How encouraging it is that God is so very KIND to us! How encouraging it is that God does not abandon us in our weakness or our failures. But rather, God picks us up, holds onto us, and helps us to grow strong.
Perhaps you might remember our droopy little sunflower from the beginning of the summer.
It needed to be supported … held up … via a twisty-tie holding it onto a strong metal rod. The spiritual lesson God gave me was that when we are feeling droopy because of life, the Holy Spirit is like the twisty-tie, holding us up onto the strong metal support of Jesus!
Here is a picture of that same sunflower now. It has not only grown … it has thrived! It is now stretching far above the rest of the garden, reaching high into the air. The droop from the beginning of the summer left a slight twist in the stalk, giving unique character. But the sunflower grew strong and healthy … in spite of the “twist” along the way.
This is what God does in our lives. The hard times in our lives that leave us droopy can create twists and bends in our “stalk” … but God’s power at work in our lives will help us grow strong and healthy anyway!
Those twists and bends along the way add character to our lives; they leave behind a record that we struggled, but we overcame. God strengthened us and helped us to grow tall … into the beautiful person He created us to be!
