Matthew 6:25 - 27

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Monday, June 18, 2012

Power


While going through my recent photos this morning, I came across this one and just couldn't get past it! It's not a terribly impressive photographic accomplishment. That's not what stopped me. I guess I'm what you'd call very "visual". It's the message I see in the image that stopped me...

First, a little history. Many years ago, my husband rented a bobcat and dug up this 4 foot wide "strip" across the width of our property to the west of our driveway. To the right is an area with 3 or 4 rows of young trees that we mow. To the left is a large area of "field" that we only mow a path around and one down the middle. This "strip" was to be our solution to a place to plant all the irises, day lilies, and hostas that we needed to divide from elsewhere.  On either side of this strip is a mowed area about 5 feet wide. At the same time we dug up a new 20' X 22' "garden" near this. But that's another story. Then, we had truckloads of topsoil brought in for both areas and spread it and cultivated it! We planted yellow and purple irises in a "W" pattern the whole length of it. That's as far as we got. Long story made short: the field next to it seeded and re-seeded and the creeping-everything crept in and before long it, too, was wild again. Every year we see less and less irises bloom. 

This year, while walking the yard one day, taking photos of all the untended, overgrown, "losses", I took this photo of the few blooms that were there. Today, struggling with depression, I was overtaken by the message  of hope in this picture! Do you see it?

There, in the midst of weeds and grass are those beautiful irises that were strong enough to break through all that threatened to choke them out and rise up and stand tall. But that is NOT the message either. It's what is above, in the background. Those are high intensity power lines that run over our property. It's always annoyed me that they have to be in every photo I take. I've even learned to ignore their almost constant "buzzing" sound and stand against the fear of "stray voltage". Today, I found such comfort and hope and encouragement in all of that! 

Those power lines represent the ever-constant presence and power of God in my life ... spanning the width of my days and all that it "mine". It is the never-ceasing flow of power that "over-shadows" my life, day and night. The presence of those lines is what has kept what is on the earth from growing up and blocking the flow of sunshine to what needs it to grow below. As much as I've disliked having the power company come in here and remove the trees growing below, I am now seeing that the Lord has given me a wonderful visual picture of the necessity to prune away and clear both the weed and the lovely from my life if it has the potential to interfere with the constant flow of power over my life! 

Just like I can hear the "buzzing" of the lines and almost feel the static electricity in the air the closer I get to those lines, I realize that the closer I walk with the Lord, the more I will sense His Power and Hear His Voice! 

I can look to the earth, and see a little beauty in the midst of the weeds and decay .... 

Or I can look UP to the Power that is over my life. 

I can choose to stay far away from the Power that can be sensed and fear what could happen if I come close ...

Or I can stand in the shadow of His Power and let Him fill me with life and energy and direction.

It's my choice.

And it's yours.

3 comments:

  1. Great message Jan - so good to see you posting again - you have much to share!

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  2. Such a great tweet! Glad you are sharing your heart! Blessings...

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  3. I always love reading what God places in your heart!

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