Does anyone else spend much time pondering random things? Some people putz around, I wander and ponder.
My pondering often takes me into the garden and last week I was perplexed as I noticed a whole plant of zinnias that blossomed sans petals. Not because bugs ate them…they just didn’t form any petals. That caught my attention. And then I went and got the camera. A neighbor child snuck up on me and said, “Miss Mary, watcha takin’ a picture of?” So I grabbed the neck of this blossom and showed them this and all the other flowers without petals. “Oh, Okay…see you later.” (Obviously they were not as impressed as I was with this development).
What you can’t tell from this picture is that the center is way past a normal size center of a zinnia – it’s huge, in fact. It’s like this flower and the others used all their energy to grow beautiful centers, but forgot to apply any of that energy towards blossoming out with petals.
And so, now I’m pondering about the message here…Maybe God’s telling me to spend a little less time pondering and a little more time petal-pushing, growing outward, serving, and actually applying what I’ve learned.
LEARNING by the Spirit is great, but LIVING by the Spirit helps us to grow in the ways God intended us to…reaching out with petals of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Nine fruits of the Spirit!)
Were I a nightingale, I would act the part of a nightingale; were I a swan, the part of a swan. But now I am a rational creature, and I ought to praise God; this is my work. I do it; nor will I desert this post so long as I am allowed to keep it, and I exhort you to join in this same song.
~Epictetus
P.S. If you are a subscriber who got the previous email posting with no slide show :0/ it's because you have to go directly to my blogspot to see it: http://heartinhand-artbymj.blogspot.com/2008/09/fun-little-program.html. Sorry about that.
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