As I watched the peonies in my garden, over the past couple of weeks, I observed large green buds, then sepals falling away revealing a burst of color, and finally seemingly over night the flowers exploded in frilled brilliance.
But, I know how quickly peonies fade and I am reminded of how quickly our days here on earth are gone.
I am guilty of rushing.
Living for the moment and forgetting what lies ahead.
Peonies are gorgeous and their scent so light and calming, but their beauty is short lived. They bloom and display their bright colored ruffles and then they quickly begin to brown. If hard rain comes the sweet perfumed mop heads droop to the ground dropping their petals and withering away. Their beauty is spent.
In the light of eternity our days here on this earth are few. The Lord has been pressing upon me this question, “How are you serving me this day?” He is calling me to view my day in the light of His eternity. On this day what will I chose? Will I chose to fold the fifth basket of laundry with praise on my lips or will I wither and droop. Will I chose, on this day, to enjoy the chatter of my children or will the edges of my heart show the beginning of fade when I beg for a moment of peace? On this day, the day the Lord has given me, will I choose to give my every thought to Christ, keeping my eyes fixed on Him, or will just live in the moment flaunting my abilities for the here and now?
If I don’t keep my eye on the eternal then, I am like a fast fading peony and by the end of the day I’m dragging my head in the dirt, muttering all the way.
My God given beauty withering away.
I’ve been rushing my moments. Pushing through as a mom and a wife, doing what has to be done, just because it needs to be done, but with none of the beauty.
The beauty comes from a heart fully committed to the Lord and fully embracing what He has placed before me.
Sometimes I am thick headed.
I’m searching for a grand mission field. Asking God what He has for me now.
It’s right before me. The people in my life. The people that I know. The people that I may meet.
This is what God has for me. It starts in my home, and I so often get distracted from this.
Pushing, rushing, straining ahead of what God is calling me to.
He is calling for the beauty of service in my life. A life willing to be poured out for Him, EXCESSIVELY!, whatever that call may be. If it’s scrubbing toilets and folding laundry, then I pray I do it with a heart willing to glorify God. If it’s talking to a stranger at the grocery store, then I will rely on His boldness. If it is praying with someone in a desperate situation, I will stand in the promise that the Holy Spirit will use me.
I don’t have to know the big picture. I just need to be faithful in the moment, in this short, blink of an eye, time.
That’s when the beauty will show, God’s beauty and that beauty will travel a lifetime and beyond into eternity.
Wonderful read this morning... and lovely peonies! Love your photos..
ReplyDeleteSo true what you said about them as short-lived. I appreciate your analogy, here.
Your post reminds me of a quote by Elizabeth Elliot.
"This job has been given for me to do.
Therefore, it is a gift.
Therefore, it is a privilege.
Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God.
Therefore, it is to be done gladly,
if it is to be done for HIM.
Here, not somewhere else,
I may learn God's Way.
In this job, not in some other,
God looks for faithfulness."
~ Elizabeth Elliot
Beautiful photos (peonies are one of my favorites!) and beautiful words. It's hard to see that scrubbing toilets and folding laundry is a ministry, but we know it is! And it brings such glory to God if we allow it to.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting, I am learning to lean on God first thing in the morning for my battery to be fully charged and me to be wide awake and open to His calling for my day. By the end of the day, I am faded. Thanks for the pics, now I know what I have in my yard!
ReplyDeleteI am so guilty of this too. Thank you for this great post and great reminder!
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