A
droopy looking shrub hung out in our studio garden all summer long, looking
like it was barely getting by. We
tried to perk it up with fresh drinks of water and fertilizer
smoothies, but it just stood with its head down and slumped shoulders most of the
summer.
Deep
inside that dreary exterior, though, there was a great work going on. The Creator knew what He was doing with this one and although things
looked pretty despondent on the outside, inside, a magnificent work was being
done.
We’ll
never forget the day we caught a glimpse of just how extensive the hidden
work had been. It all began with a little tender bud.
A soft pink envelope, barely containing the strong, vibrant life beneath its veined petals. This bush was coming alive again! It had been renewed! It had exchanged its former life with a
new life … an abundant life … an exuberant life! This new life filled it up so much, it just began to explode
with joy, and flowers burst out in every direction. Wow, what a sight to
behold. Flowers everywhere with their hands lifted up in praise!
All of this was inside that old bush all the time!
It
made us think of the transformation, the actual exchange, that can happen in
our lives and re-create us into the person God made us to be.
It’s
conveyed in The Message beautifully:
We don’t evaluate people by
what they have or how they look … now we look inside, and what we see is that
anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life
burgeons! (grows,
rapidly expands, flourishes) Look at it!
So,
we hope you will “look at it!”
Look at this bush that is now alive and flourishing
with flowers! Let it remind
you of the fresh start, the new beginning, the absolute-total-recharge of your life that's just waiting for you.
The
Velvet Lime Girls
P.S.
A special thank-you to Travis D. Rhodes, Laura’s father-in-love, who gave the
small cutting that became the magnificent star in our garden. Like the Confederate Rose, his life overflows with reflections of God's abundance, extravagant love and transforming power.
