Creations trusts God unconditionally

I have watch my Passiflora Incarnata plant all winter in my backyard. It has fought to stay alive and even grow during the cold hard winter months. This plant that should be dormant or even dead by now has remained constant in its fight to stay alive and push forward in its life. Last week we had an ice storm here for 3 days, everything was covered in thick layers of ice and the temps were well below freezing. My P. Incarnata plant was sure not to survive this fridged weather and I was certain as I walked outside today that I would find remnants of a very dead plant that lost its struggle. However, my ways are not Gods ways and my thoughts are not Gods thought..so much higher is His thoughts and ways then mine. As I approached my Incarnata plant I was so amazed at what I saw. Though battered and worn by the elements that have come against it, the leaves were shrivels, the tendrils curled and the stems barely hanging on to the fence....but the stems remained strong and the roots are firmly planted deep in the mulch that protects them. There is life still in the P.Incarnata, it has not lost the battle and it has not given up the fight!  If God be for it who can be against it?

The storms of life will come there is no doute, but the real question is when they do will we stand strong even though thick ice covers us and tries to choke the very life out of us or will we stand tall, strong and unwavering knowing that God will be our strength, courage and wisdom? Like this Siberia weeping pea tree covered in ice, yet it does not fall under the weight of its affliction, God sustains it and will carry it through the winter hardship of its life to a time when it will flourish again..but in the meantime its trust is in God unconditionally for its survival.

Or will we be trapped in a cage of our own fears, insecurities, hurts and emotions? Will we lie dormant like the tulip bulbs in this barrel protected by a fencing of wire letting nothing in?

We have choices to make in the hard, cold, desperate times of our lives. The times when it seems like we are so alone, so rejected by the world...so abandoned by those who are supposed to love us. We can choose to stay stuck in that cage of isolation, fear, and aloneness....or we can break forth trusting that God has a plan and purpose for our lives, that He will not leave us were we are at but will help us and comfort us and bring new life to us.

That as the season of harship passes we can rejoice in His great love knowing that He has once again walked with us and even carried us when we needed it. That His promise to never leave us nor forsake us has stood the test of time. And we can look around and even though we may feel alone like we are a single leaf in a world of chaos and conflict.....

Indeed there is beauty among us and we are not alone as there are many that feel as we do. We can reach out with the love of God and help others to grow and flourish in their world of chaos and hardships. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus, the heart of God that helps others to know they are not alone, and that they too can make it through the storms of life and come out bigger and better then ever.

So as the winter rolls on and we continue to fight our way through the battles of life with our hand in His, letting Him guide us in all truth and wisdom..let us not forget to bloom right were we are planted!