The changes in our garden recently caused me to learn a couple of lessons:
1st lesson
September to December 2015 were 4 extremely dry and hot months - some of the driest months in 34 years the meteorology department said. But during this time the big beautiful pink bougainvillea at the edge of our porch was the most spectacular I had ever seen it.
2nd lesson
But then the rain came and the temperatures cooled, and something interesting happened....
That's right - there are now no bougainvillea flowers at all to be seen!
Isn't this just like other aspects of life? So here are the two things which stand out to me and the lessons they taught me:
1. It's often in the difficulties and trials that we find the richest joys of following Christ. We can yearn for times to be smoother and more comfortable and we welcome those times when they come, but it may not be those times when the 'awesome stuff' happens. The most intense experience and reminders of God's wonder, faithfulness and greatness are often what accompanies the tough times. It is those times when He brings treasures of darkness and joys in the valleys as we partake of His goodness in special ways. Ways in which they show up all the more splendidly in our hearts because of the contrast of the dry backdrop of the circumstances.
2. These cooler days and refreshing rain are definitely what is needed to bring a sense of quiet respite and renewal for both the plants and ourselves, but they are just that - needed quiet renewal times. Spectacular displays and vivid drama don't have to be constant companions. At the moment the garden looks pleasant, but fairly 'ordinary' and 'plain'. The rain is bringing a different type of colour - not vivid masses of bougainvillea but steady spreads of green - green ground-covers and grass and a greater abundance of green leaves on the trees. That solid steady growth is what will later on bring its own gentle display of colour as the plants build growth, deepen roots and engorge their bulbs.
In both times there are particular types of 'barren-ness' - either barren-ness of 'colour' or of 'green'. Both seasons also have their blessings - one of masses of vivid colour and one of coolness and rain. One brings reminders of God's greatness through stunning beauty in the desert times, the other brings reminders of God's steady provision and enabling growth.
We need both seasons of our lives, and I hope I'm learning from the bush beauty around me to entrust the times and boundaries of those seasons to the Lord. I notice how easy it is in the dry but spectacular bougainvillea times to desire 'more green, and in the 'green' times to desire more stunning bougainvillea. But it is my desire to rather gain the richest benefit from both situations, and in thankful contentment with both, according to God's plan and purposes.
What is the season of life for you just now, in which you need to develop thankful contentedness alongside a desire to maximise the season and its purposes?
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