Once again, I'm late blogging my Wednesday post... but I'm a little over it now. I seriously doubt anyone out there cares.
I don't even really know if anyone reads these. But I sincrely hope that someone is blessed by this.
Maybe that someone God intended to bless was me.
"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed... Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams."Are you listening to this? Really listening?
‘…Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing,Whose ears are open but don't understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.’”"He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way. The farmer plants the Word… The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it. But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it,
…and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."
Some verses omitted
(Written last year)
Yes, this is the horrid view of my back yard. It’s pretty bad, right? But what do you see? Most would say “weeds,” very few would say, “patches of grass fighting through.” Actually, in this case, you have to work pretty hard to see anything positive in the picture. But the point I’m driving at is this: when you look at a situation in your life, do you immediately see the positive part of it or the negative part of it? Do you focus on the good or bad in life? It's the proverbial glass-half-full question. This is a common question that has become cliché. However, I think it’s still a point worth making.
I believe that if we’re not focusing on the good in our lives, we discredit God and diminish the glory we give to Him. When people ask you how your day is, do you say something good, or do you immediately comment on the challenge in your day? When you feel tired, are you thankful for the job that made you that way, or do you grumble at the feeling? When you feel sick, do you thank God that you will get better soon? There are many that won’t. When you are stressed, do you recognize that God is doing exciting things in your life and in your job position? Or are you stressing over something that’s out of your control anyway, and do you need to hand it back to the one who has all of us in His hands?
My business mentor often shares that she used to think that she was pretty positive. Then one day, she took a challenge to only speak out loud the positive thoughts. She shares that she found herself having to be quiet quite a lot!
Another mentor of mine shared with me this thought: “Challenges may come in threes, but blessings come in thousands.” Next time you feel challenged or disappointed, try counting the blessings, literally. How high do you go, before you give up and surrender to God and admit a poor attitude?
On that same note, I am reminded of something else I did while weeding once. I had pulled up a particularly difficult and deep rooted weed and triumphantly walked over to the garbage bag. Rather than dropping it without thought, I emphatically shoved that weed into the bag of other weeds… except that I happened to be pulling those weeds that I have a special loathing for. That’s right! I shoved my hand right into the bag of weeds with thorns and points. All my careful work to avoid getting stuck by this one weed that was so hard to pull out, only to have a hand full of stickers in the end!
I have found that when I focus to much on the negative situation, rather than tossing it away, I end up attracting that back into my life and I end up more frustrated or hurt. My positive friend shared this with me several years ago. What we focus on is what we attract more of into our life. For example, If I feel rejected and alone and focus on that, I am not likely to be welcomed into a crowd. The “vibe” I give off is negative. If I feel fat and out of shape and I focus on that, it usually does not help me feel better. Instead, a good idea is to pick a new activity, or better yet, get up and take a walk! If I am angry at someone, dwelling on what made me angry, usually only intensifies the emotion.
…part of forgiveness and healing is letting it go. Gracefully let the issue out of your hands and into God’s control with humility and an attitude of submission. Don’t insist on slam-dunking the weed into the trash can. It will probably backfire! Allow God to turn your eyes to what great things He is developing in your life.
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What are the blessings you are counting today?