I'm walking along on this dry grassy hill, looking down in the coulees, wondering when things will begin to grow and get more colorful. There has been only one rainfall this spring so far...its not looking to promising of May flowers. As I walk along, the grasses are so dry that little pieces break off and poke me as they fall into my shoes.
I look out mostly over the hills and down in the coulees and the land seems so barren. The parched land looks like it has nothing beautiful to offer right now.
But when I slow down I see something. Some color. I bend down to see what looks like something similar to crocuses, soft, fuzzy, purple petals closed up pointing to the sky. Clusters of them, and some single flowers scattered over the hills. They are so beautiful and I am so happy to see them there.
As with new eyes I look more specifically over the hills and notice these pretty little flowers scattered here and there quite frequently.
Its amazing how much more noticeable something is when you specifically look for it. It brings my thoughts to how we can look at ourselves or others. Quite often when I am frustrated by my short comings or short comings of a loved one its hard to see something positive going on. When I think about failure after failure in areas that I struggle, I just see a Big F. But when I take the time to focus in on these certain areas I cant neglect to see that I have made many wise choices and that is also why more often than not, things can go along pretty smoothly. When positive choices are made they need to be acknowledged and praise God for His faithfulness and guidance. Then it is easier to see how good choices can be made easily and its encouraging to keep heading in the right direction to see how much more beautiful its going to get! Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (Isaiah 43:18) Remembering this helps us accept that God is always wanting to use us and our experiences to do good. He is always at work in our lives as long as we are letting Him.
(And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28)
Each choice to honor the Lord is a beautiful little flower in a dry barren land, that when each one is gathered together, there is too many to fit into any ordinary vase. And yet the flowers is all He sees in our dry barren land.
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| Turns out these flowers are called Prairie Crocuses |
Psalm 103
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
With all that is within me, praise his holy name!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Do not forget all his kind deeds!
He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,
who delivers your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
who satisfies your life with good things,
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.
The Lord revealed his faithful acts to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love.
He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.
He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.
For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers over his faithful followers.
As far as the eastern horizon is from the west,
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.
For he knows what we are made of;
he realizes we are made of clay.
A person’s life is like grass.
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers,
and is faithful to their descendants,
to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.
Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders!
Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,
you servants of his who carry out his desires!
Praise the Lord, all that he has made,
in all the regions of his kingdom!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
