August 29, 2010

GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them,
With men this is impossible,  but with God
all things are possible." - (Matthew 19:26)

Over the years, the Lord has used my gardening attempts to teach me many lessons.  Usually it's through my tomato plants, and it's something like how at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Witnessing a Miracle, and More Lessons from the Tomato Plant).

This year's lesson was a bit different.  The Lord used a couple of "dead" indoor plants. to teach me volumes about His grace.

These plants had become real eyesores, and yet I didn't have the heart to throw them away.  Instead, I stuck them out on the balcony and told the Lord they were all His to do with as He pleased.  I figured they could stay out there for the summer, and if they were  still "dead" by then, I wouldn't feel so bad about getting rid of them.

The one pot looked like there was nothing left in it except for a bunch of dirt, and the few leaves left on the aloe plant were all brown and dried out looking.

Now I wish I had thought to take pictures to document how truly beyond redemption they appeared, instead of waiting until some signs of life took me by surprise and I excitedly snapped the picture on the left.

What a powerful reminder of  how God doesn't look at things the way we do with our limited vision.  I tend to get so stuck in the moment, I  forget things are not always the way they seem, and that I'm just seeing one piece of the puzzle instead of the whole picture, as only He can do. 

It is never too late or too seemingly impossible for God to change things around.  (The picture on the right is what those "dead" plants look like now.)