Gather the Lilies

The past month it seems I've really been struggling with my attitude towards life and even God. I've found myself caught in cycles of negative thinking or depressive thoughts. Too many moments I've spent dwelling on some of the unexpected challenges of being a night nurse. I've depressed myself with dreading my job, and even began to question my life's purpose, and where the meaning lies. I found myself questioning:

Why do I not feel joy Lord?

Don't you promise joy and love in your callings? 

I want to share something He's been teaching me from the book "Steps to Christ." It's a parable about a girl in the garden. And I think far too often- this happens to us as God's children- in that we lose focus of God's plan and blessings.

One day a girl went to the most beautiful garden- where there were many flowers: daisies, lilies, and roses, many vegetables: tomatoes, zuchinni, and peppers. She was enjoying the view, singing and dancing, in the beauty when she got distracted by a sole rose in a bush of thorns. Something in her began to gravitate towards the rose bush. She didn't like that bush one bit.

She looked at it up and down and tried to grab the lonely red rose in the middle. But reaching up for the rose, she cut her arm on the thorns. She yelled out in pain, cursing the garden. Trying again, she cut her finger and finally grabbing the rose itself- she found the rose to be dead.

The girl was full of anguish, pain, and frustration. She suddenly hated the garden and could only see thorns everywhere. Crying out for help, the gardener came to her side.

Bandaging her hand, he quietly reprimanded her "Let the thorns alone, for they will only wound you. Gather the roses, the lilies, and the pinks."

"Are not God's promises, like the fragrant flowers, growing beside your path on every hand? Will you not let their beauty and sweetness fill your heart with joy?"

Friends, we all go through things, we all go through struggles, but our attitudes will make the difference in the outcome day after day. Our thoughts, attitudes, and relationships with Jesus will affect our choices and choose our outcomes day after day. 

And Satan wants to make us bitter. Satan wants to make us lose heart, friends, For He loves the idea of taking away our hope, taking away our joy, taking away our peace. But God says, look at the flowers- look at my blessings. Thank me. Praise me. Because I can give you joy that no one and no situation can take away. I love you and I want you to focus on that love.