Time and Space

  I always find it interesting how often Jesus used nature for illustrations when teaching:  sparrows, lilies, fig trees, birds of the air, foxes, seeds in the ground dying in order to produce life, and so on.  He loved His creation and used it to reveal so much about Himself.  One of the lessons I enjoy as I walk my acres is that there's a time and a place for everything.  What do I mean?  Flowers and trees have their assignment:  some are assigned to grow and bloom in full sunshine.  Some thrive only in the shade.  Some can handle partial sun or partial shade--whichever you prefer to call it.  (I wonder if that reveals anything about your attitude?  I prefer "partial shade."  Call me melancholy.)  But if you plant a flower in an area it's not designed for, it doesn't do well.  It may even die.  In addition, some plants need a certain type of soil in order to do their best.  And some can take the cold while others are destroyed by the slightest frost.  Where you plant them and when you plant them makes all the difference in the world.
     And plants have their own time frame as well.  Crocus, Lenten roses, hyacinth bloom in early spring followed by the daffodils and other spring flowers. Iris bloom in early summer.  Lilies embrace the summer heat.  Sedum and asters wait until fall.   Some flowers, shrubs, and trees take years to become mature enough to bloom at all.  Each flower and tree has a certain time when it blooms.  The obvious advantage to that is I can enjoy God's beauty all year long.  Every walk is gorgeous.
     I think, in a way, the same is true of us.  God has designed us to grow at different "speeds," to excel in certain "environments," to bloom and bear fruit in the place where He has planted us.  I pray that like the lilies of the valley I will always be content to do that--to grow in the place He "plants" me and to radiate whatever "beauty" He has seen fit to give me--to have my walk with Him "gorgeous" every day.