors that led me to my mistakes. He will most likely find himself in some, if not most, of the same situations that I had found myself in. But how will he choose?

I'm sure that Abraham didn't think he needed to sit Isaac down and have a chat with him about passing his wife off as his sister...and I'm sure that Abraham would look at his son, wagging a finger at him, and say "This is not how I taught you to be."

Most importantly I realized that we can live a seemingly better life and still not properly equip our children to make different decisions than we had made.

I know that the more I grow in faith and obedience to God, the more that my outward actions and behaviors will change. I must keep this as a constant goal, for my children's futures are at stake.